MI6 recruiters to bring back tap on shoulder

MI6 recruiters will return to the old practice of “tapping up” potential spies as they seek to widen their pool of talent, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service said.

The spy agency is to make a concerted effort to draw in a new cadre of black and Asian officers, as well as technical experts and linguists, who are not being found by current recruitment.

The agency believes that potentially excellent intelligence officers are being put off by the service’s Oxbridge and James Bond image and are “selecting themselves out” of a career with MI6.

Alex Younger, known as C, said the old practice of headhunting specific people with a “tap on the shoulder”, could be needed to reach those who would not think of applying and to find a wider range of talent.

“I’m quite passionate about this. We have to go out and ask these people to join us. Before we were avowed as a service, that was the only way of recruiting people, a tap on the shoulder.

“That was the way I was recruited,” he told The Guardian. “We have to go to people that would not have thought of being recruited to MI6. We have to make a conscious effort. We need to reflect the society we live in.

“Every community from every part of Britain should feel they have what it takes, no matter what their background or status. We have to stop people selecting themselves out.”

The service’s association with James Bond and his hard-drinking, violent, womanising exploits, is blamed for attracting the wrong sort of would-be spies and putting off many potentially suitable applicants.

The current head of recruitment said the legacy of 007 meant the agency still received applications from people who thought being a good shot was an advantage.

She said: “They may well be able to use a revolver. But that is not really what we are looking for. We don’t want to be the SAS. The brand has attracted a lot of good people. But it has also put off equally fantastic people.

“There is a perception out there that we want Daniel Craig, or Daniel Craig on steroids. He would not get into MI6. We need to get that message across because it is so embedded, and we have to get around that.

“We get thousands of people applying. But we need people from a wider range of backgrounds in order to be able to select the best talent this country has to offer.”

‘The idea out there is that we want Daniel Craig. But he would not get into MI6.’