イギリスMI6の長官が史上初の講演
Secrecy is not a dirty word, says spy chief
By James Blitz in London
Published: October 28 2010 12:52 | Last updated: October 28 2010 12:52
Sir John Sawers, the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, has warned that the organisation's secrets must be protected if it is to continue fending off terrorist threats in future.
Giving the first public speech ever delivered by a serving MI6 Chief, Sir John said that every day he received reports of terrorists "bent on maiming and murdering'' people in Britain.
However, he warned that if MI6 was to succeed in countering the threat of jihadist attacks it was essential that its agents and other intelligence agencies could be sure that their secrets were protected.
"Secrecy is not a dirty word. Secrecy is not there as a cover-up. Secrecy pays a crucial part in keeping Britain safe and secure,'' he said in a speech to the Society of Editors in London.
He said that he was confident MI6 officers operated with the "utmost integrity" and would have "nothing whatsoever" to do with torture.
But he said that the service also had to operate in the real world, and needed to work with agencies from other countries which were not always "friendly democracies".
Sir John's speech was a wide-ranging survey of what MI6 does while also seeking to spell out why the British public should trust its operations.
It is the third in a series of speeches that have been made in the past few weeks by each of the heads of the intelligence agencies – MI5, MI6 and the Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ.
For the past decade, MI6 has been the focus of accusations that it badly misled the UK government that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction – something that proved to be wrong after the US-led invasion of 2003.
There have also been allegations that officers of MI6 and Britain's domestic security service MI5 were complicit in the torture of Guantanamo bay detainees. The British government has opened an inquiry to establish whether the accusations are true.
Sir John said MI6 was involved not only in counter-terrorism work but also in tackling nuclear proliferation by countries such as Iran.
"Terrorism is difficult enough, and despite our collective efforts, an attack may well get through. The human cost would be huge. But our country, our democratic system, will not be brought down by a typical terrorist attack," he said.
"The dangers of proliferation of nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons are more far-reaching. It can alter the whole balance of power in a region," he said.
He added that intelligence failings on Iraq before the 2003 invasion showed "politicians and officials alike" how important it was that sources of information were rigorously evaluated.
Speech marks sea-change in UK security approach
By James Blitz, Defence and Diplomatic Editor
Published: October 28 2010 13:28 | Last updated: October 28 2010 13:28
Sir John Sawers' speech on the role of MI6 is something of a landmark in the 100-year history of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service.
Back in 1994, MI6 was shrouded in such secrecy that the British government refused to concede that the organisation even existed. Today, the chief of SIS was not only standing up making a speech in public for the first time. He was also doing so in the full glare of live television.
Sir John's reasons for going public about MI6's work are easy to understand. Over the past seven years, MI6 has had a seriously negative press. It has been accused of getting the intelligence wrong about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. It has faced allegations – alongside MI5, the domestic security service – that it was complicit in the torture of Guantánamo bay detainees.
All this has prompted a huge stream of negative stories about what MI6 does – stories that may yet re-emerge in Britain's two ongoing inquiries into the Iraq war and the Guantánamo torture allegations.
Sir John's aim with the speech is therefore to give the public a more rounded view of what MI6 does. He has two main messages. First, he details how MI6 plays an important role preserving UK security on a range of fronts. Much of its work is about helping to foil terrorist plots while they are being hatched abroad. But MI6 is also playing a role stopping countries such as Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
He also wants to spell out that the work of secret intelligence creates "constant operational dilemmas" of an ethical nature. He insists that MI6 regards torture as abhorrent under any circumstances and would never participate in it. But he also makes clear that sometimes MI6 faces a dilemma in passing material on suspects to foreign services, knowing that those agencies are less respectful of human rights.
As Sir John puts it: "If we hold back, and don't pass on that intelligence, out of concern that a suspect terrorist may be badly treated, innocent lives may be lost that we could have saved."
In one sense, this is a defensive speech, one that strives to explain to the public why the secret intelligence business is important. As Sir John puts it: "Secrecy is not a dirty word, secrecy is not there as a cover-up." Instead, it plays a crucial part in keeping Britain safe and secure, he says.
But this speech – and the very public manner in which it has been delivered – also reflects the growing confidence and influence of the intelligence agencies in the Whitehall machine.
Over the past few weeks all three service chiefs – the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – have given public addresses. The work of all three – in counter-terrorism and cyberwarfare – has been the focus of considerable attention (and extra cash) in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
By contrast, conventional defence – in particular the work of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force – has suffered in the budget cuts in recent weeks.
In short, it is tempting to think that Sir John's speech marks something of a sea-change in the British approach to defence and security.
The embarrassments of Iraq and WMD are slowly fading into the background. Instead, the work of the intelligence services is becoming increasingly central to what the British government means by security.
