Latest news with #Metreweli
NDTV
30 minutes ago
- Politics
- NDTV
The Name's Metreweli: All About UK MI6's First Woman Chief
Blaise Metreweli, the first woman to head Britain's MI6 spy service, is a self-confessed "geek" whose appointment comes as the intelligence world faces growing challenges from cyber plots and AI. While actress Judi Dench has played the head of the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in the James Bond film franchise for years, in reality the 17 chiefs so far have all been men. Metreweli will be the 18th head of Britain's foreign intelligence outfit when she takes up the role in the autumn, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday. Like her predecessors she will be referred to as "C" -- not "M" as Dench is called in the movies based on Ian Fleming's daring fictional agent. The head of MI6 is the only publicly named member of the organisation and reports directly to the foreign minister. Little is known about the 47-year-old Metreweli, who will take over from outgoing MI6 head Richard Moore. Currently, she is MI6's director general -- known as "Q" -- with responsiblity for technology and innovation at the service, Downing Street said in a statement. Metreweli is described as a career intelligence officer who joined the service in 1999 having studied anthropology at Cambridge University. "She is an incredibly experienced, credible, successful operational officer. She is widely respected," former MI6 chief Alex Younger told the BBC. "She has been thinking deeply for a long time about how we prosper in the nexus between man and machine. "She's got a plan. And I think that she knows how to enact it. That is the way MI6 remains at the cutting edge," he added. Born into a family with roots in Eastern Europe -- Metreweli derives from the Georgian name Metreveli -- the future spy boss was part of the Cambridge rowing team that defeated Oxford in 1997. She joined MI6 in 1999 as a field officer and "has spent most of her career in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe", according to the UK government. 'Historic' Metreweli also spent time at MI5, the domestic intelligence service, as a director, the government said, without providing further details. She speaks Arabic, according to UK media. The Financial Times interviewed her in 2022 for an article on female spies, where she was initially quoted under a pseudonym to encourage other women to join the intelligence service. She described herself as a "geek" and said she had always wanted to be a spy. It was revealed that she grew up abroad, enjoyed learning encryption techniques at a young age, and had at least one child while stationed outside the UK. Metreweli asserted that in the male-dominated world of intelligence, women had certain useful skills. "In the moments where you're deciding to become an agent, you're having to make thousands of risk-based calculations, but you're not quite sure how to respond emotionally," she said. "There's no etiquette. Ironically, it becomes a bit of a no man's land. In that space, women are really good at finding common ground. We are the liminal ones." Her appointment comes over three decades after MI5 appointed its first female chief. Stella Rimington held the position from 1992-1996, followed by Eliza Manningham-Buller from 2002-2007. The UK intelligence and security organisation GCHQ appointed its first woman chief, Anne Keast-Butler, in 2023. Starmer called Metreweli's appointment "historic". "The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale -- be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services," he said.
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Britain's MI6 intelligence service to be led by woman for first time
June 16 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the first woman head of the country's secret intelligence service, MI6, since it was formed in 1909. Blaise Metreweli will be promoted from her current role as "Q," in which she is the agency's lead on technology and innovation. She will take over from the current holder of the role of "C," MI6 Chief Sir Richard Moore, when his term is up in the fall, No. 10 Downing Street said in a news release Sunday. "The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital. The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale -- be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services," Starmer said. As C, the 47-year-old will serve as the face of British intelligence in more ways than one, since she is the sole named operative. The identities of roughly all 3,600 agents of the organization a closely guarded state secret. A career intelligence officer who has also held senior roles at the sister-domestic intelligence service MI5, Metreweli is a Middle East specialist with a lengthy track record as an operative in the region, as well as in Europe. "I am proud and honored to be asked to lead my service. MI6 plays a vital role -- with MI5 and Government Communications Headquarters -- in keeping the British people safe and promoting U.K. interests overseas," she said. "I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners." Outgoing chief Moore said in a post on X that Metreweli was the right person for the job, particularly with the current tensions in the Middle East and her out-of-the-box thinking in using technology. "I am absolutely delighted by this historic appointment of my colleague, Blaise Metreweli, to succeed me as 'C'. Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6," said Moore. MI6, which began life as the Secret Service Bureau, has never been led by a woman, in contrast with MI5 and the electronic surveillance agency GCHQ. MI5 has previously been headed by two women, while Anne Keast-Butler continues to head GCHQ after being appointed in April 2023 by the previous Conservative government. The Guardian noted that the on-screen M, James Bond's handler in the film franchise was played by Judi Dench for almost two decades, starting alongside Pierce Brosnan in his first stint as 007. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
France 24
4 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
The name's Metreweli... Who is UK MI6's first woman chief?
