Homeland Security Group is an executive directorate of the UK government Home Office, created in 2007, responsible for leading the work on

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

in the UK, working closely with the police and security services. The office reports to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...

, and to the Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism. Its current Director General is Chloe Squires, who is the senior government official responsible for counter-terrorist and organised crime strategy.

Responsibilities

According to its website, the current responsibilities of the OSCT are: *Exercising the UK's response to a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

incident *Developing legislation on terrorism here and overseas *Providing security measures and protection packages for public figures *Ensuring that the UK's critical national infrastructure is protected from attack (including electronic attack) *Ensuring the UK is prepared to deal with a chemical, biological, or nuclear release *Liaising with government and emergency services during terrorist incidents or counter-terrorism operations In May 2014, the Director General of OSCT made a witness statement on behalf of the government and the three main intelligence agencies for the

Investigatory Powers Tribunal In the United Kingdom, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) is a judicial body, independent of the British government, which hears complaints about surveillance by public bodies—in fact, "the only Tribunal to whom complaints about the Intel ...

, in a legal case brought by advocacy groups including

Privacy International Privacy International (PI) is a UK-based registered charity that defends and promotes the right to privacy across the world. First formed in 1990, registered as a non-profit company in 2002 and as a charity in 2012, PI is based in London. Its c ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

and Amnesty International, explaining the legal basis for the interception of electronic communications under the

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ( c.23) (RIP or RIPA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of comm ...

. This was characterised in the media as an explanation of how the security services can legally monitor "Facebook, Google and Twitter" usage by UK citizens. The OSCT has a total staff of 1,061 as of 31st March 2021Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament "Annual Report 2021–2022"
/ref>

Programmes

The Preventing Violent Extremism strategy (Prevent), is a £140 million programme run by OSCT. In 2013, OSCT stated that 500 people had gone through its Channel deradicalisation programme, including some considering participating in the Syrian civil war, steering some away from

violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...

References

{{reflist, 40em

External links

Policy - Protecting the UK against terrorism
gov.uk, 26 March 2013
Local Government Association Preventing Violent Extremism Conference
Office for Security & Counter Terrorism, Charles Farr Counterterrorism in the United Kingdom Home Office (United Kingdom) National security of the United Kingdom

Responsibilities

Programmes

See also

References

External links