Upsum

COBRA - referred to as COBR by the UK government - is an acronym that comes from Cabinet Office Briefing Room.

COBRA meetings are crisis response committee meetings held in one of the Cabinet Office buildings in Whitehall, London.

They are usually led by the Prime Minister and can include other ministers, senior police officers, representatives from Association of Chief Police Officers and the Local Government Association. There is no fixed list of members, who is included depends on the reason for the meeting being called.

Meetings are held in response to major domestic and international incidents, including acts of terrorism, major strikes, floods and other natural disasters.