LONDON: The U.K. is to beef up its security services with an extra 1,900 intelligence officers as David Cameron’s government adapts to the prospect of a long fight against terrorism following the downing of a Russian passenger jet and the killings in Paris.
Britain’s intelligence agencies currently employ about 12,700 staff, split between MI5, which handles domestic security, MI6, responsible for overseas intelligence, and GCHQ, the communications monitoring service. Cameron will also double the spending on aviation security, including on employees to assess security at foreign airports.
The announcement came while Cameron was attending the Group of 20 leaders summit in Antalya, Turkey, a meeting traditionally focused on economics which has been overshadowed by the terrorist attacks.
“Economic security goes hand-in-hand with national security,” the prime minister said, in a statement released by his office. “This is a generational struggle that demands we provide more manpower to combat those who would destroy us and our values.”
Fighting terrorism may force Cameron to work more closely with Vladimir Putin. The two men will meet one-on-one Monday for the first time since the Russian president began his air campaign in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad, a man the British prime minister has said must leave power.
