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Cyber attacks, terrorism top UK threats: officials

18 October 2010 18:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Cyber attacks, terrorism, inter-state conflict and natural hazards are the top threats to British security, officials said Monday, a day before a major military review due to include deep spending cuts, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
In a new National Security Strategy, the government highlighted threats from al Qaeda and Northern Ireland-linked groups, as it sought to convince critics that a sweeping armed forces review due on Tuesday is policy driven, and not a money-saving exercise.
Britain is trying to reduce a budget deficit close to 11 percent of national output, and at the same time retain Britain’s place as strong military power in Europe and a capable ally to the United States, which it has backed in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Our strategy sets clear priorities -- counter-terrorism, cyber, international military crisis, and disasters such as floods," the government said in its National Security Strategy report.
The report relegated threats from insurgencies abroad that could foster terrorist attacks in the UK -- a scenario similar to the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan -- to a lower, "tier two" level priority.
The document said threats could come from other states, but highlighted threats from non-state and unconventional actors, a move likely to be used to justify cuts to major military hardware purchases.
The Ministry of Defiance’s budget of 36.9 billion pounds ($58.62 billion) is set to be cut less than 10 percent, way below the average of 25 percent applied to other government departments, but the cuts are still likely to have major political, industrial and diplomatic consequences.
The National Security Strategy also highlighted nuclear proliferation as a growing danger and added that British security was vulnerable to the effects of climate change and its impact on food and water supply.
($1=.6295 Pound)