Richard Walton:

The Brexit position paper on security arrangements with the EU released yesterday is a rational and sensible proposal – providing Britain does not have to contribute financially for what is a mutually beneficial arrangement. The UK intends to embrace what amounts to “associate” membership of Europol – a “bespoke relationship” fully engaged and participating but not under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The proposal will succeed because police and intelligence agency professionals across Europe know full well that the EU will carry significant risk if the UK does not continue to engage fully with Europe’s crime and security agencies. Theresa May only confirmed what the professionals already knew when she said in her Lancaster House speech in January: “Our intelligence capabilities – unique in Europe – have already saved countless lives in very many terrorist plots that have been thwarted in countries across our continent”.

The reality is that Britain is a major contributor to the EU’S shared databases, has unique access to a plethora of intelligence-sharing platforms (not least the “Five Eyes” partnership between ourselves, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and has unrivalled global reach and influence.

New “associate” membership of Europol will not diminish that British influence or access. Europol’s role has been greatly exaggerated in recent times. It has been portrayed by some as a pan-eu crime-fighting/ counter-terrorism agency. In reality, it is a relatively small bureaucratic organisation that acts as a platform for dialogue and co-operation, but has no executive powers to arrest or lead on crime or terrorist investigations. Its Counter Terrorism Centre (set up in 2016) has just 39 staff.

The position paper makes clear that the EU would lose out considerably if the UK was subject to only thirdparty agreements similar to those, for example, that exist with countries such as Norway and Iceland on access to the “Prum” database that holds fingerprint and DNA information. The UK’S significant crime-fighting and counter-terrorism resources merit a new all-encompassing legal arrangement to ensure that there is no diminution of ongoing collaboration and engagement with the remaining 27 EU states.

Crime and terrorism threats are now a global challenge that extend far beyond the confines of the EU. The UK is well placed to meet these security challenges, both in terms of its own independent capabilities and its engagement with various international security bodies, the EU being just one. Collaboration between European countries (and globally) on crime and national security operations will continue to take place between police and intelligence agencies post Brexit and the EU will be keen not to lose access to the UK’S influence and global reach.

As the Home Secretary Amber Rudd asserted in March: “The fact is … we keep other European countries safe as well.” Michel Barnier, a recent former special adviser on European defence and policy, will be more aware than most of the truth of this statement, even if he chooses not to acknowledge it publicly.

Richard Walton was head of Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, 2011-2016