At a roundtable on corporate security and intelligence gathering, former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens encouraged companies to show greater responsibility in responding to future threats.
The November 29 event at the IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies) was by Quest Ltd, the corporate security and investigative company. More than 30 representatives of commercial organisations attended, with global interests plus security and risk specialists, the firm reports. Among issues was how risks have affected corporate operations and how companies are responding to them. In the light of Home Secretary John Reid’s recent statement that ‘Security cannot be outsourced by governments, but networks of public and private organisations have a joint role in guaranteeing local, national and international security’, attention was given to how companies assess the nature of corporate threats while encouraging them to consider their responsibility when responding to future threats. The roundtable was moderated by Jane Corbin, author and terrorism specialist for the BBC1 Panorama programme and chaired by Lord Stevens, chairman of Quest.
What they say
Opening the symposium, Lord Stevens said: “Today’s terror threats are very real and go beyond the physical ones which fall under the responsibility of the State. This brings to businesses a very real threat which will impact the way we conduct our daily lives. I believe that in the near future this whole area will be a Board level matter and that directors will be held to account. Companies and their boards as well as their security advisers must take initiatives to complement the state to enhance their security while ensuring that through these procedures and planning everything is done to protect their staff and customers.”
