UK creates new anti-terror post

The UK is to get an anti-terror chief following plans for a boosted home security force

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British government has appointed a military civil servant to a new post that will oversee intelligence on possible terror attacks.

The appointment of Sir David Omand as Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator and Permanent Secretary follows the announcement earlier this month of a government plan to create a 6,000-strong anti-terror reservist force. (Full story)

Omand, who has experience of helping military coordination during the Falklands war and NATO operations, will help manage security and intelligence in the UK.

The U.S. appointed its own homeland security adviser, Tom Ridge after the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

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Ridge is being touted as the possible head of a new office that will oversee the transition and planning for the new 170,000-strong Cabinet-level agency, the Department of Homeland Security, announced by President George W. Bush at the beginning of the month.

The British government's Web site on Friday said: "This new permanent secretary post is being created to enhance the capacity at the centre of government to coordinate security, intelligence and consequence management matters and to deal with risks and major emergencies should they arise."

The site goes on to say that Omand is one of Whitehall's "most experienced senior officials" in these areas, having held senior civil service jobs in the Home Office, GCHQ (the government's communications headquarters), and the Ministry of Defence.

The Cambridge graduate and father of two, has spent time designing and implementing a new management strategy for defence in the UK.

The 54-year-old Scot has also worked for the Diplomatic Service as the defence counsellor to the UK delegation for NATO.

He will assume some of the jobs of the Cabinet Secretary such as providing advice on intelligence collection requirements, expenditure and coordination.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and his ministers rejected calls for the UK to set up an equivalent of the United States' new department of Homeland Security.