Hunt for masked robbers
get a much clearer picture of what the problem is, instead of just trying to arrest the worst culprits, trying to stop young people becoming victims in the first place and trying to stop potential perpetrators following that path.
“So we need a lot of help in that so this is a great place to start.”
The big attraction in Manchester was the talent pool and its ‘eco-system’ of tech companies, he says, as well as the diversity of its communities. GCHQ will be looking not only to recruit science, engineering, maths and technology graduates but school leavers, he says, ‘away from our traditional sources of the normal universities that you would expect’ - going out to schools and colleges to talk to kids across all ten boroughs.
If that level of openness seems a far cry from the typically romanticised image of John Le Carre novels and Cold War spy films, he admits the secrecy does remain for those who come and work for them.
Working for the service comes with its own rewards, however.
“Let’s be honest, you’re not going to be a millionaire, but you have a sense of mission and a sense of purpose and a joy of coming to work, because quite often what you’re working on in is reflected in the news at the end of the day.
“You can’t tell anybody though. That’s the other thing. It’s exciting and interesting and motivating but you can’t go home and talk about it.” What can you tell?
“I think there are some rules and we’re probably the least prescriptive of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. And for someone like me who’s been in the department for 32 years, it would be ridiculous for me to pretend I work for anyone else with family and friends. For newer recruits, they might want to be a bit more circumspect about it.
The new office is due to open later this year, so curious students may well be hearing from the listening post soon.
In the meantime, the spooks are here to stay, he says. “We’re here for the long term and it’s very much still a top secret intelligence agency still, working on those threats I talked about. It’s not an HR function or anything like that. It’s not back office. It’s a proper intelligence site in the heart of a city.”
MASKED men carrying weapons smashed their way into a post office.
Two men - one wielding a machete and the other an extended baton targeted Golborne Post Office, in Heath Street, Wigan, at 5.30pm on Friday, October 4.
The pair demanded staff hand over cash.
But after leaving empty-handed, the two men fled the scene in a silver Vauxhall Meriva, later found nearby. No one was injured. Police have now asked anyone who has information to 0161 856 1828 quoting incident number 2328 of 04/10/19.