Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has been reappointed by the Government to the Joint Committee on the UK’s National Security Strategy.
This is a cross-party Parliamentary committee made up of MPs and members of the House of Lords. It has recently been re-established for the new Parliament and meets today for the first time since the general election. Theresa Villiers served on this committee in the previous Parliament.
Speaking in advance of this afternoon’s meeting, Ms Villiers said, “I am honoured to have been reappointed to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. This group of MPs and peers does important work in holding the Government to account on its work on security and counter-terrorism. My time in the Cabinet as Northern Ireland Secretary makes me very much aware of how crucial it is that the Government does all it can to keep people safe from the serious security threats our country faces.”
“When Parliament was dissolved for the election, we had an investigation underway into cyber security. We heard from a number of experts about the potential vulnerability to cyber-attacks of some of the UK’s infrastructure and public services. It was worrying to see those risks materialise with the WannaCry cyber-attack which caused major disruption in the NHS in May.”
“I very much hope the committee will restart its report on this important issue so we can play a part in keeping our vital public services going. I look forward to working with other committee members to ensure the Government is working effectively to tackle the security threats which have the potential to cause harm in my constituency in Barnet and across the whole country.”