‘Britain owes him a huge debt’...tributes as anti-terror intelligence chief dies at 59
THERESA May last night led tributes to former intelligence chief Charles Farr who has died after a battle with illness.
The 59-year-old, who was director general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism between 2007 and 2015, was also chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.
He was responsible for some of the biggest – and most controversial – counter-terrorism and national security policies in the past 15 years after previously working for MI6.
Mr Farr died on Friday, the Cabinet Office confirmed, with officials describing him as “one of Whitehall’s most influential figures in UK national security”.
He rose to prominence “flying around Afghanistan in a helicopter with thousands of dollars in bundles, doing deals with farmers to not grow opium”. At the Home Office he helped draft internet surveillance laws.
Mrs May said: “Charles was an outstanding public servant who dedicated his life to national security. As Home Secretary and Prime Minister, I valued his commitment, expertise and advice enormously.”
Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill said: “Charles and I worked together over many years and his rigorous judgment, penetrating analysis and natural authority will truly be missed.
“He dedicated his entire career to keeping our citizens safe and the country secure and the nation owes him a huge debt.”
Mr Farr went to Monkton Combe, a private school near Bath, before attending Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he did a PhD. He was romantically linked to Fiona Hill, former special adviser to the Prime Minister, but never married.