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Roula Khalaf, editor of FT, chooses her favorite stories this weekly newsletter.
The writer is the head of risk management policy in the long -term resistance center
Investigators will undoubtedly need some time to understand the cause of the fire closed on Friday by Heathrow Airport, disrupting more than a thousand flights and affecting about 200,000 passengers. But it does not take long to see how vulnerable the United Kingdom is. In this case, the electric substation in the nearby suburb provided a single point of failure for the busiest airport in Europe.
Mushroom airports have energy requirements of small cities, while, quite right, they prefer safety. Heathrow claims that it is not possible to introduce a backup for energy production needed to safely operate its operations. That's not good enough. It must find that the alternative menu is available from the grid and can be switched smoothly if necessary. More generally, regulators should require all critical infrastructure providers to regularly evaluate vulnerabilities and stress their ability to recover quickly.
Given that the global outlook continues to darken, politicians are awakening to the British lack of resistance – not only in the country's infrastructure, but more generally throughout the economy and society. The United Kingdom is exposed from underwater cables to the energy network.
The pandemic was supposed to concentrate the mind, but it seems that few lessons have learned. AND message Last week, the United Kingdom is in a worse position to respond to biological threats than before Covid-19. Today, the government has a very low visibility of key information about where we get pharmaceutical components. As a result, the coordinated event is very demanding.
With the right vision and direction, however, we can build resistance. In the age of 30, the government recorded extensive reorganization of the state as set out in Whitehall, History of Peter Hennessy State Service. Right now we need the same ambitions – an intelligent re -evaluation at the peak of the government, a fundamental change in thinking in the civil service and a response that includes the whole society.
Resistance must be made by the highest national priority, accompanied by the right administration. The National Security Advisor, renamed National Resistance and Security Advisor, should take the lead and report reports to the Prime Minister. We need to learn from business and introduce the main resistance expert to supervise the enhanced risk management process across Whitehall. In addition, as Covid Inquiry recommends, an independent external statutory body should be determined to explore the work of the government about the resistance and the challenge group.
Pat McFadden, which leads the Cabinet office, must manage the business approach to risk throughout Whitehall and ensure that civil servants learn to accept, understand and control the risk. Since many reviews have agreed over the decades, the civil service must propose in the talent of the private sector, reward innovations and dexterity and motivate officials to work across departments. The government promised reform. He really has to deliver it now.
However, the government does not have all the answers. The company also plays a role. After Sweden, which introduced a new compulsory civil obligation, the United Kingdom could create a civic reservoir across the country with a focus on reaction to emergencies and training on cyber defense. These measures would not only help build the foundations of the Earth's resistance, but also to provide young people with much needed skills and to support the culture of national responsibility.
The government undertook to spend more on British armed services and invest in military industrial capacity. This is necessary, but it is not enough for the extent of the extreme risks we face. We must build a resistant country as in the past. Fortunately, the fire affecting Heathrow was extinguished and the services continued. Maybe next time we will not be so lucky.
