Stella Rimington, first UK female spy boss, dies at 90
Rimington, who ran the domestic security agency between 1992 and 1996, was its first head to be publicly named and later wrote a memoir Open Secret about her career at the formerly secretive organisation.
She went on to write a series of espionage novels and is also widely thought to have inspired actor Judy Dench's tough but playful characterisation of the fictional spymaster 'M' in several James Bond movies.
"She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath," a family statement quoted by local media said on Monday.
Rimington was given one of the British state's highest honours when she was made a dame in 1996.
She joined MI5 in 1969 and worked in roles including counter-subversion and counter-terrorism. Under her leadership MI5 took a more prominent role in Britain's fight against Irish republican militants, according to a profile on the MI5 website.
"As the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership," current MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in a statement.
She committed the agency to a more transparent approach to its work, softening its post-Cold War image.
"We are, of course, obliged to keep information secret in order to be effective, this is not to say that we should necessarily be a wholly secret organisation," she said in a publicly broadcast 1994 lecture.
"Secrecy is not imposed for its own sake. It is not an end in itself."
Foreshadowing her later literary career, Rimington opened that same speech with a nod to the British spy novel tradition and the fascination with the security services it had inspired among the general public.
"It is exciting stuff and has led to the creation of many myths - and some lurid speculation - about our work. I must admit that it is with some hesitation that I set out tonight to shed some daylight," she said.
"I have a sneaking feeling that the fiction may turn out to be more fun than the reality."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
9 minutes ago
- ABC News
Dame Stella Rimington, first female head of MI5, dies aged 90
Dame Stella Rimington, the first woman to head the UK's domestic secret service MI5, has died at the age of 90. Dame Stella, who ran the security agency between 1992 and 1996, was the first MI5 chief to be publicly named and she later wrote a memoir, Open Secret, about her career at the secretive organisation. She went on to write a series of espionage novels and is also widely thought to have inspired actor Judy Dench's tough but playful characterisation of the fictional spymaster M in James Bond movies. "As the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership," current MI5 director-general Ken McCallum said in a statement on Monday, local time. "Her leadership ushered in a new era of openness and transparency about the work MI5 does to keep this country safe, a legacy that continues to this day." Sir Ken offered his condolences to Dame Stella's husband, two daughters, and her family after her death on Sunday. "She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath," a family statement quoted by local media said. Born on May 13, 1935, in the southern London district of South Norwood, Dame Stella was first employed as a part-time typist at the British embassy in Delhi, having accompanied her diplomat husband to India. She then joined MI5 in 1969 and worked in roles including counter-subversion and counter-terrorism, leading to her being dubbed the "housewife superspy". A profile on the MI5 website said under Dame Stella's leadership, MI5 took a more prominent role in Britain's fight against Irish republican militants. During her time as director-general, the agency "underwent far-reaching transformation", Sir Ken's statement said. She committed the agency to a more transparent approach to its work, softening its post-Cold War image. It also moved its headquarters and "instituted a policy of greater public openness to demystify the work of MI5, including beginning a programme of releasing MI5 files to The National Archives". "We are, of course, obliged to keep information secret in order to be effective. This is not to say that we should necessarily be a wholly secret organisation," she said in a publicly broadcast 1994 lecture. "Secrecy is not imposed for its own sake. It is not an end in itself." Foreshadowing her later literary career, Dame Stella opened that same speech with a nod to the British spy novel tradition and the fascination with the security services it had inspired among the general public. "It is exciting stuff and has led to the creation of many myths — and some lurid speculation — about our work. I must admit that it is with some hesitation that I set out tonight to shed some daylight," she said. Dame Stella triggered controversy when she published Open Secret in 2001, with some accusing her of treason and MI5 of trying to block the publication. "It was quite upsetting because suddenly you go from being an insider to being an outsider and that's quite a shock," she told The Guardian newspaper at the time. But she added: "I've never been one to retreat at the first whiff of gunshot." Another woman, Eliza Manningham-Butler, took up the helm of MI5 between 2002 and 2007. And Blaise Metreweli was named in June as the first female head of the UK's overseas spy service, MI6. AFP/Reuters
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Stella Rimington, first woman to lead UK's MI5 dies at 90
Stella Rimington, the first woman to head the UK's domestic secret service MI5, has died at the age of 90, the spy agency announced on Monday. Rimington, who led MI5 from 1992 to 1996, was widely believed to be the inspiration behind the female role of M in the James Bond movies, played by UK star Judi Dench. She was the first director general of the intelligence service who was publicly named, as before Rimington's appointment in 1992, MI5 chiefs were never officially identified or photographed. Publication of her identity caused a press frenzy. "As the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership," the current MI5 director general Ken McCallum said in a statement. "Her leadership ushered in a new era of openness and transparency about the work MI5 does to keep this country safe, a legacy that continues to this day." MCallum presented his condolences to Rimington's husband, two daughters, and her whole family after her death on Sunday. In a statement, her family said: "She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath." Born on May 13, 1935, in the southern London district of South Norwood, Rimington was first employed as a part-time typist at the British embassy in Delhi, having accompanied her diplomat husband to India. She then joined MI5 in a full-time post in 1969. Dubbed the "housewife superspy", the agency said Rimington had held various roles including in counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism. During her time as director general, the agency "underwent far-reaching transformation", the statement said. It also moved its headquarters and "instituted a policy of greater public openness to demystify the work of MI5, including beginning a programme of releasing MI5 files to The National Archives". But Rimington triggered controversy when she published her memoirs "Open Secret" in 2001 after her retirement, with some accusing her of treason and MI5 of trying to block the publication. "It was quite upsetting because suddenly you go from being an insider to being an outsider and that's quite a shock," she told The Guardian daily newspaper at the time. But she added: "I've never been one to retreat at the first whiff of gunshot." Another woman, Eliza Manningham-Butler, took up the helm of MI5 between 2002-2007. And Blaise Metreweli was named in June as the first female head of the UK's overseas spy service MI6. alm-jkb/bc
West Australian
6 hours ago
- West Australian
Stella Rimington, first UK female spy boss, dies at 90
Stella Rimington, the first female director general of Britain's MI5 security and counter-intelligence service who ushered in an era of greater transparency at the agency, has died aged 90. Rimington, who ran the domestic security agency between 1992 and 1996, was its first head to be publicly named and later wrote a memoir Open Secret about her career at the formerly secretive organisation. She went on to write a series of espionage novels and is also widely thought to have inspired actor Judy Dench's tough but playful characterisation of the fictional spymaster 'M' in several James Bond movies. "She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath," a family statement quoted by local media said on Monday. Rimington was given one of the British state's highest honours when she was made a dame in 1996. She joined MI5 in 1969 and worked in roles including counter-subversion and counter-terrorism. Under her leadership MI5 took a more prominent role in Britain's fight against Irish republican militants, according to a profile on the MI5 website. "As the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership," current MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in a statement. She committed the agency to a more transparent approach to its work, softening its post-Cold War image. "We are, of course, obliged to keep information secret in order to be effective, this is not to say that we should necessarily be a wholly secret organisation," she said in a publicly broadcast 1994 lecture. "Secrecy is not imposed for its own sake. It is not an end in itself." Foreshadowing her later literary career, Rimington opened that same speech with a nod to the British spy novel tradition and the fascination with the security services it had inspired among the general public. "It is exciting stuff and has led to the creation of many myths - and some lurid speculation - about our work. I must admit that it is with some hesitation that I set out tonight to shed some daylight," she said. "I have a sneaking feeling that the fiction may turn out to be more fun than the reality."
