Latest news with #DameBarbaraWoodward
The Independent
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Dame Barbara Woodward: Civil servant could become first female MI6 chief
Dame Barbara Woodward, current UK ambassador to the UN, is reportedly a leading candidate to become the first female head of MI6. Woodward's background is primarily in civil service, unlike the current MI6 chief, Sir Richard Moore, who has extensive experience in undercover operations. Her time as ambassador to China between 2015 and 2020 drew criticism for her perceived reluctance to challenge Beijing, earning her the nickname "Beijing Barbara." The final decision on the appointment rests with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, advised by senior government officials. Sir Richard Moore is set to retire later this year after five years leading MI6.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MI6 set to appoint first female boss
A civil servant could become the first woman MI6 chief, according to reports. Dame Barbara Woodward, who is Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, was one of three women interviewed for the top job last week, The Sunday Times reported. Sir Richard Moore, 62, is due to stand down as the spy agency's current boss later this year after five years in charge. Before becoming the agency's boss, Sir Richard worked undercover in Vietnam, Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia, the newspaper reported. Dame Barbara joined the Foreign Office in 1994 and has worked as international director of the UK Border Agency as well as Britain's ambassador to China between 2015 and 2020. The 63-year-old was dubbed 'Beijing Barbara' for her reluctance to criticise China during her time in that post, according to the same newspaper. When several MPs were sanctioned by China for their criticism of an alleged genocide against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, she was accused of 'being less than robust' in dealing with the issue. After she left China, she told the pro-Beijing Chinese tabloid Global Times that Taiwan would never have independence. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer will make the final decision on her appointment, advised by a board of senior government figures including foreign secretary David Lammy and national security adviser Jonathan Powell.
The Independent
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
MI6 set to appoint first female boss
A civil servant could become the first woman MI6 chief, according to reports. Dame Barbara Woodward, who is Britain 's ambassador to the United Nations, was one of three women interviewed for the top job last week, The Sunday Times reported. Sir Richard Moore, 62, is due to stand down as the spy agency's current boss later this year after five years in charge. Before becoming the agency's boss, Sir Richard worked undercover in Vietnam, Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia, the newspaper reported. Dame Barbara joined the Foreign Office in 1994 and has worked as international director of the UK Border Agency as well as Britain's ambassador to China between 2015 and 2020. The 63-year-old was dubbed ' Beijing Barbara' for her reluctance to criticise China during her time in that post, according to the same newspaper. When several MPs were sanctioned by China for their criticism of an alleged genocide against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, she was accused of 'being less than robust' in dealing with the issue. After she left China, she told the pro-Beijing Chinese tabloid Global Times that Taiwan would never have independence. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer will make the final decision on her appointment, advised by a board of senior government figures including foreign secretary David Lammy and national security adviser Jonathan Powell.
The Sun
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Spy agency MI6 set to appointment first female boss branded ‘sympathetic to China' by critics
A WOMAN is set to take charge of MI6 for the first time in the Secret Intelligence Service's history. Interviews took place last week and the final three candidates were all women, The Sunday Times reports. However, the appointment is controversial because critics say the runaway favourite for the job is too sympathetic to China. Dame Barbara Woodward, 63, ambassador to the UN, is the Foreign Office's most senior woman. She was dubbed 'Beijing Barbara' in Whitehall because she was reluctant to speak out about the Chinese regime as ambassador in Beijing between 2015 and 2020. Ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Any ambivalence towards the threat China poses will end in disaster for the UK.' Current MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore is due to stand down in the autumn after five years in charge. MI6 has had 17 male bosses, each of whom has been referred to as 'C'. Ian Fleming renamed the spy chief 'M' for his Bond books. The other two finalists have not yet been named. The winner will be decided by the PM. Downing Street declined to comment. 1
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MI6 to appoint first woman chief
The next boss of MI6 will be a woman for the first time in its history. The shortlist to select the new Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as MI6, has been whittled down to three female candidates. It means that Britain's top spy, known internally by the moniker 'C', for chief, will be a woman. At least two of the candidates are serving intelligence officers, and therefore cannot be named. The current head of MI6's engineering arm is a woman and is likely to be a strong contender, and those with knowledge of the service have touted her as a candidate The department was fictionalised as Q Branch in Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and films. Dame Barbara Woodward, an outsider candidate, is also a favourite, The Sunday Times reported. The former head of the UK Border Agency currently serves as Britain's Permanent Representative at the United Nations and has not worked at MI6 before. Sir Richard Moore, the current MI6 chief, was a former spy who left and became the British ambassador to Turkey. In 2020, he returned to MI6 to take the top job. His five-year term is coming to an end later this year, with the search for a replacement proceeding at pace. Final interviews for his successor are understood to have taken place last week. In 2023, Sir Richard revealed that he had been recruited from an all-male shortlist, writing on X: 'I will help forge women's equality by working to ensure I'm the last 'C' selected from an all-male shortlist.' Dame Barbara, currently the most senior woman in Britain's diplomatic service, has attracted comments for being insufficiently vocal with her criticism of China while serving as Britain's ambassador to China from 2015 to 2020. After she left Beijing, Dame Barbara described the situation in Xinjiang as 'one of the worst human rights crises of our time'. The final decision on the appointment will be made by the Prime Minister, advised by a board of senior government figures including David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, and Jonathan Powell, the National Security Adviser. MI5, the domestic security service, has had two female directors-general, Dame Stella Rimington and Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller. MI6, which was established in 1909, has had 17 chiefs, all of them men. In the James Bond series the figure of 'C' was fictionalised as 'M'. Fleming chose the moniker after the first initial of the first MI6 Chief, Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming. In John Le Carre's George Smiley novels the head of the intelligence service was known as Control. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
