In his address to the delegates at the recent Security and Policing conference in London, The Rt Hon Liam Fox MP, International Trade Secretary said that the UK’s security industry is one of the strongest and most innovative in the world. “This sector plays a vital role in the UK’s prosperity: totalling some £4.8 billion of our exports – and it continues to grow.”
Mr Fox commented that the UK are experts in a wide-range of areas, including scanning, trace detection and anti-theft systems. “We are one of the top three nations for cyber-security solutions globally. And we are renowned the world over for our expertise in securing public spaces, building on our experiences at London 2012 and elsewhere. “The statistics are clear.” He continued. “The United Kingdom is the world’s second-largest defence exporter; the third-largest aerospace exporter and a producer of 40% of the world’s small satellites.”
He explained that his department continues to support companies overseas and said that this year alone, the department has supported over 140 export wins. “For example, we have recently helped a Lincolnshire based security systems innovator, Concept Smoke Screen, to secure a £17.5 million contract to export anti-theft fogging systems to Brazil’s banking sector. Or there is Herefordshire based Silent Sentinel, who have recently sold £2.5 million of surveillance equipment into Poland.” And in terms of cyber security he said that Garrison have recently secured major deals in Germany and the United States.
Mr Fox said that at the moment people might think of the International Trade Department as a ‘Brexit department’, but, he said that about 90% of the staff work on trade and investment promotion. And around 130 of those are in the Defence and Security Organisation, the largest sector team by a wide margin, alongside a separate team for civil aerospace.
“We recently launched our first ever space exports campaign. And we are making renewed efforts to focus on our cyber security sector, which is driving much of the growth in our exports. Last April we launched a specific Cyber Security Export Strategy, based on the benefits of trade prosperity and our own national security.” He also explained that his department has been developing a revised Security Exports Strategy, which he hopes will be published soon. “It will set out our ambitions to support the industry, working in partnership with other departments, the Government’s innovation programmes and trade associations to provide greater levels of support to ensure that the UK’s exports in this important sector continue to grow.”
