Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Spy chief: May is not a natural on world stage
Ex MI6 boss says Britain ‘adrift’ after Brexit vote
THERESA May is not a “natural” at dealing with world leaders, one of our former spy chiefs warns.
Sir John Sawers, who led MI6 from 2009 to 2014, also suggested the UK is now badly “distracted” by Brexit.
He said: “I don’t think since 2010 we’ve really had a big influence in global affairs. One thing I don’t think we can accept is Britain adrift – a Britain without a major strategic anchor in the Western world.
“Right now, we have ended up turning our back on Europe and not having a real welcome mat laid out for us in Washington.”
And of the PM, he added: “I don’t think she’s a natural at engaging on these big issues with foreign leaders.”
Sir John, 62, talking to Prospect magazine, spoke of how we have become “less confident” and “less outward-looking” in recent years. He added: “And now, of course, we are saddled with the Brexit negotiation. We are distracted as a nation by the requirements of Brexit.”
Former Foreign Office minister Lord Mark Malloch Brown, of antibrexit group Best for Britain, said: “When a former head of MI6 breaks ranks like this it shows the level of conflict and disruption in Whitehall.”
But a No 10 source dismissed Sir John’s criticism of Mrs May, saying: “Look at the engagements the PM has carried out in the past few months – leading work on modern slavery at the UN, getting assurances on future trade in Japan, taking a business delegation to China and securing sufficient progress in EU talks in December.”
FORMER spy chief Sir John Sawers has delivered a brutal verdict on Theresa May.
The Prime Minister is not a natural at dealing with world leaders, he says.
If Mrs May is to make a success of Brexit, she needs to come out of the cold and start showing some diplomatic warmth.