ABOUT OUR EXPERTS

After joining the Intelligence Service in 1966, Sir Richard served behind the Iron Curtain, as well as in Geneva, Paris, Nairobi and as station head in Washington DC. He was appointed the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in 1999, a role he fulfilled until 2004, when he went on to become Master of Pembroke College at Cambridge University. In his spare time, Sir Richard paints, fly-fishes and explores rural Cornwall, the county where he spent his childhood. The BBC’s world affairs editor has had a distinguished career, reporting from 132 countries, including 42 war zones. He has witnessed the fall of Ceausescu in Romania, Nelson Mandela’s release in South Africa, and the liberation of Kabul. His books include Dispatches From The Barricades: An Eyewitness Account Of The Revolutions That Shook The World, and We Chose To Speak Of War And Strife: The World Of The Foreign Correspondent.