These rooms are used for committees which co-ordinate the actions of government bodies in response to national or regional crises, or during overseas events with major implications for the UK.

The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms are a group of meeting rooms in the Cabinet Office at 70 Whitehall in London, often used for different committees which co-ordinate the actions of bodies within the Government of the United Kingdom in response to instances of national or regional crisis, or during events abroad with major implications for the UK.

[3] A single photo of one of the rooms in COBR was released in 2010 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

[7][8] Other events that have led to meetings being convened include the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege, the 11 September 2001 attacks, the July 2015 presence of migrants in and around Calais,[9] and the COVID-19 pandemic.

[citation needed] In 2009, former senior police officer Andy Hayman, who sat on a committee after the 7 July 2005 London bombings and at other intervals from 2005 to 2007, was highly critical of its workings in his book The Terrorist Hunters.