GCHQ IS DOING A FANTASTIC JOB
10:30 - 11 June 2003
' name=cont4> Staff at GCHQ have been praised for doing a fantastic job.
The 4,500 workers at the Cheltenham-based listening post have been honoured
for helping keep our country safe. The praise is made in the Parliamentary
intelligence and security committee's annual report.
MP and committee chairman Ann Taylor said she is also pleased with the work
being carried out by the Security Service and M16.
"We are impressed by the agencies' work, in particular by the staff's
determination and professionalism," she said.
"While the report highlights areas about which the committee has concerns,
these must not overshadow the tremendous efforts made, sometimes at great
personal risk, to gain valuable secret intelligence, which is used to
reduce the threat to the UK and its citizens."
The praise comes despite GCHQ staff facing upheaval as they prepare to move
to its new £330 million doughnut in Benhall in September.
But the report does criticise ministers for failing to take enough interest
in the work carried out by the listening post.
It says Prime Minister Tony Blair and other senior politicians are not
"sufficiently engaged" in setting long-term priorities for the UK's
intelligence agencies.
They are criticised for being too preoccupied with short-term crisis
management, dealing with counter-terrorism work and the situations in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
The report says longer-term issues have been ignored.
It says GCHQ has been forced to "reduce analysis effort in a number of
possible trouble spots" because resources have been transferred to fight
terrorism.
The committee said: "These developments confirm our belief that the problem
of collection gaps has worsened and risks are being taken with national
security.
"Intelligence assets are most useful when they can warn of and disrupt
hostile action rather than being used to deal with current crises.
"With this focus, the agencies' long-term capacity to provide warnings is
being eroded. This situation needs to be addressed."
The report noted a key ministerial committee on intelligence, to be chaired
by Mr Blair and including the Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor and Home,
Foreign and Defence Secretaries, has not yet met, as was recommended last year.
It also said ministers did not see all the intelligence assessments they
ought to.
A GCHQ spokeswoman she is "delighted" MPs had recognised the contribution
made by staff.
She added any criticism of ministers' actions regarding intelligence
agencies was "a matter for the Government and ISC to resolve between
themselves".
Staff from the listening base played a key role in helping US and UK forces
in the recent conflict in Iraq.
They are credited with helping crack Saddam Hussein's secret telephone
code, which led to a bomb strike at a Baghdad restaurant he was said to be
eating in.
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