MI6 | The Guardian

On this day 20 years ago, Robin Cook tried to stop the Iraq war. I helped write that historic speech | David Clark

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 11:33:38 GMT

He grieved that he was unable to avert the conflict. But look at his words: he was so right and, had he endured, would have offered much more

Twenty years ago this evening I sat in the visitor’s gallery of the House of Commons to watch its departed leader, Robin Cook, deliver what many came to regard as the finest parliamentary speech of its era.

The days leading up to it had been spent in his company preparing for that moment and the resignation that preceded it. It was an event full of mixed emotions and political significance, and it has lost none of its power in the time since.

Edinburgh school accused of discrimination by ex-spy is cleared

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 13:42:03 GMT

St George’s school asked to improve procedures after complaint from former MI6 mole within al-Qaida Aimen Dean

A Scottish private school accused of discrimination by a former MI6 agent who spied inside al-Qaida has been cleared of wrongdoing but asked to improve how it handles disputes with parents.

St George’s school in Edinburgh was accused by Aimen Dean, a former bombmaker who was regarded as one of the west’s most important moles inside al-Qaida, of repeatedly discriminating against his daughter because other parents feared he was a security risk.

British-Iranian man appears in heavily edited confession aired on Iranian TV

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 20:53:28 GMT

Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death for allegedly spying for MI6, gave reports on Iran’s nuclear programme, he tells TV interviewer

Alireza Akbari, the British-Iranian dual national sentenced to death for allegedly spying for MI6, gave his British handlers reports on Iran’s nuclear programme and efforts to evade western economic sanctions, according to an edited TV confession aired by news agencies close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

In the video, which was aired on Thursday and appeared to be heavily edited, Akbari was also asked about the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh who was shot dead in in Tehran in 2020.

‘I did not let Kim Philby go. He gave me the slip’: what an MI6 spy told me over lunch

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 15:00:20 GMT

A new TV series highlights the part played by the UK intelligence service’s Nicholas Elliott in unmasking the 1960s Cambridge spy ring – events he recalled years later over lunch at his club

The English of a certain generation seem to be divided between those who are fascinated by the Cambridge spies and those who are not. For the former, the fascination and in my case memories have been rekindled by the recent release of the television series A Spy Among Friends, starring Guy Pearce as the treacherous Kim Philby and Damian Lewis as Nicholas Elliott, his close friend for many years at the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as MI6.

The bond between Philby and Elliott was tested when the latter discovered that he had unwittingly been one of Philby’s prime sources for top-secret intelligence as part of the notorious Cambridge spy ring who passed information to the Soviet Union during the second world war and, later, the cold war. This was all the more galling for Elliott, who had helped to clear Philby’s name when he had come under suspicion some years before his ultimate confession in Beirut in 1963.

Recruitment of UK spies no longer restricted to those with British parents

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 00:01:46 GMT

UK intelligence agencies to broaden pool of talent by accepting anyone with British citizenship

The selection criteria for spies are, perhaps unsurprisingly, quite opaque and presumed to be fairly stringent. But there is one thing that will no longer be required of would-be British agents: British parentage.

The UK’s three intelligence agencies are seeking to broaden the pool of talent they can recruit from by accepting anyone who has British citizenship – regardless of where their parents are from.

MI5 missed early chance to expose Soviet agent Kim Philby, files reveal

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 05:00:42 GMT

British intelligence viewed Flora Solomon as ‘inconsequential’ in 1951 but her evidence later ‘clinched’ case against Philby

Kim Philby could have been unmasked as a Soviet double agent more than a decade before his eventual defection had MI5 not missed an opportunity to question his close friend Flora Solomon, according to newly released intelligence files.

Solomon, born in Russia to a wealthy family, was a former lover of Alexander Kerensky, the Russian leader deposed by Lenin. She told MI5 in 1962 that Philby had tried to recruit her as a Soviet spy in 1937-38.

Boris Johnson accused of intelligence tipoff that led to British Sikh’s alleged torture in India

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 16:15:08 GMT

Labour raises questions in the Commons over Johnson’s alleged actions as foreign secretary in the case of activist Jagtar Singh Johal

Labour has accused Boris Johnson of authorising the sharing of intelligence that led to the imprisonment and alleged torture of a UK-based Sikh activist in India.

A Foreign Office minister refused to confirm or deny Johnson’s alleged involvement – during his time as foreign secretary – in the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been detained for five years without trial.

British Sikh activist ‘tortured in India after tip-off from UK intelligence’

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 13:55:19 GMT

Lawyers for Jagtar Singh Johal say he was given electric shocks after unlawful arrest in Punjab in 2017

A British Sikh campaigner is facing a possible death sentence after the UK intelligence services passed on information about him to the Indian authorities, according to a high court complaint.

