What makes the new female head of MI6's in-tray so dangerous
The first woman appointed to the role of 'C' as head of the Secret Intelligence Service will be taking over when two of Britain's most important relationships in espionage are strained to breaking point.
And she'll be leading a technological race the UK cannot afford to lose.
Blaise Metreweli, 47, a Cambridge University graduate of social anthropology, has been running department Q in MI6. Her appointment to the top job where, she will be expected to write only in the traditional green ink of the chief, will involve steering its use of radical new technology.
As Q, the title adopted by MI6 in homage to the fictional Q in James Bond movies, she presided over the development of gadgets, secret communications, bugs, weapons and disguises. But also Artificial Intelligence and the wider digital race for dominance.
Former MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger told The Independent that he was delighted Metreweli had been given the top job.
'She served as Q and knows how to keep a humint [human intelligence] service at the cutting edge in a digital world,' he said.
'This latter point is key. Only a few humint services will be left standing in the wind of digitalization. This appointment makes it even more likely that MI6 will be one of them.'
Other intelligence sources have spoken to The Independent about the difficulties of setting up a credible profile or 'legend' for officers working under cover in the digital age. Social media profiles and other digital footprints have to go back for years, often a lifetime. The creation of a real-world spy requires a vast amount of resources from the virtual world.
'If you don't show up on Google or Twitter, in cookies and Amazon payments you probably don't exist and that's a problem for people we're investing,' one officer said.
Like many top MI6 officers, Ms Metreweli served for years in the Middle East which has been the crucible of intelligence operations for most of her career during the so called 'war on terror'.
But especially since 2022 the biggest single threat to the UK, and her allies, has been Russia. Vladimir Putin has been explicit in his intent to try to regain Russian control over much of eastern Europe lost to democracy at the end of the Cold War.
Throughout her career the incoming C would have assumed that the CIA was Britain's closest ally. And that the relationship between Vauxhall Bridge and Langley, Virginia, was among the strongest threads of the tapestry of the Nato alliance.
But the tapestry is coming apart. The first signs of unravelling came during Donald Trump 's first term as president when it became clear, after he blurted state secrets to the Russian foreign minister, that he could not be trusted.
That concern has intensified after he was found to have stored classified documents in the bathrooms of his home in Florida after leaving office.
And now the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that links the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia has come close to collapse because of his open support for Russia over Ukraine.
His top appointments have been incontinent with top secret material and downright threatening to long standing US allies. They have used personal phones in 'eyes only' (the highest level) of secret communications over live battle plans in Yemen, and threatened to invade Greenland, part of Nato-member Denmark.
The new C will need to protect the vital relationships with Langley, and the US the National Intelligence Agency, which along with GCHQ is the West's most important eavesdropping organization, while simultaneously and invisibly making sure that Trump and the people he's put in charge of US intelligence don't get the best… intelligence.
Israel is equally problematic. Few, if anyone, in MI6 is sympathetic to the Israeli campaign in Gaza and the taking of Palestinian land by Israelis on the occupied West Bank. They see it as a moral failure and as a danger to western interests as a driver for Islamic terror.
But they have also long and close relationships with Israel's foreign intelligence service. Mossad, which like its domestic equivalent Shin Bet, often gives advice that Israel's right wing government does not welcome for its nuance or recognition that Israel's future depends of diplomacy not military might.
The UK sees Israel as the leading 'ally' on intelligence when it comes to Iran but as a strategic liability when it comes to its treatment of Palestinians.
Ms Metreweli will have to keep the relationship alive without endorsing what the International Criminal Court has said may be war cimes by Israel.
Sir Alex added: 'I think Blaise is an excellent choice (from a strong bench). She has huge operational credibility and deep case officer experience, particularly in the Middle East with excellent Arabic. She's widely respected inside the service and out.'
