The NSC, created in 2010 under the coalition led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, to better coordinate security policy after the disaster of the Iraq war, is now to be replaced by a broad-based Foreign and Security Policy Council (FPSC ) with eight members. The NSC brought together senior ministers with spy chiefs and the chief of the armed forces to focus on security issues and continued under Theresa May, although it met less frequently when Boris Johnson was prime minister. John Healey, the shadow defense secretary, said there was a risk the new commission would become “another Whitehall policy talking point”. Britain, he argued, “needs a tough Security Council ready to act”. Lord Ricketts, a former national security adviser, said he feared the change would “pull ministers even further towards short-term crisis management and mean even less time is spent on strategic cross-government thinking – at a time when we need it more than ever. “. Cabinet committees are where many of the key government decisions are made. On Friday, the Cabinet Office quietly released a revised list of cabinet committees, including the senior politicians who sit on them. Chaired by Truss, members of the FPSC include James Cleverly, the Secretary of State; Ben Wallace, the defense secretary; Suella Braverman, the home secretary; and Tom Tugendhat, the security minister and defeated leadership contender. Its creation is part of a dramatic slimming down of key government functions, with 19 full committees being consolidated into five. The rest cover economic affairs, home affairs, climate change and parliamentary work and legislation. However, the “climate action implementation” committee will not be attended by climate minister Graham Stuart, according to the newly published list. Instead, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, who has promoted fossil fuel exploitation and fracking, is listed as one of the members. Other FPSC members include Thérèse Coffey, the health secretary; Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Nadhim Zahawi, and Attorney General, Michael Ellis. A former senior Whitehall official described the decision as surprising “in an era of hybrid warfare” and said the cabinet looked like it was “returning to a foreign policy committee” – meaning it could be overwhelmed by a wide range of political and operational subjects. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Richard Reeve, the moderator of Rethinking Security, a think tank, said he believed the merger “may be Truss’ way of drawing a line under the tarnished Johnson Global Britain brand”. However, he argued that the prime minister and other members “remain committed to a militarized ‘national security’ approach, especially vis-à-vis Russia and China”. Truss also sacked Johnson’s national security adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, almost immediately after becoming prime minister, replacing him with Sir Tim Barrow, a former ambassador to the EU, one of several top staff changes in Whitehall. A government spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has agreed an updated cabinet committee structure to better meet the government’s priorities. Committees can discuss a wide range of policy areas relevant to their terms of reference.”
