Western Daily Press (Saturday)
GCHQ work ‘is utterly essential, says Charles
THE Prince of Wales has paid tribute to the “utterly essential” work of staff at GCHQ during a visit to the agency’s headquarters.
Charles went to the Cheltenham base of GCHQ, nicknamed the Doughnut, as part of the centenary celebrations for the UK’s intelligence, security and cyber agency.
He toured the building with Jeremy Fleming, the director of GCQH, met staff from across the organisation and received a number of top secret briefings.
In a speech to staff, Charles, who is patron of GCHQ, MI6 and MI5, said: “The work you do is utterly essential.
“Its very nature means that your achievements are rarely made public and that few people in this country will ever know just how great a debt we all owe you.
“But for those privileged enough to understand something of what you do, the difference you make to our security, our prosperity and to the defence of our values is both clear and invaluable.”
He added: “To you, walking in past the razor wire each day becomes routine. But I hope that you will never lose
sight of the fact that you are part of an extraordinary world-leading organisation that has achieved remarkable things during its proud 100-year history and which will continue to play an indispensable role over the century to come.”
Charles told staff he appreciated the challenges and pressures they face and highlighted “iconic names” such as Alastair Denniston, Alan Turing and Dilly Knox.
“GCHQ’s true genius lies in the power of its teamwork, collective innovation and shared knowledge,” he said.
“Each and every one of you has a part to play in writing the next chapter of GCHQ’s history - you quite literally are its future.”
After arriving at GCHQ, Charles met representatives from local charities the agency supports such as the James Hopkins Trust, Sue Ryder and Gardens for All. He met members of Girlguiding South West England, which has launched a Cyber Security badge to increase awareness of the need to stay safe online.