It's the outside relationships that will now count most.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The key passages from the damning review into grooming gangs
The publication of Baroness Casey's grooming gang's audit has forced Sir Keir Starmer into a U-turn, with the Prime Minister pledging a national inquiry into the scandal months after dismissing calls for an investigation as a ' far-Right bandwagon '. Having 'read every single word' of Casey's report, Sir Keir now believes that an inquiry is due. Yet much of what it covers was already known, from institutional failures and cowardice to patterns of behaviour. The difference is that now these statements are coming from an official source, it's harder to write them off as dog whistles or deliberate attempts to stir up conflict. Below are some of the key messages from the report. The establishment attempted to dismiss the issue of ethnicity out of hand The question of ethnicity has been 'shied away from' across the country, Casey's report concludes, with the ethnicity of two-thirds of perpetrators not recorded. Yet in the areas where data is available, there is enough evidence of disproportionate representation of Asian men to 'at least warrant further examination.' The official response to this has been 'obfuscation' with 'the system' claiming an 'overwhelming problem with White perpetrators when that can't be proved'. A perfect example is found in the 2020 Home Office report, which has been 'quoted and requoted in official reports, the media and elsewhere as proof that claims made about 'Asian grooming gangs' are sensationalised or untrue, although this audit found it hard to understand how the Home Office paper reached that conclusion, which does not seem to be evidenced in research or data.' Then again, the Home Office is hardly the only organisation to have behaved in this way. As the review states, 'despite reviews, reports and inquiries raising questions about men from Asian or Pakistani backgrounds grooming and sexually exploiting young White girls, the system has consistently failed to fully acknowledge this or collect accurate data so it can be examined effectively. Instead, flawed data is used repeatedly to dismiss claims about 'Asian grooming gangs' as sensationalised, biased or untrue.' Officials were terrified that telling the truth would lead to 'community tensions' The reason for this appears to be simple cowardice. Casey's report found that official reports on child abuse displayed 'palpable discomfort' at the mention of ethnicity, either avoiding references entirely or referring to it in 'euphemisms such as 'the local community''. The institutions of the state, instead of examining the issue of ethnicity and culture, chose to avoid the topic 'for fear of appearing racist, raising community tensions or causing community cohesion problems'. In one case, a local authority identified 'a significant number of cases of group-based child sexual exploitation carried out predominantly by members of the Pakistani community' and prepared a plan directly targeting this group; it was subsequently replaced by a 'broad commitment' to tackling child sexual exploitation 'in its varied manifestations across the District's communities'. Police forces, meanwhile, stated that local authorities would 'discourage' them from publicising convictions 'due to fear of raising tensions'. Data is still not being properly collated, with the majority of perpetrators being recorded without their ethnicity. With the data of such poor quality, Casey labels the practice of presenting it without including the unknowns as 'misleading'. Guilty councils don't want the issue reopened The idea that local authorities can be trusted to run their own inquiries is simply without merit. As Casey's review has found, councils where offending has come to light are still sometimes unwilling to make a full accounting of what happened, what they knew, and what they did to stop it. Casey's review notes that some local areas are showing 'reluctance' to 'conduct reviews or establish an inquiry', with officials claiming that 'practice had improved or that issues had been 'covered elsewhere''. It is perhaps for this reason that Casey recommends a 'national police operation and national inquiry' coordinating local investigations, noting that 'local authorities, police forces and other relevant agencies should in the meantime be required not to destroy any relevant records'. Care homes became targets for abusers In over two thirds of the serious case reviews examined by Casey's team, 'children were experiencing sexual exploitation while they were in care, and it often started in care — so after they were placed in the 'care' of the state to presumably keep them safe'. Residential care homes had effectively become targets for abusers. Police officers who met with Casey's team stated that they were 'tracking down children with a history of residential and other care settings on the basis that it was likely they had experienced or witnessed child sexual exploitation. So on this basis, being in care is a 'risk factor' for exploitation not a protective factor'. Taxi licencing put children at risk As Casey found, several reviews have noted the role of weak taxi licensing as 'a facilitator of child sexual exploitation', offering 'a potential way for perpetrators to meet their victims, as well as a means of trafficking victims to different locations and introducing them to other perpetrators'. Reports in Rotherham, Telford, Oldham, and Newcastle have also highlighted this issue. Grooming tactics shielded abusers from prosecution Cases where adults had abused children were dropped 'because the child involved — typically aged 13 to 15 — had been 'in love with' or 'had consented to' sex with the adult'. Other perpetrators faced lesser charges because authorities believed the child had 'consented' to being raped. As Casey notes, 'given we know that 'the boyfriend model' — encouraging a child to believe they are in a loving, caring relationship as a means of coercing them into sex — is one of the most common methods to groom children, it's counter-intuitive that our legal system rewards perpetrators who effectively use this model by allowing them to avoid prosecution for one of the most serious offences: rape'. The state is still letting the victims down In a personal note, Baroness Casey discusses the struggles the victims of these gangs still face. Women have received criminal convictions for their behaviour as groomed children; have been told abusers would be arrested then watched them walk free; have waited years for cases to progress with no contact from the police; have had abusers break anonymity orders 'with impunity'; been denied trauma counselling 'in case it compromised their evidence'. State inaction put children at risk, allowed abuse to continue, has left abusers on the street, and denied children — now women — justice. It's time to put this right.
