London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 05, 2026

Boris building £9,000,000 'situation room' for national emergencies

Boris building £9,000,000 'situation room' for national emergencies

Boris Johnson is building a White House-style situation room beneath Whitehall for national emergencies, such as terrorist attacks, it has been reported.

The Situation Centre, also dubbed the ‘SitCen’, will cost more than £9 million to build, and will allow for the PM to meet with senior ministers and officials in the event of a crisis.

It is expected to open this summer, and will have a direct connection to Downing Street through a series of subterranean tunnels. The layout is likely to be similar to White House Situation Room used by US presidents.

Staff from the National Security Secretariat will watch over the room and use data analysis for ‘horizon scanning’ in a bid to identify threats, it was reported.

A source said the room would be filled with hi-tech gadgets such as heat maps, geostationary visualisations and interactive dashboards.

They told The Sunday Times: ‘At key moments we still get analogue government with no maps and PowerPoint presentations.

The Prime Minister is set to unveil his review of defence, security and foreign policy on March 16


‘Coronavirus has shown that we need this. It will support a greater speed of decision-making.’

Another source said: ‘The time taken to collate data, brief ministers, understand situations and act on them will be reduced from weeks to minutes.’

A senior official told the Mirror the bunker was ‘just a room with some TV screens and a big table’, but also emphasised that it was ‘f**king cool, though’.

The focus on the bunker-type room comes as part of the Government’s first post-Brexit review of defence, security and foreign policy, which is due to be unveiled on March 16.

Presidents use a Situation Room for national emergencies in the United States


The document, known as the ‘integrated review’, was previously described by Johnson as the ‘biggest review of our foreign, defence, security and development policy since the end of the Cold War’.

It will then be followed by defence-specific papers setting out plans for the modernisation of Britain’s armed forces on March 22.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
BT Accused of Pressuring Vulnerable Customers During Digital Landline Shift
British Carmakers Warn of Growing Pressure From EU-China Tariff Dispute
Green Party of England and Wales Adopts Motion Defining Zionism as Racism
Medical Charity Threatens NHS Legal Action Over Two-Year Autism and ADHD Assessment Waits
British Transport Police Report Record Rise in Violence on Railways
Glasgow Council Workers Face Pay Cuts Under Fire-and-Rehire Plan
British Medical Groups Press Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Cancel £330 Million Palantir NHS Contract
UK Faces Record Bluetongue Outbreak Across Livestock Farms
UK Schools Report Thousands of Child-on-Child Sexual Offences
High Court Overturns Ban Blocking Gaza Families From Reuniting With Relatives in UK
G7 Authorizes Emergency Fuel Release as UK Diesel Prices Hit £2 a Litre
France and Italy Draw 1-1 in Nations League Match
Pope Leo XIV and Prince Albert II of Monaco Meet in Metz
SNCF Expands Low-Cost Ouigo High-Speed Service Between Lyon and Bordeaux
Paris Expands Dedicated Cargo Bike Routes for Urban Deliveries
French Film Industry Pushes for Tighter Streaming Investment Rules
Marseille Court Hands Down Prison Terms in Public Procurement Corruption Case
LVMH and Kering Rely on US Demand as Chinese Luxury Spending Slows
Toulouse Aerospace Sector Launches €80 Million Modernization Fund
Javier Milei Courts French Investment in LNG and Lithium
Mistral AI Launches Sovereign Model for European Public Services
French Competition Authority Fines Retailers €40 Million Over Misleading Promotions
France Records Exceptional Electricity Exports as Nuclear Output Recovers
Dassault Aviation Expands Rafale Assembly Capacity at Mérignac
Sanofi Invests €1 Billion in New Biologics Production Hub Near Lyon
France Protests Germany’s Extension of Border Controls Into 2027
French Public-Sector and Transport Unions Threaten National Strike
France Deploys Riot Police After Violence in Lyon Suburbs
French Anti-Terrorism Prosecutors Investigate Radicalized Flydubai Co-Pilot
France’s Defense Budget Surpasses NATO’s 2% of GDP Target
French Government Faces No-Confidence Threat Over Budget
France and G7 Release 100 Million Barrels From Strategic Oil Reserves
France Convenes Emergency Defense Council Over Threats to Commercial Shipping
France and Germany Coordinate Military Response After Russian Strikes on Kyiv Infrastructure
UK Police Release Six Iranian Nationals on Bail After RAF Fairford Security Alert
UK Business Confidence Falls as Energy Costs and Tax Uncertainty Rise
Cornwall Insight Warns UK Energy Bills Could Rise 16% in January
UK Introduces Zero VAT on Household Electricity Bills
UK 30-Year Gilt Yield Hits 6% as Bond Market Pressures Intensify
UK Introduces Stricter Subcontractor Checks and Expanded Trade Union Access
Green Party Proposes Three-Year Emergency Freeze on Private Rent Increases
UK Treasury Committee Seeks Tax Clarification Over Manchester City Investigation
Royal Marines Deploy to Faroe Islands for Northern European Security Exercise
UK Business Confidence Weakens as High Costs Delay Investment
UK GDP Growth Revised Up to 0.5% in Second Quarter
Bank of England Warns of Financial Stability Risks From Autonomous AI
UK Expands Early Prisoner Release Scheme to Ease Overcrowding
UK Records Worst Bluetongue Outbreak on Record Across Livestock Farms
UK Government Faces Shrinking Fiscal Headroom Ahead of October 28 Budget
UK 30-Year Gilt Yield Reaches 6% as Energy Shock Drives Borrowing Costs Higher
×