Secretary of Defence Liam Fox warns of great dangers facing UK and Global Infrastructure

For immediate release • Press is invited to come to Secretary Fox’s keynote address in the Grand Committee Room, Westminster Hall at 15:30 • Chairing the event is Rt. Hon. James Arbuthnot MP, Chair of the United Kingdom House of Commons Defence Select Committee • Honorary co-chairs, U.S. Congressman Trent Franks (Republican-AZ) and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (Democrat-NY) • The Summit will bring together elected government officials, senior government representatives and scientists from Europe, the United States, and around the world.

NASA scientists, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission now all predict an unprecedented, century-class solar flare that will destroy unprotected national electric grids, a disaster that could also be caused by a malicious electromagnetic threat. Are the United Kingdom and the world prepared? In today’s world, electricity, water and other vital infrastructures have become complex, interconnected networks that are increasingly vulnerable to potentially hostile states and natural disasters. The first World Summit on Infrastructure Security is co-hosted by the Electric Infrastructure Security Council and the Henry Jackson Society, will bring together world leaders to inaugurate a new international security framework to address these unprecedented threats. Participants will include international experts and energy regulatory officials, discussing recent studies by NASA, the National Academy of Sciences and other agencies that now predict a near-term super solar flare that could permanently destroy a national grid. They will project the impact of this flare – or a hostile act with similar consequences -- on the escalating vulnerability of our critical infrastructures. They will also highlight the window of opportunity we may have to upgrade and protect these infrastructures. They will also discuss the results of new studies, concluding our infrastructures would be burned out by such an event, resulting in a blackout that would leave us without light, food, water or other essentials for the years it would take to rebuild. Government officials from the U.K., the U.S. and Sweden will discuss legislative initiatives now underway that could protect us from this exploitable weakness. Dr. Liam Fox, UK Secretary of State for Defence will deliver a keynote address, open to the press. He will point out that defence and security are not just about what happens overseas, but about protecting our society and our critical infrastructures at home. He will also discuss options to prepare for these threats, and how we can to respond to a natural or hostile attack on a national grid. Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox is expected to say: “As the nature of our technology becomes more complex, so the threat becomes more widespread. “While we all benefit from the products of scientific advances so we also create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by our enemies. “However advanced we become the chain of our security is only as strong as its weakest link.” U.S. Congressional co-chairs, officials from the Executive Office of the U.S. President, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other national and international organisations will discuss the next steps in building a framework for international coordination, with the U.S. now planning to host the next summit meeting in 2011. For media enquires contact Nick Wood of Media Intelligence Partners Ltd on 07889 617003 or Mike Magan on 07531 722559 or email mmagan@media-intelligence-partners.com ENDS Note for editors: The Electric Infrastructure Security Council: Hosts international initiatives to coordinate infrastructure protection against electromagnetic threats, in partnership with government representatives, NGOs and corporations. www.eiscouncil.com The Henry Jackson Society: Project for Democratic Geopolitics is a cross-partisan, British think-tank. Our founders and supporters are united by a common interest in fostering a strong British, European and American commitment towards freedom, liberty, constitutional democracy, human rights, governmental and institutional reform and a robust foreign, security and defence policy and transatlantic alliance. www.henryjacksonsociety.org --------------