Lawyers for Jagtar Singh Johal from Dumbarton, Scotland, say he was tortured, including being given electric shocks, after his unlawful arrest in the Punjab in 2017 where he had travelled for his wedding.

Half of Russian spies in Europe expelled since Ukraine invasion, says MI6 chief

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 18:05:53 GMT

Richard Moore says 400 intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover have been expelled

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates

Half of all the Russian spies operating under diplomatic cover around Europe have been expelled since the start of the war in Ukraine, the chief of MI6 has told a US security conference.

Richard Moore, who heads British foreign intelligence, said the expulsions of about 400 Russian diplomats from countries in continental Europe, including France and Germany, had dramatically reduced the Kremlin’s espionage capabilities.

UK officials in line for immunity in assisting crimes overseas, say critics

Sat, 04 Jun 2022 05:00:28 GMT

Exclusive: Draft security bill would let spies and ministers enable killings and torture, warn charity and ex-minister

Ministers and spies would be given immunity from accusations of assisting crimes overseas under a new national security law to be debated by MPs next week, a human rights charity and former Tory cabinet minister have warned.

The Home Office was told that the powers being proposed were “far too slack” and would diminish the UK’s moral authority to condemn atrocities such as the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Hard Brexit plans by ex-MI6 chief hacked and leaked by Russians

Thu, 26 May 2022 16:48:42 GMT

Emails describe strategy in 2018 by Sir Richard Dearlove and others to ensure Britain left EU on WTO terms

A group of Russian hackers is believed to be behind the release of a cache of emails obtained from a former director of MI6 and other Brexiters unhappy with Theresa May’s failure to negotiate a “clean” EU exit deal.

Google said the “clumsy campaign” bore the hallmarks of a Russian group it called Coldriver – and the hackers published the correspondence under the title “Very English Coop d’Etat”, claiming it revealed the existence of shadowy group of pro-Brexit plotters.

Moral arguments alone not enough to justify spying, says MI6 ethics chief

Thu, 12 May 2022 13:31:04 GMT

Book review says in reality, intelligence agencies are tasked ‘to defend the national interest for its own sake’

MI6’s ethics chief has argued that spies cannot justify their existence with moral arguments alone and must accept they exist to “promote the national interest” in a struggle as “potent now as it was during the cold war”.

The frank argument is made in a review of a book, Spying Through a Glass Darkly, a discussion of the ethics of espionage, which argues that the entirely values-based justification for spying advanced by the author is too restrictive.

UK spies who allegedly passed questions to CIA torturers subject to English law, court rules

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 15:01:38 GMT

Abu Zubaydah, tortured at CIA ‘black sites’ in six different countries, has right to sue UK government

UK intelligence services who allegedly asked the CIA to put questions to a detainee who was being tortured in “black sites” were subject to the law of England and Wales and not that of the countries in which he was being held, the court of appeal has ruled.

The three appeal judges were asked to decide whether Abu Zubaydah, who was subjected to extreme mistreatment and torture at secret CIA “black sites” in six different countries, has the right to sue the UK government in England.

Zubaydah had no control whatever over his location and in all probability no knowledge of it either.

His location was irrelevant to the UK intelligence services and may have been unknown to them.

The claimant was undoubtedly rendered to the six countries in question precisely because this would enable him to be detained and tortured outside the laws and legal systems of those countries.

False Prophets by Nigel Ashton review – Britain and the Middle East

Sat, 05 Mar 2022 07:30:17 GMT

A deft and fascinating account of British prime ministers’ flawed interventions in the region, from Suez to Iraq

Every postwar British leader has seen the Middle East as a threatening place. They worried about the loss of empire and the risk of having oil supplies cut off; made bombastic claims about new Hitlers and transnational terrorism. But whatever the specific issues of the day, one thing has been remarkably consistent: most prime ministers since the second world war have overseen some kind of military intervention in the Middle East. That is one of the most striking themes of Nigel Ashton’s fascinating book on the beliefs and relationships that shaped British prime ministers’ policies in the region, from the Suez crisis to the Arab uprisings.

Diary entries, telegrams, diplomatic records and, where possible, interviews with aides and advisers help bring out the psychology, preoccupations and prejudices that framed British decision making. The result is an empathetic but not a sympathetic account. In almost every chapter Ashton identifies a tendency to approach the Middle East with a mix of fear and hubris. Even as they saw the region as dangerous, British leaders ensured that their troops and officials were frequently entangled in it. Long after the formal structures of empire came to an end, an assumption persisted that Britain should and would have a role in shaping the region. In the early 1950s, a diplomat wrote of lying awake at night, fearing that all of Asia was moving out of Britain’s orbit, and that “our western civilisation will be soon strangled and subjected, with its bombs unusable in its pocket”.

Ukraine crisis brings British intelligence out of the shadows

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 18:44:03 GMT

Analysis: warnings of Russian invasion issued in bid to shape the narrative and win information war with Kremlin

British intelligence, so used to operating in the shadows, has been thrust into the spotlight during the Ukraine crisis, cited by Boris Johnson on Wednesday to warn that Russian troop numbers were still increasing or by the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, last month to warn of a possible coup in Kyiv.

As the crisis has intensified, the warnings have, if anything, become even less subtle. An extraordinary video released on Thursday by the Ministry of Defence, billed in capital letters as an “intelligence update”, included a Dad’s Army-style map showing a possible Russian invasion plan and other assessments aimed at the general public.

Chinese MI6 informant gave information to MPs about Huawei threat

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 15:56:43 GMT

Wang Yam sent committee warnings about Britain’s involvement with telecommunications firm

A Chinese informant for MI6, now serving a life sentence for murder in a British jail, has given information about the telecommunications company Huawei to the parliamentary intelligence and security committee (ISC), the Guardian has learned.

He has been thanked by the chair of the committee, the senior Conservative backbencher Dr Julian Lewis, and told that he had raised “several important areas of concern” and that the committee’s findings may be “of interest” to him.

Richard Moore: even spies don’t want to see our Wordle solutions | Rebecca Nicholson

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 15:00:10 GMT

The head of MI6 had a point when he threatened to unfollow social media users who insist on sharing their successes at the word game

Where do you stand on sharing your Wordle results? In recent weeks, that innocuous little grid of yellow, green and black squares has become as much a staple of social media as pedantry and passive aggression; it is a cute little flashback to when people’s annoyance at online content peaked with seeing too many pictures of what a stranger had for breakfast.

The word-guessing game continues to grow and grow and millions of people are now playing it. One newish poll by Morning Consult suggested that as many as 14% of Americans have joined in and that 59% of players share their results, either “often” or “sometimes”. Whether people post often or sometimes, a kind of grid rage is growing. Perhaps it is the sudden influx, or the sense that people are showing off, or talking about something of little interest to others, all of which are about as standard on the internet as someone choosing My Way on Desert Island Discs. MI6 chief Richard Moore caused a minor stink last week when he tweeted that he was “thinking of unfollowing those who post their Wordle results”, which led to the double whammy of winning support from Anneka Rice and a jovial apology from GCHQ in the form of a mocked-up Wordle page.

Shush! Britain’s top spy decries Wordle braggers

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 18:38:00 GMT

MI6 chief bemoans lack of secrecy among players of trending word game, but GCHQ breaks cover

Crossword clues have long been one way of disguising secret messages, so an aptitude for word puzzles could be seen as a welcome skill in any aspiring spy.

Alas, those proclaiming their prowess online for the latest word-game craze, Wordle, seem not to have impressed UK’s top spymaster, Richard Moore, putting him at humorous odds with the country’s other spy agency, GCHQ.

MI5 warning shows tone has changed when it comes to China

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 19:49:20 GMT

Analysis: ‘interference alert’ about Christine Lee follows years of caution about criticising Beijing

Britain’s intelligence agencies have been gradually stepping up their warnings about their fears of Chinese espionage and influence peddling over the past couple of years – but until now there has not been such an public warning about a covert campaign in the UK.

Thursday’s warning from MI5 that accused the lawyer Christine Lee of engaging “in political interference activities” on behalf of China’s ruling Communist party contrasts with its response when it concluded three spies were operating in the UK in 2020.

MI6 chief thanks China for ‘free publicity’ after James Bond spoof

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 15:06:27 GMT

Rare response from Richard Moore comes after state news agency posted video mocking western intelligence

The head of MI6 has thanked China’s state news agency for “free publicity” after it posted a James Bond spoof video in response to a statement he made last year that Beijing was the spy agency’s “single greatest priority”.

Richard Moore, codenamed C, intervened after Xinhua released an extraordinary four-minute English-language video featuring a pair of supposed British spies, James Pond and an apparent Marvel universe recruit, Black Window.

Janes news RSS

Belgium formalises second MRTT tanker buy to bring NATO MMU fleet to 10

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:35:35 Z

Belgium has formalised the procurement of a second Airbus A330-200 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) as its contribution to the NATO Multinational MRTT Unit (MMU).

BMC rolls out new Altay

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:35:34 Z

BMC unveiled an upgraded version of the Altay main battle tank (MBT) on 22 March.

Malta commissions OPV P71 into service

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:35:33 Z

The Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) has commissioned its new offshore patrol vessel (OPV), P71, into service.

