GCHQ

The Agencies act within the law. All their operations are conducted within a framework of legislation that defines their roles and activities. In summary, their operations must relate to national security, the prevention or detection of serious crime, or the UK's economic well-being. GCHQ's headquarters are in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

We have two much smaller sites in Cornwall and Yorkshire but most of the c5500 staff work at the impressive state of the art building at Benhall in Cheltenham. The building, often referred to locally as the Doughnut, is a dramatic landmark at the entrance to the spa town of Cheltenham. GCHQ has two important missions, Signals Intelligence (known as SIGINT) and Information Assurance (IA), both missions sharing the challenges of modern communications and working together hand in hand.

Our SIGINT work provides vital information to support Government policy-making and operations in the fields of national security, military operations, law enforcement and economic well being. The intelligence we provide is at the heart of the struggle against terrorism and also contributes to the prevention and detection of serious crime. GCHQ also supplies crucial intelligence to the UK armed forces, wherever they may be deployed in the world.