Latest news with #BlaiseMetreweli
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
DOMINIC LAWSON: Why Putin has been denied a propaganda ‘triumph' by the Mail's gripping revelations about the brilliant new boss of MI6
This is getting to be a habit – and an embarrassing one for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6. Soon after it appoints its new chief, the media reveals something personal about the latest 'C' that hardly fits with the image we would wish the world to have of the person at the apex of our espionage operations. When Sir John Sawers was appointed in 2009, The Mail on Sunday immediately found that his wife Shelley had put up various snaps of the nation's new spy chief on a family Facebook page, including one of Sir John on holiday wearing Speedos – and also details of where the family lived. The Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey – then as now, a dedicated headline-grabber – declared this might have 'breached the security of the incoming head of MI6 too seriously to allow him to take up the post'. And when Sir Richard Moore was appointed as C in 2020, the Sun revealed that our new intelligence chief's grandfather, Jack Buckley, had been a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army, later given a medal by the IRA's political wing, Sinn Fein, for his service in the war against the British. But none of these have anything like the impact of the Mail's revelation last week about the family background of the newly appointed head of MI6 – the first female C, 47-year-old Blaise Metreweli. Through rapid research in archives held in Ukraine and Germany, the Mail produced proof that her paternal grandfather was Constantine Dobrowolski, a notorious Ukrainian collaborator with the invading Nazis in the 1940s. He had defected from the Red Army to serve in an SS unit and later boasted, according to the records: 'I oversaw captured Russian vehicles and personally took part in front-line action near Kyiv and in the extermination of Jews.' I have spoken to former MI6 colleagues of Metreweli about this. Their take is it was most unlikely that its vetting processes would not have uncovered this fact about her family when she applied to join in 1999. They also thought someone of her intensely curious nature would have found out for herself, anyway. But they added that not only would the heinous actions of a grandparent (who died long before she was born) be no reason for rejecting her, she was also far and away the best candidate for the top job. Nevertheless, this is catnip for the Kremlin. Putin's regime, since it launched its mass-murdering campaign to destroy Ukraine as an independent nation, has incessantly described President Zelensky's government as 'Nazi', in an effort to depict the conflict as a replay of the 'Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945' in which the Soviet Union ultimately triumphed over the invading Wehrmacht of a genocidal Adolf Hitler. So how convenient for Moscow's propagandists that the new chief of a Western intelligence service committed to the defence of Ukraine can be graphically linked – through bloodline – to this legend; one which, alas, is widely believed by the Russian people. But for the same reason, it was much in our interests that the Mail broke the full story, and with as much factual detail as possible. Whiffs of it were already emerging on pro-Moscow social media accounts. Indeed, a few days before the Mail story broke, a former MI6 man alerted me to an account on Telegram (much used by Russian bloggers) which alleged that the grandfather of the new head of MI6 'by late 1942 was already working at the Special Preliminary Camp in the city of Auschwitz, where Caucasian-origin Nazi collaborators were trained'. This was garbled stuff, but it could only have been highly damaging to this country's reputation if the whole story was, in a sense, owned by Russian propagandists. Or as another ex-MI6 officer, and no particular admirer of the British press, said when I made this point: 'I agree that the Mail was right about denying the Russians the triumph of breaking the story.' Still, the Russian foreign ministry's long-standing spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has clicked into gear. Tass, the state news agency, ran a story in its English language outlet under the headline 'Nazi descendants promoted to leading posts in West purposefully'. It quoted Zakharova: 'The trend is obviously neo-Nazi. Friedrich Merz, Annalena Baerbock... Now the head of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, can be added to the list. Someone purposefully and consciously puts descendants of the Nazis in leadership positions in the countries of the collective West.' It's hardly surprising that leading German politicians, such as its current Chancellor (Merz) or the Foreign Affairs minister in the previous administration (Baerbock) would have grandfathers who not only fought against the Soviet Union in 1941-1945, but were actually Nazi party members. But Zakharova went on to assert, despite clear historical documentation to the contrary, that Blaise Metreweli's grandfather must have been present at the massacre of an estimated 34,000 Jewish men, women and children by Nazis, aided and abetted by Ukrainian nationalists, at Babyn Yar. What she doesn't