Our People is a regular feature focusing on staff at the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the work we do every day to help keep the nuclear industry safe and secure.
Today, we meet Gareth Allsopp, a security inspector who works in our STAR (Sabotage, Target Analysis and Review) team, which brings together expertise in security, engineering and radiological risk to assess how nuclear sites could be protected against sabotage. Gareth joined ONR in 2017 following a career at the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), where he led the assessment of counter-terrorism threats to South East Asia and Western Europe before taking up a technical role in the CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) sector.
Gareth was interested in a move into nuclear regulation by the growth within the industry and the breadth of development opportunities on offer.
His first role in ONR was as a security threat inspector, where he stayed in JTAC on secondment to develop the UK Design Basis Threat for the UK’s nuclear industry, and produce threat assessments across international nuclear industry and general critical national infrastructure.
After working on Generic Design Assessments and on nuclear new build, he joined ONR’s STAR team, becoming the team’s Sellafield lead.
STAR is in charge of identifying vital areas and categorising security materials, following the guidelines in our Security Assessment Principles. This ensures that dutyholders identify structures, systems and components, nuclear materials and activities that, if attacked, will cause unacceptable radiological consequences.
This work is fundamental to our regulatory graded approach, ensuring that physical protection systems are tailored to the specific risk level of each vital area.
Sitting at the interface of nuclear safety and security, the STAR team draws on expertise spanning security, threat, engineering, hazards, fault studies and radiological consequences, making them the go-to technical specialists across ONR’s regulatory directorates.
As acting Technical Lead, Gareth now combines his regulatory activities with strategic management. As a STAR inspector, his work centres on assessing vital area submissions, scrutinising dutyholder evidence, reviewing academic research, and inspecting nuclear sites.
Alongside his professional qualifications, Gareth has completed an ONR-sponsored MSc in Forensic Explosives and Explosion Investigation and is also currently upskilling in radiological consequences to add resilience to the STAR function.
Gareth's proudest professional achievements include his acting Technical Lead appointment, becoming a Chartered Security Professional in 2021, and leading JTAC’s response to threats in Europe from the so-called Islamic State, culminating in him briefing Teresa May, the then-Home Secretary at a COBR (the government’s top tier crisis response committee) meeting in 2016.
Gareth said:
"I'm proud to work in such a capable, diverse and tight-knit team of specialists. We're well-integrated and doing vital work to support nuclear security and other regulatory purposes.
“Building trusted relationships with dutyholders, and having the ability to listen to and respect alternative views makes the role rewarding. I also value the autonomy and trust that ONR places in me."
Outside of work, Gareth likes to tackle building projects and DIY. He’s interested in health and fitness, enjoys spending time with his children and dog, and has recently taken up beekeeping.