Prime Minister Theresa May, Security Minister Ben Wallace and senior figures from UK government, law enforcement and the emergency services met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to share expertise and experience of hosting major events.
Mr Wallace chaired a UK-Japan roundtable discussion today (10 January) with Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister Abe to highlight how we mitigate our most serious security threats and to share our experiences of successfully hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major events.
The roundtable formed part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to London to meet Prime Minister May and came as Japan prepares to host the Rugby World Cup this year, followed by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.
UK experts from across government and the emergency services, including Chief Executive of the National Cyber Security Centre Ciaran Martin and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, attended the meeting at Twickenham and highlighted their views on overseeing safety and security at major events, as well as keeping the country safe.
Security Minister Ben Wallace said:
The UK and Japan collaborate regularly on a number of different areas and security is undoubtedly one of the most important.
Today's roundtable discussion was another demonstration of the strong spirit of co-operation that exists between our 2 countries.
I hope that by sharing our experiences of hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have in some way aided Prime Minister Abe and his team as they put the finishing touches on what I'm sure will be a series of outstanding sporting events.
The UK will continue to collaborate with Japan as they finalise preparations for this year's Rugby World Cup and next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The roundtable included:
- UK Prime Minister, Theresa May
- Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe
- Security Minister, Ben Wallace
- National Cyber Security Centre Chief Executive, Ciaran Martin
- Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner, Cressida Dick
- London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner, Graham Ellis
- London Ambulance Service Head of Resilience and Special Operations, Tracy Porter
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Director for the Commonwealth Games, Paul Oldfield
