One of the first moments of the new Government, staged for the cameras, was the meeting, in the Cabinet Room, of the National Security Council. It looked serious, due, perhaps, to the presence of a military uniform. Inside the uniform was the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup.
The Conservative innovation of a National Security Council is borrowed from the United States. The idea is to join up foreign policy, defence and security. It is designed to ensure strategic vision and counteract departmental rivalry.