Turkey showcases TB3 UCAV ahead of first flight

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:35:32 Z

Turkey's Baykar has showcased its Bayraktar TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) ahead of its upcoming first flight.

Thales to deliver capability insertion package for Sonar 2087

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 12:20:13 Z

Thales UK is set to start rolling out a package of enhancements for the Sonar 2087 low-frequency active/passive variable depth sonar equipping the Royal Navy's (RN's)...

US, South Korea conduct THAAD remote launcher deployment training

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 11:20:16 Z

The US Forces Korea (USFK) and the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA)have conducted deployment training for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) remote launcher.

Northrop Grumman sees bright future for MQ-8 despite US Navy divestments

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 07:20:15 Z

Despite the US Navy's (USN's) recent cuts, entirely divesting the MQ-8B and cutting the follow-on MQ-8C fleet to eight operational helicopters, Northrop Grumman...

Bombardier eyes rapid defence growth

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 05:50:23 Z

Bombardier expects to triple its defence revenue to more than USD1 billion in the second half of the decade, according to the Canadian aircraft manufacturer.

Sweden procures tactical communication centres

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:05:13 Z

The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has ordered new containerised tactical communication systems for EUR20 million (USD21.75 million) from Finnish company...

Pentagon budget 2024: New PSA mindset alters construction and delivery plan for carrier Kennedy

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 14:50:09 Z

The new US Navy (USN) Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) plan for aircraft carriers is pushing back the expected delivery date for the Ford-class John F Kennedy (CVN 79),...

Nordic countries combine combat air power

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 12:50:13 Z

The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have agreed on “seamless co-operation” between their respective air forces, with a letter of intent (LOI)...

MRZR Alpha ATVs readied for UAE SOCOM

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 12:50:12 Z

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is set to become the first international customer for Polaris Government and Defense's 4×4 MRZR Alpha...

Delivery of advanced microchip prototype set for April

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 11:50:09 Z

US semiconductor companies Intel and Qorvo are poised to deliver a critical microelectronics (ME) technology prototype to the US Department of Defense (DoD) by April for...

Ukraine conflict: Slovakia transfers first MiG-29s to Ukraine

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 10:35:10 Z

Slovakia has transferred the first of its MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum' combat aircraft to Ukraine, with the aircraft being flown from Sliač Air Base to an undisclosed location in...

North Korea conducts test of ‘underwater nuclear strategic weapon'

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 09:05:08 Z

North Korea has tested an unmanned ‘underwater nuclear strategic weapon' system that can inflict ‘radioactive tsunamis' on coastal areas, state news agency Korean...

Ukraine conflict: Finland opens up airspace to allied ISR missions

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 16:20:10 Z

Finland is to allow intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft of “key international partners” to operate in its national airspace, it was announced...

US Navy transfers three coastal patrol craft to Egyptian Navy

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 15:05:26 Z

The Egyptian Navy has taken delivery of three Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships from the United States.

NATO declares IOC for MRTT capability

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 15:05:25 Z

NATO declared initial operating capability (IOC) for its Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) Unit (MMU) on 23 March.

Colombia buys three BAF-36 boats for its marine infantry

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 13:50:13 Z

Colombia has acquired three river support boats of the MAR 10 BAF-36FT-Military type, to be deployed by its marine infantry, the Colombian Navy (Armada de la República...

Chinese WS20 engine likely entering operational service

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 12:05:11 Z

China's domestically developed Shenyang WS20 engine for the Xi'an Aircraft Corporation (XAC) Y-20 transport aircraft appears to be ready for operational service.

Boeing to take another KC-46A tanker charge

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 06:50:10 Z

Boeing expects to take another earnings charge on its long-troubled KC-46A Pegasus tanker because of a “supplier quality issue” with the centre fuel tank, according to...

Ukraine conflict: Ukrainian troops trained on Patriot faster than expected

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 06:05:12 Z

The soldiers selected by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to train on the Patriot missile battery completed their training curriculum faster than expected, a Pentagon...

SDA, CesiumAstro to develop Link 16-capable AESA antenna

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 05:20:21 Z

The Pentagon's Space Development Agency (SDA), in conjunction with Colorado-based space payload company CesiumAstro, is developing the first multibeam active...

US backtracks on M1A2 tanks, sending older variant to Ukraine

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 14:05:18 Z

The Pentagon announced on 21 March that the 31 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) promised to Ukraine will not be M1A2 model as initially planned.

Slovakia to receive AH-1Z attack helos from US in exchange for MiG-29s to Ukraine

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 10:35:10 Z

Slovakia is to receive Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters from the United States, in exchange for transferring its MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum' fighter fleet to Ukraine.

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