Following the widespread media coverage of our recent report on the hostile use of civilian drones by non-state actors, our findings are beginning to spur political debate.

On 13 January, Paul Flynn MP wrote to the Department of Energy and Climate Change to ask it to review security at nuclear power stations in light of our report, Hostile drones.

On the 19 January, the House of Lords debated the issues raised in our report. Lord Naseby called our report ‘chilling reading’ and the government whip Viscount Younger of Leckie said of our report ‘It is informative and generally well written, and chimes very much with the work being undertaken by the cross-government working group.’

On 20 January, the shadow transport minister, Richard Burden MP, wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport asking him to assess the implications of our report and make a statement. The parliamentary under-secretary at the Department of Transport, Robert Goodwill MP, responded and confirmed that our findings aligned well with the work of the cross-departmental working group that is examining the security threats posed by drones.

The Lords debate was reported on by The Sun, and our report continues to be covered widely by the tech and defence industry press in particular. An interview with the report’s lead author, our executive director, Chris Abbott, was broadcast on the BBC World Service on 2 February. This is in addition to earlier coverage by the Guardian, Daily Mail, RT, Express and BBC.