David Cameron highlights the terror risk to Britain
David Cameron has promised to seriously consider proposals to establish a new UK National Security Council in a bid to bring more balance and coherence to the country's security policies both at home and abroad.
Commenting after the Party's National and International Security Policy Group published an interim report calling for a new approach to terrorism and extremism, Mr Cameron declared: "I think it is clear that over the last few years decisions that have been taken, and the difficulties there have been in Iraq, have clearly had a wider effect."
He stressed: "That is not to say for a second that in any way disagreeing with British foreign policy justifies in any way any sort of terrorism - of course it doesn't. But it's just, I think, a statement of fact."
With the policy group, headed by former diplomat Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, warning that foreign and domestic security policy has been undermined by "a lack of balance, lack of careful preparation, and lack of coherence", Mr Cameron commented: "We need to be America's candid friend, rather than mute partner. I think there's a lot of work there that needs to be done. Where there are areas where we don't agree we shouldn't be afraid of saying so."
But he insisted there should be no truck with anti-Americanism, and said: "We need to ensure this is a balance and strong relationship and that it works for Britain."
Mr Cameron went on to stress the need to restore the traditional role of the civil service, depoliticising the Whitehall machine and ending the "sofa-style" of government created by Tony Blair.
In its report, the security policy group said: "We need to recognise that a central element of foreign policy - the intervention in Iraq - has failed in its objectives so badly that the threat to this country is actually greater than it was before it began."
The group advocated a Middle East strategy with more humility and patience and condemned efforts to impose instant change through a take-it-or-leave-it set of demands.
Stressing that it is no longer possible to look at domestic security policy and foreign policy separately from each other, the report called for a balanced approach to Britain's closest international relationships, a recognition of the seriousness of the threat to our security and the need for a new approach to meet it, a Partnership for Open Societies in the Middle East, the establishment of a UK National Security Council, and the appointment of a Cabinet-level Security Minister dedicated to protecting Britain from terrorism.
The report said another step for repairing foreign policy should be to recognise, at the heart of the Government, the fundamental connections between events at home and abroad so that foreign policy, defence policy and security policy are formulated together rather than apart.
"What is needed is a mechanism within which those responsible for action across Government - the Foreign and Home Offices, DfID, the Ministry of Defence, the Intelligence Agencies and the Cabinet Office - supported by a dedicated cross-departmental staff - can ensure that, from the start, policy adopted in any of these areas is coherent in the sense that it takes fully into account the likely consequences at home and abroad."
