By IRNA
London : The high focus on counter-terrorism is jeopardizing the capabilities of the UK’s intelligences service, parliament’s watchdog committee has warned.
Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which reports direct to the prime minister, said it was ‘concerned that aspects of key intelligence and security work are suffering as a consequence of the focus on counter-terrorism priorities’.
“We believe consideration may need to be given to separate, additional funding to maintain the Agencies’ capabilities in these areas,” it said in its latest annual report.
The range of counter-terrorism activities was found to be taking up to about 56 percent of the efforts of the various intelligence agencies.
The committee also warned that the substantial growth in security service counter-terrorism operations in recent years has made it difficult for the General Communications Headquarters ‘to maintain high-quality support to an ever-growing number of investigations’.
In response to the report, the government said the scale of the terrorist threat meant some of the work had been ‘reduced but not overlooked’.
“Resources are finite and it is necessary, given the scale of the threat from international terrorism and the unique role of the agencies in countering the threat, that work on some other intelligence and security requirements has been reduced,” it said.
Annual public expenditure on counter-terrorism and intelligence has already risen significantly in recent years to pnds 2.5 billion (dlrs 5 bn) more than double the level before the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001.
The report also expressed continuing concern about the ‘increasing number of inaccurate and misleading reports in the media relating to the work of the intelligence and security agencies, and the reporting of leaked and sensitive intelligence’.
“In some cases, this reporting has come close to compromising counter-terrorism operations; in others it has risked prejudicing a trial and there are instances where it has damaged the long-term capability of the agencies,” it warned.
The committee of MPs recommended that the government engages with the media to develop a new, effective system, with a view to protecting intelligence work, operations, sources and criminal prosecutions.
The ISC is unlike other committee, reporting to the prime minister and not to parliament in its work of overseeing MI6 intelligence, MI5 security services, GCHQ monitoring agency and Defense Intelligence Staff.