Speeding up delivery of the biosecurity strategy is key to protecting the UK and its allies from increasingly hostile nations such as Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The recent decisions taken by President Trump’s administration – such as the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and its pathogen-sample-sharing networks – risks leaving a gap in international cooperation on biosecurity the UK should step in to fill.
TBI’s new paper sets out recommendations for how the UK government needs to refocus Whitehall structures and accelerate the delivery of its Biological Security Strategy in order to mitigate growing biosecurity risks and seize opportunities for economic growth.
The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) has today published a new report which argues that biosecurity is an essential aspect of national security, particularly in this new age of profound geopolitical uncertainty.
The report, ‘Biosecurity as the Foundation for Growth and Global Leadership’, argues the need for the UK to strengthen its defences against increasingly hostile nations who may wish to attack the UK and its allies with the use of biological weapons.
In their foreword to the report, Tony Blair and Lord Hague say:
“In this new age of profound geopolitical uncertainty, we need to take steps to protect the UK from the threat of engineered attacks from potentially hostile states. Russia, Iran and North Korea all have either a proven or alleged interest in biological weapons and could feasibly use biology as the new warfare.
“Harnessing such innovations here in the UK to protect ourselves, our allies, and the wider international community from biological threats must become a central aspect of our country’s efforts on science and technology.”
As an example, the report warns that the UK and Europe should prepare for the possibility that President Putin could deploy biological weapons in Ukraine, even in the event that a peace deal is agreed. Therefore, as part of any post-war security guarantee, the UK and NATO should ensure that Kyiv has the appropriate rapid-remediation capabilities required to respond to and deter such attacks.
TBI set out a number of key recommendations in the paper on how the UK should strengthen deterrence against biological weapons, including:
Setting up a new DIANA challenge and expanding NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) funding for biosecurity, with an initial focus on attribution capabilities, to invest in the development and scaling of emerging microbial forensic techniques.
Working with Western allies to agree a broad outline of coordinated measures to respond to different bioweapon release scenarios, to form the basis of an “Article 5 for Biosecurity” deterrent.
Exploring the use of sanctions against individuals and companies linked to international biological weapons programmes and reckless biological research, potentially through bespoke secondary legislation linked to the 2018 Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Considering strategic disclosure of biological defences as part of intelligence operations.
The report highlights that alongside the increased likelihood of engineered threats, the root causes of the emergence of natural pandemic-capable pathogens – deforestation, population growth, global travel, wildlife consumption and growing livestock numbers – are all increasing, raising the prospect of more regular and severe pandemics.
The paper also argues that strengthening biosecurity presents a major economic opportunity. Emerging technologies like metagenomic sequencing and gene-editing, essential for protecting against biological threats, have high growth potential. A strong biosecurity strategy can drive expansion in biotech, life sciences, and AI diagnostics—some of the fastest-growing sectors.
Benedict Macon-Cooney, Chief Policy Strategist at TBI, said:
“The UK must speed up delivery of the biosecurity strategy to bolster our national security and capture the opportunity for economic growth, a key mission for this government.
“The UK has the talent and the technology. What it is missing is the focus and the execution. The countries that get biosecurity right will shape the industries of the future – the UK needs to be one of them.”
ENDS
Notes
DIANA is the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, an organisation established by NATO to find and accelerate dual-use innovation capacity across the Alliance. DIANA provides companies with the resources, networks and guidance to develop deep technologies to solve critical defence and security challenges, from operating in denied environments to tackling threats to our collective resilience.
The NATO Innovation Fund is a standalone venture capital fund, backed by 24 NATO Allies, that invests in cutting-edge science and engineering startups to strengthen the defence, security and resilience of our nations. Working in partnership with our portfolio companies, other venture funds, and Allied governments, the NIF accelerates deep tech adoption across countries and transforms how nations and businesses work together to face emerging challenges.