WIREDGOV

Without adopting Canberra's policies wholesale, the UK's intelligence-policymaker network would benefit from making some of the changes Australia has implemented, particularly the designation of a principal adviser to the Prime Minister on intelligence matters.

In October 2025, The Times revealed an internal Home Office report which accused the UK’s intelligence agencies of ‘failing to keep pace’ with threats to national security. It accused the agencies of being poorly coordinated and highlighted a disconnect between the National Security Council and the departments which oversee the intelligence agencies.

Whilst this Home Office report appears to be a couple of years old, and we have no idea what response there was from the agencies to it, some of the charges it brings against the intelligence community are chronic, particularly those of cooperation and the intelligence-policymaker relationship. The question is, therefore, what can be done to finally resolve those issues?

This author argued last year that the UK would benefit from taking some inspiration from recent reforms in Australia – namely the creation of its Office of National Intelligence – regarding how to improve cooperation and capability building in the UK intelligence community. By all accounts, the threat and operational landscape in which UK intelligence operates is changing rapidly.

Domestically, in addition to the enduring threat of terrorism from a variety of actors, state threats are rising sharply. Looking overseas, there is a return to Great Power conflict, the threat of hybrid warfare from hostile states, and the recent shaking of the foundations of the ‘rules based international order’ as we knew it. The rapid evolution of the technological environment creates as many challenges as it does opportunities for the intelligence agencies, not least the challenge of how to fund the investment required for intelligence to keep up with technological developments in the outside world. To respond to these challenges, it is vital that the UK government takes a strategic and holistic look at our intelligence capabilities, including taking inspiration from others – like Australia – when considering how to set UK intelligence up for success in the coming decades.

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