Cabinet Office Briefing Room

Despite its rather dramatic name, COBRA simply stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. COBRA is convened in response to significant threats that cross departmental borders within government. It is chaired by a senior minister and includes representatives of MB, the police, the civil contingencies secretariat and relevant ministers. COBRA was convened following September 11th, 2001, and other major terrorist incidents, but its remit also extends to such events as the firemen s strike and the fuel strikes of 2000. The COBRA... 

Cabinet Office Briefing Room A - Coordination of government agenoies in response to an inoident. Fig. 5.4 Basic UK command and control structure. 

The Home Office is the lead agency in the event of terrorist incidents in the UK, including nuclear incidents. Any serious incident would be coordinated by the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBRA), usually chaired by the Home Secretary, with the Civil Contingencies Secretariat. 

---