We were delighted to welcome Professor Sir Hew Strachan who has been Wardlaw Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews since 2015. In his analysis of the Integrated Review, Sir Hew touched upon three principal documents: the Integrated Operating Concept, Global Britain in a Competitive Age and Defence in a Competitive Age. Sir Hew also highlighted three key government decisions that were made in advance to the publication of the Integrated Review that are key to the evaluation of Britain’s national security strategy: the creation of The National Cyber Force, the decision to incorporate DFID within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the commitment to an extra 24 billion in the defence budget over the next four years. The national security strategy must also address the implications of the pandemic as well as capitalise on societal resilience expressed at community level that the pandemic has generated. While the Integrated Review has many positive aspects such as its clear statements defining both strategy and the UK’s two principal competitors, China and Russia, its considerations must be better prioritised in Britain’s overall national security strategy.