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Paddy McGuinness
Former United Kingdom Deputy National Security Advisor; currently Senior Advisor, Brunswick Group
Paddy McGuinness was the United Kingdom’s Deputy National Security Advisor from 2014-2018. He is currently a Senior Advisor with the Brunswick Group. Paddy led on the implementation of policies and programs designed to build the UK’s domestic resilience to all hazards and threats. He advised two successive Prime Ministers on UK government policy and decision-making on homeland security issues – including national resilience and crisis response, cyber security, counter-terrorism, the UK’s response to action by hostile states, and the coordinated implementation of those decisions. In this role Paddy worked with senior UK officials from across government, senior business figures and foreign partners, to build a coalition of common interests that broadened the UK’s national security capabilities and reach. He chaired COBR, on Homeland Security Issues, and led the development of the 2016 National Cyber Security Strategy. Paddy was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997, and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 2014.
Discussion about how to counter attempts to manipulate and discredit electoral processes has been rather diffuse and breathless - in some cases it has done the hostile actor’s work for them by creating uncertainty. It is vital for the credibility of the electoral system that our approach to elections is transparent and open to interrogation by all. Academia and non-governmental are best placed to create this space.