Head of the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre Lindy Cameron has been appointed British High Commissioner to India, the U.K. government announced on April 11. Ms. Cameron, who is a West Asia, North Africa and Afghanistan hand replaces Alex Ellis, who just completed three years in New Delhi, and is expected to take up her new role this month.
Prior to her role as the U.K.’s cyber security chief, Ms. Cameron was the Director General of the U.K.’s Northern Ireland Office. She has also held director-level roles overseeing operations of the Department for International Development’s in West Asia, North Africa, as well as the department’s conflict and security divisions. Ms. Cameron also worked in Helmand, Afghanistan, in 2009-10, leading a provincial reconstruction team, as per her official résumé. Her current office , which oversees the U.K.’s cyber security environment, is a subsidiary of GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters), the British government’s intelligence centre.
Ms. Cameron’s appointment in New Delhi — the first woman to hold the post — comes on the eve of the general elections in India and months ahead of a general election in the U.K.
Her portfolio will involve the free trade agreement negotiations between India and the U.K. The 14th round of trade talks , which began in 2022, was suspended last month due to the Indian elections. Negotiations are expected to resume after the elections and potentially before the U.K. goes to the polls.
Ms. Cameron’s new role begins as New Delhi and London are resetting their bilateral relationship, which was marked, in part, by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to London in November 2023. The U.K. is also increasing its defence presence in the Indo-Pacific. The U.K. Ministry of Defence announced on Wednesday that it would hold regular joint exercises with Japan and the U.S. starting next year. Talks for cooperation between Tokyo and AUKUS (the Australia, U.K and U.S. security alliance) were also recently announced. The Royal Navy’s Littoral Response Group is expected to visit the Indian Ocean Region this year and the Carrier Strike Group, in 2025.
