New MI6 boss named as former ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore

Moore will take over as director general of Secret Intelligence Service from Sir Alex Younger

A former British ambassador to Turkey and a career Whitehall insider has been named as the next chief of MI6 to replace Sir Alex Younger, who is due to step aside towards the end of the year.

Richard Moore, 57, currently the political director at the Foreign Office, is the surprise pick from Downing Street, which had been expected to appoint Tom Hurd, a senior Home Office official and Eton schoolmate of Boris Johnson.

Moore served as ambassador to Turkey from January 2014 to December 2017, and has also been a deputy national security adviser. A fluent Turkish speaker, he studied PPE at Oxford and first joined MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, in 1987.

Whitehall sources said they believed Moore would bring “an insider’s empathy but an outsider’s perspective” – having formally left the spy agency for a conventional career in the Foreign Office about a decade ago.

No woman has ever headed MI6 in its 111-year history, unlike the domestic intelligence agency MI5, which has twice had a female director general.

Two potential female candidates to lead MI6: Dame Karen Pierce and Madeleine Alessandri, were promoted to other jobs within government during the recruitment process, as Washington ambassador and permanent secretary at the Northern Ireland Office respectively.

However, Moore’s most heavily-tipped rival was Tom Hurd, a senior Home Office official responsible for security and counter terrorism, who is also a son of former Conservative foreign secretary Sir Douglas Hurd, and a school contemporary of the prime minister.

An unnamed internal candidate was also in the running, it is understood.

Announcing the appointment, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said Moore would return to MI6 “with tremendous experience and will oversee the work of a group of men and women whose tireless efforts are rarely seen in public, but which are critical for the security and prosperity of the UK”.

The new chief arrives at a time when MI6 is under pressure to refocus its efforts to targeting hostile states – China and Russia – while the scale of the threat from Islamist terror is unclear after Islamic State lost all its territory and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Last week British politicians and British intelligence were accused of “taking their eye off the ball” when it came to the Kremlin, in a highly critical report from the intelligence and security committee watchdog. It accused the spy agencies of failing to examine whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The head of the foreign intelligence service is the only publicly named officer of the service, although he is still also known informally as C, short for chief, the title used internally for leaders of the organisation since its inception in 1909.

Formally, a new chief is appointed by the prime minister and the foreign office following the recommendation of an appointment panel composed of officials, a process designed to reduce the potential for political interference.

Moore said: “SIS [Secret Intelligence Service, as MI6 is officially known] plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas. I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave and dedicated team at SIS.”

Younger, 56, will retire after nearly six years as director general. The top job at all Britain’s three spy agencies is frequently rotated, although Younger was the longest-serving leader of the organisation for over 50 years.

Moore is due to start in the autumn and is expected to serve five years in the job. Whitehall sources added that Moore would continue to focus on using technology to obtain information, reflecting the fact that the traditional approach of planting secret agents in a foreign country was becoming harder to sustain in an era where it only takes a moment to search somebody’s background online.

Contributor

Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
UK's former Moscow ambassador in spotlight over Trump dossier
Sir Andrew Wood says he rates judgment of report author Christopher Steele, who ‘would not make things up’

Luke Harding and Nick Hopkins

13, Jan, 2017 @5:13 PM

Article image
Hostile states pose 'fundamental threat' to Europe, says MI6 chief
Although Alex Younger does not name specific country, he makes clear that Russia is target of his remarks

Ewen MacAskill Defence and intelligence correspondent

08, Dec, 2016 @1:31 PM

Article image
Former al-Qaida agent turned MI6 spy reveals role in US laptop ban
Aimen Dean said he discovered that Hamayun Tariq, a Briton, was planning to bomb flights to US

Nazia Parveen North of England correspondent

17, Jun, 2018 @4:53 PM

Article image
MI6 returns to 'tapping up' in effort to recruit black and Asian officers
Exclusive: The ‘tap on the shoulder’ is back, says the service’s chief, Alex Younger, in his first national newspaper interview

Nick Hopkins

02, Mar, 2017 @12:26 PM

Article image
What you really need to join MI6: emotional intelligence and a high IQ
Spy recruiter says she is looking for the sort of people who have had to fight to get on in life, whatever their background

Nick Hopkins

02, Mar, 2017 @12:26 PM

Article image
UK efforts to penetrate Kremlin would not be shared with ISC
Whitehall sources argue that criticism of Britain’s spy agencies work on Russia is unfair

Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor

23, Jul, 2020 @6:48 PM

Article image
MI6 to recruit hundreds more staff in response to digital technology
Worldwide intelligence agencies increasingly rely upon internet and social media rather than running of agents

Ewen MacAskill

21, Sep, 2016 @8:37 PM

Article image
UK accused of withholding evidence over Russian whistleblower's death
Home secretary argues disclosure of files relevant to death of Alexander Perepilichnyy could harm national security

Luke Harding

14, Nov, 2016 @5:35 PM

Article image
Sajid Javid announces overhaul of espionage and treason laws
New bill is needed to tackle hostile activity by Russia and others, says home secretary

Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent

20, May, 2019 @11:58 AM

Article image
How Salisbury case went from local drama to international incident
When police found Sergei Skripal and his daughter slumped on a bench, they suspected drugs. But it proved to be far more sinister

Luke Harding, Steven Morris and Caroline Bannock

10, Mar, 2018 @7:00 AM