Stella Rimington, First Woman To Lead UK's MI5 Dies At 90
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
7 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Rare 'Hobbit' First Edition Auctioned For GBP43,000
A rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" sold for 43,000 pounds ($57,000) at auction on Wednesday, after it was found during a house clearance in southwest England. Purchased by a private collector in the United Kingdom, the book is one of 1,500 original copies of the British author's seminal fantasy novel that were published in 1937. Of those, only "a few hundred are believed to still remain", according to the auction house Auctioneum, which discovered the book on an bookcase at a home in Bristol. Bidders from around the world drove the price up by more than four times what the auction house expected for the manuscript. "It's a wonderful result, for a very special book," said Auctioneum rare books specialist Caitlin Riley. "The surviving books from the initial print run are now considered some of the most sought-after books in modern literature," Auctioneum said in a statement. Auctioneum unearthed the book during a routine house clearance after its owner passed away. "Nobody knew it was there," Riley said. "It was just a run-of-the-mill bookcase." "It was clearly an early Hobbit at first glance, so I just pulled it out and began to flick through it, never expecting it to be a true first edition," she said. "I couldn't believe my eyes," she added, calling it an "unimaginably rare find". The copy is bound in light green cloth and features rare black-and-white illustrations by Tolkien, who created his beloved Middle Earth universe while he was a professor at the University of Oxford. The book was passed down in the family library of Hubert Priestley, a botanist connected to the university. "It is likely that both men knew each other," according to Auctioneum, which said Priestley and Tolkien shared mutual correspondence with author C.S. Lewis, who was also at Oxford. "The Hobbit", which was followed by the epic series "The Lord of the Rings", has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. The sagas were turned into a hit movie franchise in the 2000s. A first edition of "The Hobbit" with a handwritten note in Elvish by the author sold for GBP137,000 at Sotheby's in June 2015.
Int'l Business Times
06-08-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Prince Harry Cleared Of 'Bullying' In African Charity Row
The UK charity watchdog Wednesday cleared Prince Harry of accusations of bullying in a row with an African charity he founded, but deplored that the bitter internal dispute was played out in public. The charity Sentebale was at the centre of an explosive boardroom dispute in March and April when chairperson Sophie Chandauka publicly accused Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III, of "bullying". Days earlier, Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho had announced they were resigning from the charity they established in 2006, after the trustees quit when Chandauka refused their demand to step down. Harry, also known as the Duke of Sussex, launched the charity in honour of his mother, Princess Diana, to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and later Botswana. After a months-long inquiry, the Charity Commission "found no evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity," it said in its conclusions published Wednesday. But it "criticised all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly" saying the "damaging internal dispute" had "severely impacted the charity's reputation". It found there was "a lack of clarity in delegations" and added this led to "mismanagement in the administration of the charity". It has issued the charity with a plan to "address governance weaknesses". Sentebale said it "welcomes" the findings in a statement. Chandauka, who was appointed to the voluntary post in 2023 and remains the charity's chair, said she "appreciated" the conclusions, saying that they "confirm the governance concerns I raised privately in February 2025". She did not address the fact that claims of systemic bullying were dismissed. Harry said in an April statement that the events had "been heartbreaking to witness, especially when such blatant lies hurt those who have invested decades in this shared goal". Speaking to British media after accusing the prince of trying to force her out, Chandauka criticised Harry for his decision to bring a Netflix camera crew to a polo fundraiser last year, and an unplanned appearance by his wife Meghan at the event. The accusations were a fresh blow for the prince, who kept up only a handful of his private patronages, including with Sentebale, after a dramatic split with the British royal family in 2020, leaving Britain to live in North America with his wife and children. "Moving forward I urge all parties not to lose sight of those who rely on the charity's services," said the commission's chief executive David Holdsworth, adding improvements should now be made. Harry chose the name Sentebale as a tribute to Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 when the prince was just 12. It means "forget me not" in the Sesotho language and is also used to say goodbye. In her statement, Chandauka added: "Despite the recent turbulence, we will always be inspired by the vision of our Founders, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso."
DW
05-08-2025
- DW
Netflix hit 'Wednesday' returns for season 2 – DW – 08/05/2025
Starting August 6, "Wednesday" returns to Nevermore Academy — and millions of global fans can't wait. The most-streamed English language series on Netflix is back. Season one of the 2022 Netflix production, "Wednesday," remains the streaming platform's second most-successful series worldwide — second only to "Squid Game" (2021). And it's the first among English-language series, ahead of this year's British surprise hit, "Adolescence." It's no wonder the sequel is so highly anticipated. Produced and directed by Tim Burton — famed for quirky gothic horror films like "Beetlejuice" (1988) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) — "Wednesday" reinvents the cult horror comedy series, "The Addams Family," giving it a stylish Gen-Z makeover. Played by Jenna Ortega, the title character Wednesday Addams is a mysterious teenage girl who never blinks and is new to Nevermore Academy — a boarding school for misfits of all kinds. She's followed around by "Thing," a hand with a life of its own. In addition to attending classes, Wednesday must solve a series of murders. In the second season, she faces familiar family obligations in addition to a new supernatural mystery. Netflix whetted fans' appetites in June by releasing the first six minutes of the first new episode. Season two will not be for the faint of heart. Additions to the "Wednesday" cast for the latest season include Haley Joel Osment, former child star from "The Sixth Sense" and "AI," who plays the Kansas City Scalper, a serial killer. But he's not the only noteworthy addition to the cast: Steve Buscemi, of "Boardwalk Empire" and "The Big Lebowski" fame, is the new headmaster of Nevermore. Lady Gaga meanwhile plays a mysterious teacher, and was allegedly offered the role at the express request of Jenna Ortega. The lead actor, who was also a co-producer on this season, exerted her artistic influence during filming. "Sometimes I'll catch a glance of a shot and realize part of why a scene isn't working is because my posture's off, or my chin isn't tilted down enough or that I'm not still enough," she told during the season's premiere promotional tour. A blanket digital media campaign has fuelled the hype surrounding the new "Wednesday" season. Since the advertising campaign launched in April, near daily videos tagged "wednesdaynetflix" are posted on platforms from TikTok to Instagram. In one, Thing visits Seoul: The star-studded cast and creators are also traveling the globe on a promotional "Doom Tour," which kicked things off at the neo-gothic Natural History Museum in London. Next stop on the tour in mid-August is Australia, with a fans dressed in gothic set to gather on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbor — which has been renamed "Wednesday Island' for the occasion. The season's two-part release aims to further heighten the season 2 fervour. Part one, including episodes one to four, will be released on August 6; and part two, with episodes five to eight, on September 3. Netflix is already planning for the future, with season three already in the works — season four is also currently under consideration. The quirky Addams Family theme has so enamored viewers that the creators are considering giving individual cast members their own spin-off series'.
