MI6 chief lines up first female to lead foreign intelligence service
THE next chief of Britain’s foreign intelligence service could be the first woman to hold the role in the history of the agency.
Alex Younger, the current head of MI6, has personally selected a female candidate as the front-runner on a shortlist of potential successors, according to a Sunday Times report that cites an anonymous intelligence source. She is understood to have proven to have “strong operational capabilities” as well as experience of running agent networks overseas.
The leader of the pack has also been honoured by the Queen for her work on foreign policy.
Mr Younger’s decision comes amid a drive by MI6 to diversify its workforce.
Last year, MI6 created its first-ever cinema advert aimed at attracting more women and ethnic minorities into the secret service.
Mr Younger, also known as C, has voiced concerns in the past that poten- tially good candidates for the foreign intelligence service were “self-selecting” themselves out of contention by not applying because they were put off by stereotypes about secret agents.
The head of MI6 is formally selected by the Foreign Secretary and must be approved by the Prime Minister.
Mr Younger was appointed in November 2014, succeeding the retiring Sir John Sawers, and is a career MI6 officer having been in the service since 1991. He has held several operational roles in London and overseas, including leading MI6 work on counter-terrorism in the three years running up to the London 2012 Olympics. And although there is no immediate vacancy, a shortlist of potential successors has been drawn up to provide a smooth transition in the event of change.
The UK’S domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, MI5, has been led by two women in the past – Stella Rimington and Eliza Manningham-buller.
Rimington was the first female director general of MI5, taking the position in 1992 until 1996, while Manningham-buller held it from 2002 to 2007.
The UK’S foreign intelligence service is expected to grow from around 2,500 people to close to 3,500 by 2020.
Also known as the Secret Intelligence Service, it is responsible for gathering intelligence outside the UK in support of the Government’s security, defence, foreign and economic policies. Answerable to Boris Johnson, the headquarters are located at Vauxhall Cross, London.