Paris attacks: David Cameron leading UK response with Cobra meeting

David Cameron will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee Cobra to co-ordinate the UK response to the Paris atrocities.

Cobra – which stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A – is the mechanism used for ministers and officials from across Whitehall to meet in response to major events and emergencies.

In response to a terrorist attack such as the one in Paris, the intelligence and security agencies will usually attend to provide updates on the latest information they have, while senior police officers are also likely to be present.

As well as the officials, senior ministers from relevant departments will attend the meeting in Whitehall.

Not all Cobra meetings are chaired by the Prime Minister, with other members of the Cabinet leading the meetings when appropriate.

But the decision by Mr Cameron to chair this meeting is an indication of the severity of the incident in Paris and will be seen as a sign that he wants to personally lead the Government’s response.