Secrets of UK’s Deals With Private Companies to Implement Its Strategies in Crisis Zones

The actual presence of the British military forces declined in many conflict areas around the world, to be replaced by a soft presence managed by private companies implementing British policies.

Under the supervision of the National Security Council (NSC), the UK Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), the UK ensures the implementation of strategic goals in crisis zones through partnerships in the security, military training, communication, and technology fields.

The CSSF provides funds for projects in crisis areas and impacts operations, with an annual allocation of £1.3 billion (€1.55 billion), the council contacts companies involved in security, military training and online influence.

In March, the CSSF will begin sending out surveys for the new contractor selection round, which are due to be completed by the end of the year, under the direction of the Deputy National Security Adviser David Quarrey, former head of Africa and Middle East division at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development (FCDO) department.

 

Security Influence

Intelligence Online’s 23rd report issued on February 17, 2022, revealed that the CSSF is already funding many private contractors. Between 2019 and 2022, contracts have been primarily financed with security training specialists such as Adam Smith who is currently training the Iraqi Peshmerga, Axiom International, which has acquired its competitor Torchlight Group in September, Crown Agents, which trains the Iraqi military, and Siren Associates, which provides support to Lebanese and Jordanian security forces.

In Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, conflict and instability persist in contested border regions as local tensions interact with regional and global dynamics.

European Center for Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Studies emphasized that the United Kingdom has begun a new phase to define its relationship with the European Union and the countries of the Middle East for the Post-Brexit era.

The center stressed that: “Under the slogan 'Global Britain,' Britain wants to change its strategy and revitalize its partnership with the rest of the Middle East countries."

 

Military Training

Intelligence online report found that the CSSF provides funding for Minerva Advisory Group, a subsidiary of former Control Risks Group managed by Nick Clissitt. It collaborates as well as with Pinpoint Consulting Services and its owner New Century Consulting, headed by Tim Collins and Michael Grunberg.

The group recently trained Afghan police to defeat Taliban spies. This is in addition to Arquebus, which is headed by Keith Bristow, a former National Crime Agency executive, who is also vice president of business intelligence firm Arcanum Global Intelligence.

The CSSF also provides work for armed security and risk management experts, who are regularly employed to provide protection in British diplomatic posts in 'complex' environments. These include G4S - although it plans to retire in war zones- Aegis Defense Services, now owned by GardaWorld of Canada, and The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG).

In addition to military training, UK armed forces intervene directly in several conflict zones. The Statista research center issued statistics about the number of combat deaths for the UK armed forces between 1945 and 2021.

The study stated: “The UK armed forces are involved in several ongoing military conflicts, and the deadliest of these is the War in Afghanistan, which is responsible for 457 British fatalities.”

The center pointed out that the UK is still involved in its war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but different from the Iraq War that took place between 2003 and 2011, the conflict is fought primarily by the air force.  

 

Cyber Power

Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center issued in 2020 a National Cyber Power Index, placing Britain as the world’s third-ranked cyber power, behind only the United States and China.

The UK government official website pointed out the necessity of working with partners towards cyberspace that reflects the British national values or using the full extent of its cyber capability to influence global events. Emphasizing that the UK considers cybersecurity as a way to protect and promote its interests in a world that is increasingly reshaped by technology.

In March 2021, the UK’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development, and Foreign Policy highlighted that the UK is aiming to be a “responsible and democratic cyber power.” The Integrated Review offered five primary policy directions to reach this goal: influence, technological edge, a whole-of-nation cyber ecosystem, offensive cyber, and diplomacy.

Danny Steed, a Former Lecturer in Strategy and Defence at the University of Exeter, now specializing in cyber security for the British Government explained the crucial importance of cybersecurity in the British integrated review by saying: “There is a recognition that remaining a defender of the status quo is no longer sufficient to protect British interests, and that measures to “shape the international order of the future are needed.”

He added: “In this vein, Britain will cement its status by being a central normative influencer in cyberspace, seeking to promote a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace.”

Intelligence online report revealed that The CSSF also funds British influence operations and supports new development plans fitting its agenda in the Indo-Pacific region. Its biggest program in this category - with a budget of £60.4m over the past four years according to media agency Declassified UK - is the fight against disinformation and media development, which aims to counter Russian influence in the Baltic states and Ukraine. By funding the media and training journalists, and by strengthening the state's ability to combat disinformation, particularly in Kyiv.

The CSSF also provides funding for the anti-ISIS communications cell. Among the UK's leading contractors in these zones are Innovation and Insight FZE and InCoStrat. Both are headed by Paul Tilly, the former UK Ministry of Defense's head of communications in the Middle East.

Tilly has already been involved in British influence operations in the region, particularly in Syria and is currently responsible for the strategic communication of the British component of the global coalition against ISIS.

Innovation is currently hiring a Disinformation Campaign Leader whose work will be split between London and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.