Cobra committee leads attack response
07/07/2005 - 13:36:47
The British government’s Cobra committee is leading the response to today’s terrorist attack on the UK.
The committee is essentially the government’s emergency response team.
Despite its dynamic-sounding name, the acronym stands for the less stirring “Cabinet Office Briefing Room A”.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke confirmed he chaired meetings of Cobra this morning, and that Prime Minister Tony Blair would chair a further meeting later on his return from Gleneagles.
Heads of MI5, the police, the civil contingencies secretariat and senior ministers, would have been among those brought together at Whitehall to analyse the situation and attempt to co-ordinate responses across government.
The Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator in the Cabinet Office, Bill Jeffery, was also likely to attend.
Cobra may have met at 10 Downing Street or, if the Whitehall area was thought to have been in danger, it may have been re-located to the Citadel – the secure underground complex below government buildings in the area.
An emergency meeting of the committee was called on September 11 2001 as soon as the enormity of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon became clear.
It was also convened after two suicide car bombings in Istanbul hit the British Consulate General and the HQ of HSBC bank in the city in November 2003, killing 61 people including British Consul-General Roger Short.
The committee would initially need to consider whether to invoke the powers contained in part two of the Civil Contingencies Act, which allows considerable powers for the executive in times of a serious emergency.
Most of these powers were highly unlikely to be used in the event of attacks such as today’s.
In fact, they were designed to cope with a far larger strike, particularly one involving chemical or radiological material, such as a nuclear “dirty bomb”.
They would allow a minister to suspend sittings of parliament if necessary and to declare a bank holiday to shut down businesses.
By executive decree, property could be destroyed or requisitioned, assemblies banned, freedom of movement limited, the Armed Forces mobilised and special courts set up to deal with suspects if it was felt another atrocity was planned.
A cabinet office spokesman said he was unable to provide details of today’s Cobra meetings.
Ba Bye, Mecca!