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Yes, GCHQ is hiring 1,900 staffers. It's not a snap decision

Increase announced days before Paris attacks

Despite the timing of the UK Prime Minister's emissions following the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, increases in intelligence personnel were already in place and had been announced by the Treasury some days before.

After the attacks, David Cameron stated his government would be funding an increase of 1,900 intelligence personnel. While it appeared to some observers as an admirable "response", it was in fact an increase that had already been announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last Monday.

Blighty's three spy agencies will receive an increase in personnel to help them combat "those who would destroy us and our values" according to the PM.

Speaking on his priorities for the Spending Review, George Osborne cited "that Russian airliner in Sinai" last Monday, before confirming "that over the next five years we will substantially increase the number of people across all three secret intelligence agencies who investigate, analyse, and help disrupt terrorist plots".

GCHQ, which employs the bulk of the UK's intelligence personnel, has outsourced its initial recruitment efforts to a company called Penna. The "corporate HR consultancy" has reacted to that influx of government cash by seemingly vandalising the streets of Shoreditch. ®

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