By James Blitz in London
Published: October 28 2010 12:52 | Last updated: October 28 2010 12:52
Sir John Sawers, the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, has warned that the organisation's secrets must be protected if it is to continue fending off terrorist threats in future.
Giving the first public speech ever delivered by a serving MI6 Chief, Sir John said that every day he received reports of terrorists "bent on maiming and murdering'' people in Britain.
However, he warned that if MI6 was to succeed in countering the threat of jihadist attacks it was essential that its agents and other intelligence agencies could be sure that their secrets were protected.
"Secrecy is not a dirty word. Secrecy is not there as a cover-up. Secrecy pays a crucial part in keeping Britain safe and secure,'' he said in a speech to the Society of Editors in London.
He said that he was confident MI6 officers operated with the "utmost integrity" and would have "nothing whatsoever" to do with torture.
But he said that the service also had to operate in the real world, and needed to work with agencies from other countries which were not always "friendly democracies".
Sir John's speech was a wide-ranging survey of what MI6 does while also seeking to spell out why the British public should trust its operations.
It is the third in a series of speeches that have been made in the past few weeks by each of the heads of the intelligence agencies – MI5, MI6 and the Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ.
For the past decade, MI6 has been the focus of accusations that it badly misled the UK government that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction – something that proved to be wrong after the US-led invasion of 2003.
There have also been allegations that officers of MI6 and Britain's domestic security service MI5 were complicit in the torture of Guantanamo bay detainees. The British government has opened an inquiry to establish whether the accusations are true.
Sir John said MI6 was involved not only in counter-terrorism work but also in tackling nuclear proliferation by countries such as Iran.
"Terrorism is difficult enough, and despite our collective efforts, an attack may well get through. The human cost would be huge. But our country, our democratic system, will not be brought down by a typical terrorist attack," he said.
"The dangers of proliferation of nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons are more far-reaching. It can alter the whole balance of power in a region," he said.
He added that intelligence failings on Iraq before the 2003 invasion showed "politicians and officials alike" how important it was that sources of information were rigorously evaluated.
Speech marks sea-change in UK security approach
By James Blitz, Defence and Diplomatic Editor
Published: October 28 2010 13:28 | Last updated: October 28 2010 13:28
Sir John Sawers' speech on the role of MI6 is something of a landmark in the 100-year history of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service.
Back in 1994, MI6 was shrouded in such secrecy that the British government refused to concede that the organisation even existed. Today, the chief of SIS was not only standing up making a speech in public for the first time. He was also doing so in the full glare of live television.
Sir John's reasons for going public about MI6's work are easy to understand. Over the past seven years, MI6 has had a seriously negative press. It has been accused of getting the intelligence wrong about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. It has faced allegations – alongside MI5, the domestic security service – that it was complicit in the torture of Guantánamo bay detainees.
All this has prompted a huge stream of negative stories about what MI6 does – stories that may yet re-emerge in Britain's two ongoing inquiries into the Iraq war and the Guantánamo torture allegations.
Sir John's aim with the speech is therefore to give the public a more rounded view of what MI6 does. He has two main messages. First, he details how MI6 plays an important role preserving UK security on a range of fronts. Much of its work is about helping to foil terrorist plots while they are being hatched abroad. But MI6 is also playing a role stopping countries such as Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
He also wants to spell out that the work of secret intelligence creates "constant operational dilemmas" of an ethical nature. He insists that MI6 regards torture as abhorrent under any circumstances and would never participate in it. But he also makes clear that sometimes MI6 faces a dilemma in passing material on suspects to foreign services, knowing that those agencies are less respectful of human rights.
As Sir John puts it: "If we hold back, and don't pass on that intelligence, out of concern that a suspect terrorist may be badly treated, innocent lives may be lost that we could have saved."
In one sense, this is a defensive speech, one that strives to explain to the public why the secret intelligence business is important. As Sir John puts it: "Secrecy is not a dirty word, secrecy is not there as a cover-up." Instead, it plays a crucial part in keeping Britain safe and secure, he says.
But this speech – and the very public manner in which it has been delivered – also reflects the growing confidence and influence of the intelligence agencies in the Whitehall machine.
Over the past few weeks all three service chiefs – the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – have given public addresses. The work of all three – in counter-terrorism and cyberwarfare – has been the focus of considerable attention (and extra cash) in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
By contrast, conventional defence – in particular the work of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force – has suffered in the budget cuts in recent weeks.
In short, it is tempting to think that Sir John's speech marks something of a sea-change in the British approach to defence and security.
The embarrassments of Iraq and WMD are slowly fading into the background. Instead, the work of the intelligence services is becoming increasingly central to what the British government means by security.
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