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Cabinet Office Briefing Room A




COBR is situated in an undisclosed part of , senior Ministers and key government officials to obtain vital information about an incident and secure lines of communication to the police and other emergency services, army, hospitals, and all relevant branches of government. The chairmanship of COBR meetings depends on the nature of the incident or crisis.

COBR has been opened for crises such as the Kosovo War of 1999 , the Fuel Protests of September 2000 , and the 2001 UK Foot And Mouth Crisis .

After the September 11, 2001 Attacks the Prime Minister Tony Blair set up a War Cabinet which is a much more traditional institution for dealing with possible major attacks upon the United Kingdom itself in "wartime". However, COBR was opened under its jurisdiction.

COBR was opened for the 7 July 2005 London Bombings , to coordinate the emergency response, with the Prime Minister flying directly from the G8 Summit to chair a COBR meeting. It was also opened for the 21 July 2005 London Bombings .

COBR also met on April 6 , 2006 in relation to the finding of the H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza in Fife .


COBR IN FICTION


COBR appears (as "COBRA") in Anthony Horowitz 's young adult book series Alex Rider , in the fifth book ''Scorpia''.


SEE ALSO




EXTERNAL LINKS

  • http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,11032,816220,00.html

  • 10 Downing Street [http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page7859.asp Press Briefing following terrorist attacks in London]