Speed kills

Why did Government only hold ‘COBRA’ today? What's the point of a COBR meeting? How do they differ from a regular ministerial meeting? And why do officials sometimes not want to hold one in a crisis?

In the face of the worst rioting for a decade, and appalling displays of religious hatred, the Government’s response has appeared slow. As one former Coalition minister, involved in the response to the 2011 riots, put it to me – in a crisis, you always need to respond faster and more forcefully than you think. It seems the Government has not yet learned…