CIPR offers support to Prime Minister’s proposed National Centre for Information Defence
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has written to the Prime Minister to offer the expertise and national network of the public relations profession to support the success of the proposed National Centre for Information Defence.
The letter, published below, welcomes the government’s plan to establish the Centre, announced by the Prime Minister at the United Nations General Assembly in September, as an important step towards strengthening the UK’s resilience to disinformation and hostile information operations. It highlights the vital role of effective communication in protecting public trust, improving understanding of how disinformation spreads, and strengthening the resilience of democratic institutions.
With more than 11,000 members across the UK and a network of national, regional, and special interest groups the CIPR has offered to support the Centre’s launch and ensure its aims are understood by communications professionals across different sectors.
The letter also emphasises the shared interest of government and the public relations profession in tackling disinformation, which undermines public trust, distorts debate, and makes it harder for organisations to communicate accurately and constructively.
Disinformation is a threat not only to public trust and democratic resilience, but also to the ability of organisations to communicate effectively with the people they serve. The public relations profession has an important role to play in addressing this challenge. Our members understand how information travels, how public trust is built and lost, and how organisations can communicate transparently and responsibly in an increasingly complex information environment.
The CIPR has both the expertise and the national network to help support the National Centre for Information Defence. We want to work with the government to ensure that the PR profession can play an active role in strengthening the UK’s resilience to disinformation.
CIPR letter to the Prime Minister
Dear Prime Minister,
Re: The proposed National Centre for Information Defence
We are writing to welcome your plan to establish a National Centre for Information Defence. We believe this is an important step towards strengthening the UK’s resilience to disinformation and hostile information operations and protecting public confidence in our democratic institutions. A coordinated national response will be essential to identifying and countering hostile information operations while improving public understanding of how disinformation spreads and the tactics used to manipulate public opinion. We see the proposed Centre as a vital part of the infrastructure needed to safeguard public trust and democratic resilience.
We believe that the success of the National Centre will depend on its ability to identify and respond to threats and on its capacity to engage the public, build understanding, and strengthen trust. Effective communication will be central to achieving these objectives and the expertise of the public relations profession should be part of that conversation.
With more than 11,000 members across the UK and a network of national and regional groups, The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) can offer a well-tested infrastructure to support the launch of the new Centre, ensuring that professionals working in different sectors understand its aims and can contribute to its advancement. Many of our members have expertise in dealing with disinformation and will be able to make an active contribution to the dissemination of the new Centre's programme.
The CIPR represents a profession that relies on public trust to communicate effectively, build understanding, and lead engagement between organisations and the people they serve. Disinformation undermines this work, eroding trust in institutions, distracting from important public debate, and making it harder for organisations to communicate accurately and constructively.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your officials to discuss how the CIPR and our members can support the development of the National Centre and contribute to its success. We believe that closer collaboration between government and the profession would help ensure that the UK’s response to disinformation is effective, transparent, and trusted.
Yours sincerely,
Alastair McCapra
About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners with over 11,000 members.
The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).