Watched 9/11 upend UK security, but the next 10 years will be worse

A reflective op-ed marks 25 years since 9/11, arguing that the UK’s security response has evolved in ways that may now be insufficient for the next decade. The author recalls watching the attacks unfold live in London in 2001, then joining the Civil Service in 2002 and observing how security and policing increasingly dominated Whitehall and Westminster debates over the following 20 years. It cites MI5 head Sir Ken McCallum’s view that police and MI5 activity has increasingly focused on protecting against state-backed actors. The piece also warns that attention may have been diverted from threats linked to Russia and China.