PM’S deal safeguards UK security through continued cooperation

Whatever our EU membership status is after March, I am confident that our police and spies will continue to deliver one of the most important duties of government and will do so with little change. In his article on Friday in these pages, Sir Richard Dearlove, former “C” during Tony Blair’s tenure and subsequent ill-fated venture in Iraq, tried to argue against the deal.

I do not doubt Sir Richard’s dedication to our security. But he has failed to see that the deal is the best way to leave the EU while ensuring we maintain the data sharing and partnerships so key to modern security.

Firstly, whether we stay or leave, intelligence sharing will remain the exclusive preserve of the nation state. All the time Sir Richard was head of MI6 we were full members of the EU while at the same time steadfast Nato and Five Eyes participants. Being an EU member didn’t detract then from our mission, and nothing being proposed now would diminish our participation in the future. No one is proposing giving up Nato or Five Eyes activity in exchange for any deal. It is misleading to suggest otherwise.

There has been much spouted about the phrase in the agreement, “a new, deep and special relationship”. It is a fundamental mistake to claim that the agreement subordinates us to any EU defence or intelligence structures.

Britain is leaving the EU’S Common Security and Defence Policy. It should be no surprise to anyone that a “new” security arrangement with the EU will be needed. Leaving without a deal will mean we would lose unlimited access to DNA, air passenger records, criminal records and intelligence.

Everybody in the UK intelligence community and policing recognises the importance of these tools, which is why the Government’s aim has been to try and maintain a like-for-like access and participation where possible. That will be the “new” relationship, because what we have sought, and what the PM has achieved, is a commitment no one has secured before.

And so let me turn to the “deep” part of the proposed security deal. We have learnt the hard way that when we failed to spot the signs of a terror attack it was because of a lack of collaboration. The need to share in the new world of the smart phone and end-to-end encryption is vital. We live in a digital world, not the analogue one of Sir Richard. The urgent pace at which our police and intelligence services have to work demands collaboration. Isolationism would put us all at risk.

The current head of MI5 said last year: “European intelligence cooperation today is simply unrecognisable from what it looked like even five years ago.”

Perhaps Sir Richard can take comfort from the fact that, far from being plucked from thin air by ministers, the UK’S position is based on the needs of today’s intelligence and law enforcement community. As the UK security minister, I would be failing in my duty if I didn’t ensure that their needs are met.

Ben Wallace MP is the security minister and a former soldier