say, of course, is that the Holocaust Memorial at Babyn Yar, a sacred site for Ukraine's Jews, was attacked by missiles sent by her government in March 2022. Indeed, the Ukrainian president, whose government the Kremlin disgustingly describes as 'a genocidal Ukrainian Nazi regime', is himself Jewish, and Zelensky's family – which had members exterminated in the Holocaust – fought for the Red Army against the Germans. If one adopts the modern parlance of describing far-right ultra-nationalists as 'neo-Nazis', then it is Putin's Russia, not Zelensky's Ukraine, which gives them succour and support – and derives the same in return. When Putin invaded Crimea in 2014, it organised a so-called 'anti-fascist' conference of Western politicians supportive of his action. The British delegate was the then leader of the BNP, Nick Griffin, and similar figures from the European nationalist far-right also showed up to support Putin – and were paid for by the Kremlin. This was Orwellian: fascists against fascism. On the actual battlefield, the Wagner group, which was the leading supplier of mercenary troops to Putin's war on Ukraine, had been founded and commanded by Dmitry Utkin, a man covered in Nazi tattoos (and do you wonder why he named his group after the anti-Semitic German composer most beloved by the late Fuhrer?). Utkin had been awarded the honour of Hero of the Russian Federation and photographed with Putin when receiving it. (In 2023, Putin had him bumped off in a plane 'accident', along with other leaders of the Wagner group, just as Hitler had ordered the murder of leaders of the Sturmabteilung, when he believed they were planning a coup against his leadership). And there is still the ultra-nationalist Rusich Brigade, fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine, led by the sadistic Aleksei Milchakov, a man who when asked about his political views, said: 'I'll tell you straight up, I'm a Nazi.' Go back to Putin's claims when he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the assertion that Kyiv was and always must be a Russian city and that the frontier between Russia and Ukraine should be dissolved; it is eerily similar to what Hitler said when he invaded Poland in 1939: 'Danzig was and is a German city . . . I am resolved to remove from German frontiers the element of uncertainty.' Also note, because Russian propaganda obliterates the fact, that this was part of a Nazi-Soviet carve-up of Poland, under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. There was even a joint Nazi/Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk to celebrate Poland's evisceration. So when the Kremlin tries to paint this country as connected with the depravities of the Nazis and their collaborators, remember all that.
Express Tribune
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
UK distances new MI6 chief from Nazi past
The British government has distanced the incoming head of its foreign intelligence service from her grandfather following reports he was a Nazi spy known as "the butcher". Blaise Metreweli will in the autumn become the first woman to lead MI6 in its 116-year-old history, the British government announced earlier this month. The Daily Mail newspaper reported this week that her grandfather Constantine Dobrowolski defected from the Soviet Union's Red Army to become a Nazi informant in the Chernigiv region of modern-day Ukraine. The newspaper said German archives showed Dobrowolski was known as "the Butcher" or "Agent No 30" by Wehrmacht commanders.
The Hindu
28-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
U.K. distances new spy chief from 'Nazi' grandfather
The British government has distanced the incoming head of its foreign intelligence service from her grandfather following reports he was a Nazi spy known as "the butcher". Blaise Metreweli will, in the autumn, become the first woman to lead MI6 in its 116-year-old history, the British government announced earlier this month. The Daily Mail newspaper reported this week that her grandfather Constantine Dobrowolski defected from the Soviet Union's Red Army to become a Nazi informant in the Chernigiv region of modern-day Ukraine. The newspaper said German archives showed Dobrowolski was known as "the Butcher" or "Agent No 30" by Wehrmacht commanders. "Blaise Metreweli neither knew nor met her paternal grandfather," a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement. "Blaise's ancestry is characterised by conflict and division and, as is the case for many with eastern European heritage, only partially understood. "It is precisely this complex heritage which has contributed to her commitment to prevent conflict and protect the British public from modern threats from today's hostile states, as the next chief of MI6." The Daily Mail said Dobrowolski had a 50,000 ruble bounty placed on him by Soviet leaders, and was dubbed the "worst enemy of the Ukrainian people". He also sent letters to superiors saying he "personally" took part "in the extermination of the Jews", the newspaper added. The head of MI6 is the only publicly named member of the organisation and reports directly to the Foreign Minister. Ms. Metreweli, 47, will be the 18th head of MI6. Like her predecessors, she will be referred to as "C", not "M" as the chief is called in the James Bond film franchise.
