Path to becoming a career spy is no longer via Oxbridge

IT IS a career that typically begins with a tap on the shoulder in the corridors of Eton, Oxbridge or government. The chosen candidate is then propelled into a life of secrecy, mystery and glamour.

Yet the stereotypical image of a career spy is being recast as the higher echelons of British intelligence attempt to attract new recruits.

The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as MI6, has joined the ranks of the top 75 UK employers who have taken the most action on social mobility in a bid to recruit workingclass spies.

The Social Mobility Foundation, a charity that aims to make practical improvements for young people from low-income backgrounds, launched its annual Social Mobility Employer Foundation Index three years ago. However, 2019 marks the first time that one of Britain’s intelligence agencies has entered the list.

According to the rankings, MI6 features at number 73, ahead of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Barclays bank. David Johnston OBE, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, told The Daily Telegraph: “[The SIS] are very aware of the stereotype. They also realise that there’s an awful lot of talent in the country that would not even consider working for them or think they would be suitable.”

The rankings come after MI6 launched a recruitment drive to attract increasing numbers of women and ethnic minority entrants in an effort to shed its “macho” James Bond image.

A Government spokesman said: “Including the SIS on this list recognises the work being done to remove barriers to inequality and to encourage people from all walks of life and ages to join.

“The service continues to work hard to broaden its appeal and is committed to being a workplace that is representative of the country it serves.”

‘The SIS realises there’s an awful lot of talent in the country that would not even consider working for them’