Within the last two weeks the Government has published the long-awaited Integrated Review, entitled ‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age’ and the associated Defence Command Paper,  ‘Defence in a Competitive Age’. They both set out the ambition for the UK’s long-term role in the world and the hard and soft power capabilities that will underpin Global Britain. They are significant as the first major post-Brexit and Covid-19 UK policy announcements. In comparison to the equivalent reviews in 2010 and 2015, they are action-orientated, and both challenge themselves to be judged on implementation of commitments rather than the ‘sophistication of all their words’.

In this report, The D Group provides an assessment of the detail through a National Security lens, together with an overview of the implementation challenges that lie ahead as the UK embarks on a complex transformation through the 2020s. To realise the true ambition, an equally bold approach to implementation will be required across the coming decade.

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