Mint
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
UK distances MI6 new chief from Nazi spy grandfather dubbed ‘The Butcher' – what we know so far
The British government has cast a distance between the incoming Chief of its foreign intelligence service and her grandfather following reports he was a Nazi spy known as "The Butcher". Blaise Metreweli was announced as the incoming head of UK's Secret Intelligence Service earlier this month. She will be the intelligence service – MI6's — first female "C" (Chief) in its 116-year history. As per documents accessed by the BBC, Blaise Metreweli's paternal grandfather Constantine Dobrowolski defected from the Soviet Union's Red Army to become the Nazi's chief informant in the Chernigiv region of modern-day Ukraine. Another report by The Daily Mail, also states that German archives showed Dobrowolski was known as "the Butcher" or "Agent No 30" by Wehrmacht commanders. Dobrowolski even had a 50,000 ruble bounty placed on him by Soviet leaders, and was dubbed the "worst enemy of the Ukrainian people". He had also sent letters to superiors saying he "personally" took part "in the extermination of the Jews", The Daily Mail added. Blaise Metreweli, however, neither knew nor met her paternal grandfather, a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement, reported AFP. 'Blaise's ancestry is characterised by conflict and division and, as is the case for many with eastern European heritage, only partially understood.' 'It is precisely this complex heritage which has contributed to her commitment to prevent conflict and protect the British public from modern threats from today's hostile states, as the next chief of MI6," reads the statement issued by the Foreign Office, reported AFP. The UK (Great Britain), a part of the Allies faced off Germany and the other Axis powers during World War II. After coming to power in 1933, Adolf Hitler flagrantly violated the Treaty of Versailles, rearming Germany and remilitarising the Rhineland in 1936. He had aggressive and ambitious foreign policy aims. Britain initially pursued a policy of appeasement, seeking to give Hitler some of what he wanted in order to preserve peace. When Hitler broke the agreement made at the Munich Conference, it became clear appeasement had failed, and war broke out following the invasion of Poland in September 1939. UK policymakers—including Churchill—believed Nazi dominance threatened the European balance of power, a cornerstone of British foreign policy since the Napoleonic era.
Express Tribune
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
ChatGPT said: UK distances new MI6 chief from Nazi spy grandfather
Metreweli, 47, will be the 18th head of MI6. PHOTO: YAHOO NEWS MALAYSIA Listen to article The British government has distanced the incoming head of its foreign intelligence service from her grandfather following reports he was a Nazi spy known as "the butcher". Blaise Metreweli will in the autumn become the first woman to lead MI6 in its 116-year-old history, the British government announced earlier this month. The Daily Mail newspaper reported this week that her grandfather Constantine Dobrowolski defected from the Soviet Union's Red Army to become a Nazi informant in the Chernigiv region of modern-day Ukraine. The newspaper said German archives showed Dobrowolski was known as "the Butcher" or "Agent No 30" by Wehrmacht commanders. "Blaise Metreweli neither knew nor met her paternal grandfather," a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement. "Blaise's ancestry is characterised by conflict and division and, as is the case for many with eastern European heritage, only partially understood. "It is precisely this complex heritage which has contributed to her commitment to prevent conflict and protect the British public from modern threats from today's hostile states, as the next chief of MI6." The Daily Mail said Dobrowolski had a 50,000 ruble bounty placed on him by Soviet leaders, and was dubbed the "worst enemy of the Ukrainian people". He also sent letters to superiors saying he "personally" took part "in the extermination of the Jews", the newspaper added. The head of MI6 is the only publicly named member of the organisation and reports directly to the foreign minister. Metreweli, 47, will be the 18th head of MI6. Like her predecessors she will be referred to as "C", not "M" as the chief is called in the James Bond film franchise.
