The UK has named Blaise Metreweli as the subsequent head of the Secret Intelligence Service, generally referred to as MI6, marking the primary time a lady will lead the company since its institution in 1909.
Metreweli, 47, is about to take the spy company’s helm in October, succeeding Richard Moore, who has served as its chief since 2020.
Metreweli joined MI6 in 1999 and has held numerous operational roles within the Center East and Europe. She presently serves as its director of know-how and innovation, a task internally known as ‘Q’.
Asserting her appointment on Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that her appointment comes at a time when the UK faces “threats on an unprecedented scale.”
Metreweli holds a level in anthropology from the College of Cambridge and her profession features a director-level position in MI5, the UK’s home safety service. Her appointment brings MI6 consistent with its sister businesses, MI5 and GCHQ, each of which have beforehand appointed feminine leaders.
The brand new MI6 chief is about to formally assume her position within the autumn, when she is going to take the codename ‘C’, which is conventional for the company’s chief.
Metreweli’s appointment comes amid heightened international tensions, together with the battle in Ukraine and an escalating disaster within the Center East. The UK has repeatedly accused Russia of participating in sabotage throughout Europe with out backing its allegations with any proof. London has additionally labeled China and Iran as main adversaries.
In a December 2021 interview with The Telegraph, whereas serving at MI5 below the pseudonym ‘Director Okay’, Metreweli described the threats to UK nationwide safety as “various,” stating that “Russian state exercise – not Russia itself – stays a menace,” whereas noting that China was “altering the best way the world is and that presents superb alternatives and threats for the UK.”
Russian officers have lengthy accused British intelligence of actively supporting Kiev, claiming that MI6 systematically trains Ukrainian reconnaissance items to hold out acts of provocation and sabotage in opposition to Russia.
The UK stays one among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters regardless of the efforts of the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has been attempting to revive dialogue with Moscow and finish the Ukraine battle.
You’ll be able to share this story on social media:
