Mr. Lambert retired in December 2007 from the Metropolitan Police Service after 31 years service, 28 years of which were spent in operational counter-terrorism and counter-violent extremism. In January 2002, together with a police colleague he set up the Muslim Contact Unit (MCU), with the purpose of establishing partnerships with Muslim community groups both equipped and located to help tackle the spread of al-Qaida propaganda and recruitment in London. This role has enabled him to participate in some pioneering and successful counter-terrorism community engagement projects. In October 2005, Mr. Lambert embarked on a parallel project, researching key aspects of MCU partnership experience, for a PhD at the Department of Politics, University of Exeter. He is also a member of two related research projects, led by Dr. Jonathan Githens-Mazer (Exeter) and Dr. Basia Spalek (Birmingham) respectively, and a consultant to the ‘Street' Muslim youth outreach project in London.