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Transgender murderer's criminal record is wiped... by a simple change of name
A trans killer had their criminal record wiped clean after declaring themselves to be a woman behind bars. Alexandria Stewart, convicted as Alan Baker when he murdered a man more than a decade ago, apparently had no criminal record according to official disclosure checks. But Stewart's past was only revealed after it was pointed out that the 37-year-old was a prisoner serving a life sentence. Campaigners and politicians have reacted with fury at the revelation and have branded it a 'dereliction of duty' from authorities involved. They have now demanded to know how many others have been able to hide their criminal records by changing their gender. Susan Smith, from For Women Scotland, said it was a 'terrifying example of the sort of consequences which follow when people are allowed to lie about their sex'. Ms Smith, who is part of the group responsible for the landmark Supreme Court ruling which states sex is defined by biology and not gender choices, said: 'This was only picked up because of the obvious absurdity that an incarnated murderer had a clean rap sheet. 'But how many other former prisoners have been able to hide their criminal past in this way? 'We know that rapists and child sex offenders, who may have been released, have taken advantage of self-identification policies in prison. 'Women and parents will be horrified to learn that these men may, even now, be out in the community and taking advantage of their whitewashed record..' And Sharon Dowey, Scottish Conservative spokesman for victims and community safety, demanded to know whether it was an 'unacceptable blunder' or if it has happened to other criminals. The MSP said: 'We already have dangerous male offenders cynically gaming the system to serve their sentences in women's prisons, and that number is only likely to rise if they spot an opportunity of having their records wiped via this ruse. 'Scotland's justice system, like all our public bodies, has been in thrall to the SNP's reckless gender policy, which the Supreme Court has ruled unlawful. 'We urgently need a directive from John Swinney to public bodies telling them to uphold the Supreme Court ruling. 'The Alan Baker case represents a dereliction of duty by Police Scotland and the Crown Office. 'What has unfolded is not only deeply insulting to the victim's family, it lays bare again the stark reality of both the SNP's soft-touch justice agenda, which panders to criminals, and their unlawful gender self-ID policy.' The scandal came to light amid the case of hairdresser Jane Sutherley, who killed a man with a pair of scissors, who was accused of a four year abuse campaign against Stewart and child killer lover Nyomi Fee. But when disclosure requests were made accurate records returned for Fee but a blank sheet for Stewart, the Daily Record reported. A correction was only made after the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) were told that Stewart was appearing in the witness box as a prisoner and serving a life sentence for murder. Stewart, a biological man, is now serving time in a women's prison. Last month Sutherley, behind bars for culpable homicide, was acquitted of being abusive and deliberately misgendering Stewart following a trial at Greenock Sheriff Court. A Police Scotland spokesman said: 'We are aware of an issue relating to the previous convictions of a victim, which were omitted from a report submitted ahead of a case heard at Greenock Sheriff Court. 'The issue has been rectified and work is ongoing to prevent similar scenarios taking place in the future. Officers are continuing to liaise with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.' And the Crown Office said that information on previous convictions was provided by the police 'following a check of the relevant databases'. Its spokesman said: 'Although the initial witness check showed no previous convictions, on further inquiry by the procurator fiscal this was corrected prior to trial.
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
GRAHAM GRANT: Swinney's discredited SNP has taken us for a ride - now he wants you to trust them to guide Scotland into the future!
John Swinney 's bizarre speech on national 'renewal' was a sick joke from a party responsible for nearly 20 years of failure and stagnation. That he could keep a straight face as he delivered it is remarkable - but then he has had plenty of practice when it comes to trotting out this kind of bilge.