While actress Judi Dench has played the head of the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in the James Bond film franchise for years, in reality the 17 chiefs so far have all been men. Metreweli will be the 18th head of Britain's foreign intelligence outfit when she takes up the role in the autumn, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday. Like her predecessors she will be referred to as "C" -- not "M" as Dench is called in the movies based on Ian Fleming's daring fictional agent. The head of MI6 is the only publicly named member of the organisation and reports directly to the foreign minister. Little is known about the 47-year-old Metreweli, who will take over from outgoing MI6 head Richard Moore. Currently, she is MI6's director general -- known as "Q" -- with responsiblity for technology and innovation at the service, Downing Street said in a statement. Metreweli is described as a career intelligence officer who joined the service in 1999 having studied anthropology at Cambridge University. "She is an incredibly experienced, credible, successful operational officer. She is widely respected," former MI6 chief Alex Younger told the BBC. "She has been thinking deeply for a long time about how we prosper in the nexus between man and machine. "She's got a plan. And I think that she knows how to enact it. That is the way MI6 remains at the cutting edge," he added. Born into a family with roots in Eastern Europe -- Metreweli derives from the Georgian name Metreveli -- the future spy boss was part of the Cambridge rowing team that defeated Oxford in 1997. She joined MI6 in 1999 as a field officer and "has spent most of her career in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe", according to the UK government. 'Historic' Metreweli also spent time at MI5, the domestic intelligence service, as a director, the government said, without providing further details. She speaks Arabic, according to UK media. The Financial Times interviewed her in 2022 for an article on female spies, where she was initially quoted under a pseudonym to encourage other women to join the intelligence service. She described herself as a "geek" and said she had always wanted to be a spy. It was revealed that she grew up abroad, enjoyed learning encryption techniques at a young age, and had at least one child while stationed outside the UK. Metreweli asserted that in the male-dominated world of intelligence, women had certain useful skills. "In the moments where you're deciding to become an agent, you're having to make thousands of risk-based calculations, but you're not quite sure how to respond emotionally," she said. "There's no etiquette. Ironically, it becomes a bit of a no man's land. In that space, women are really good at finding common ground. We are the liminal ones." Her appointment comes over three decades after MI5 appointed its first female chief. Stella Rimington held the position from 1992-1996, followed by Eliza Manningham-Buller from 2002-2007. The UK intelligence and security organisation GCHQ appointed its first woman chief, Anne Keast-Butler, in 2023. Starmer called Metreweli's appointment "historic". "The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale -- be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services," he said.
Gulf Today
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Britain's MI6 spy agency gets its first female chief
Britain's real-life spies have finally caught up with James Bond. MI6 has appointed its first female chief. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that Blaise Metreweli will be the next head of the UK's foreign intelligence agency, and the first woman to hold the post since its founding in 1909. She is currently the MI6 director of technology and innovation - the real-world equivalent of Bond gadget-master Q. A career intelligence officer, Metreweli, 47, steps from the shadows into the light as the only MI6 employee whose name is made public. She said "I am proud and honored to be asked to lead my Service." Starmer said the "historic appointment' comes at a time "when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital. "The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale - be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services,' he said. Starmer made the announcement as he arrived in the Canadian province of Alberta for a Group of Seven leaders' summit. Metreweli takes over at MI6 as the agency faces growing challenges from states including China and Russia, whose use of cyber tools, espionage, and influence operations threatens global stability and British interests, even as it remains on alert against terrorist threats. Metreweli is the first woman to get the top job, known as C - rather than M, the fictional MI6 chief of the 007 thrillers. M was played onscreen by Judi Dench in seven Bond movies starting in the 1990s. She will take up her post in the fall, replacing Richard Moore, who has held the job for five years. Britain's two other main intelligence agencies have already shattered the spy world's glass ceiling. MI5, the domestic security service, was led by Stella Rimington from 1992 to 1996 and Eliza Manningham-Buller between 2002 and 2007. Anne Keast-Butler became head of electronic and cyber-intelligence agency GCHQ in 2023. Moore, an Oxford-educated former diplomat, fit the 007 mold like a Savile Row suit. But in recent years MI6 has worked to increase diversity, broadening its recruitment process from the traditional "tap on the shoulder' at an elite university. The agency's website stresses its family-friendly flexible working policy and goal of recruiting "talented people from all backgrounds.' Moore suggested he would like his successor to be a woman. He wrote on X in 2023 that he would "help forge women's equality by working to ensure I'm the last C selected from an all-male shortlist.' Like many things about MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service, the process of choosing a new chief took place out of public view. It began with the country's top civil servant writing to government departments in March asking them to put forward candidates. The job was open to applicants from other intelligence agencies, the civil service, the diplomatic service, the armed forces or the police. In the end, MI6 opted for an internal candidate with a 25-year career in espionage, a degree in anthropology from Cambridge University - where she was on the women's rowing team - and expertise in cutting-edge technology. "At a time of global instability and emerging security threats, where technology is power and our adversaries are working ever closer together, Blaise will ensure the U.K. can tackle these challenges head on to keep Britain safe and secure at home and abroad,' said Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who oversees MI6. Associated Press
UPI
6 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
Britain's MI6 intelligence service to be led by woman for first time
June 16 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the first woman head of the country's secret intelligence service, MI6, since it was formed in 1909. Blaise Metreweli will be promoted from her current role as "Q," in which she is the agency's lead on technology and innovation. She will take over from the current holder of the role of "C," MI6 Chief Sir Richard Moore, when his term is up in the fall, No. 10 Downing Street said in a news release Sunday. "The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital. The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale -- be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services," Starmer said. As C, the 47-year-old will serve as the face of British intelligence in more ways than one, since she is the sole named operative. The identities of roughly all 3,600 agents of the organization a closely guarded state secret. A career intelligence officer who has also held senior roles at the sister-domestic intelligence service MI5, Metreweli is a Middle East specialist with a lengthy track record as an operative in the region, as well as in Europe. "I am proud and honored to be asked to lead my service. MI6 plays a vital role -- with MI5 and Government Communications Headquarters -- in keeping the British people safe and promoting U.K. interests overseas," she said. "I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners." Outgoing chief Moore said in a post on X that Metreweli was the right person for the job, particularly with the current tensions in the Middle East and her out-of-the-box thinking in using technology. "I am absolutely delighted by this historic appointment of my colleague, Blaise Metreweli, to succeed me as 'C'. Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6," said Moore. MI6, which began life as the Secret Service Bureau, has never been led by a woman, in contrast with MI5 and the electronic surveillance agency GCHQ. MI5 has previously been headed by two women, while Anne Keast-Butler continues to head GCHQ after being appointed in April 2023 by the previous Conservative government. The Guardian noted that the on-screen M, James Bond's handler in the film franchise was played by Judi Dench for almost two decades, starting alongside Pierce Brosnan in his first stint as 007.
