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On Fri. Jan. 20, HM The King visited GCHQ’s NW base, where he met with teams from the organisation, including graduates from GCHQ’s apprenticeship scheme & Director GCHQ, Sir Jeremy Fleming.
As Prince of Wales, HM was the patron of the UK intelligence services & received several briefings from GCHQ’s teams, & as the King does receive intelligence reports.
Primary School Lesson
His Majesty was also the guest for a local primary school class who were invited to take part in a special lesson at GCHQ’s Manchester. The Co-Op Academy New Islington’s lesson was part of GCHQ’s work to inspire the next generation of codebreakers, engineers, mathematicians from the North West.
Heron House, which opened 2019, is the home to GCHQ’s newest offices in Albert Square in Central Manchester, contributing to a thriving technology hub.
Cutting-Edge Technology
The hi-tech premises sees the agency using ‘cutting-edge technology’ & technical ingenuity to identify & disrupt threats to the UK, while letting the agency use abilities from both companies & individuals in one of the most vibrant UK cities.
These offices provide public space designed for welcoming local technology start-ups & innovators to collaborate with the agency on some of the biggest tech challenges.
Collaborative Space
This collaborative working space has seen industry, academia & local communities from the area invited in to work alongside GCHQ staff. This adds to a series of collaborative schemes with tech start-ups & universities run from GCHQ’s Manchester office including its Research Fellowship Programme for National Resilience & the Security & Trust Partnership.
The agency’s NW hub expects to continue to grow with the National Cyber Force (NCF)’s new HQ to be located in Samlesbury, Lancashire, confirming this region’s position as a UK cyber centre.
MoD & GCHQ Partnership
This joint MoD & GCHQ partnership is helping keep the UK safe through offensive cyber operations, & will help grow technology, digital & defence sectors across the entire NW.
The UK NCF brings together people from intelligence, cyber & security agency GCHQ, the MoD, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) & the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL), under a single unified command for the very 1st time.
