Russia poses acute threat, new MI6 chief to warn

New MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli will warn of “the acute threat posed by Russia” in his first public speech later.

It will focus on so-called hybrid warfare, which includes incidents such as cyberattacks and drones suspected of being launched near critical infrastructure by Russian proxies.

Ms Metreweli will describe this as “an acute threat posed by an aggressive, expansionist and revisionist Russia”.

Referring to the war in Ukraine, she will insist that Britain will maintain pressure on President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine’s behalf.

Ms Metreweli, who took over as head of the secret service in the autumn, is the first woman to head Britain’s overseas intelligence agency. She succeeded Sir Richard Moore on 1 October.

Monday’s speech will highlight recent sanctions against Russian entities accused of waging information warfare, as well as two China-based companies sanctioned for their “indiscriminate cyber activities against the UK and its allies.”

Western sanctions have certainly harmed the Russian economy, pushing its exports east to China and India. But they failed to change President Putin’s determination to wage war against Ukraine until he gave in to his territorial demands and, ultimately, his loyalty to Moscow.

It was also clear from Ms Metreweli’s speech that technology is an area of ​​particular interest for the new intelligence chief.

Having joined MI6 in 1999, she rose to the top posts via Q Branch. Named after the fictional MI6 division in Ian Fleming’s spy books, it is the real, internal, top-secret part of the secret intelligence service that designs the types of gadgets and gizmos that allow agents to communicate with their handlers, without being detected and caught.

In her subsequent speech, she is expected to call on all her intelligence officers to master technology, “not just in our laboratories, but on the ground, in our profession.” [computer] code as we are with human sources, as fluent in Python as we are in many languages.”

Python, a programming language, might surprise some as an example to choose, since it has been around for over three decades. But his point of view will not be lost on the men and women who have chosen to work in the dark world of espionage.

In an age where data is everything, when spies can no longer rely on false identities when biometric analysis can unmask them in seconds at borders and checkpoints, MI6 must prove it can still be relevant.

Separately, Chief of the Defense Staff Sir Richard Knighton will on Monday call for a “whole-of-society approach” to strengthen national resilience in the face of growing threats and uncertainty.

In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute in London, Sir Richard is expected to say that defense and resilience must be a priority for everyone, not just the military.

It is the latest in a series of warnings that the UK must be more prepared than it currently is to face a growing number of threats.

Sir Richard is expected to say that the situation is more dangerous than he has experienced throughout his career.

Russia has made clear that it wants to challenge, limit, divide and ultimately destroy NATO, he will say.

The British response must not be limited to simply strengthening the armed forces. Deterrence, he will say, involves harnessing the power of the UK, from its universities to industry, the rail network and the NHS.

“A new era for defense doesn’t just mean our military and our government stepping up – as it is for us – it means our entire nation stepping up,” he will say.

Tackling the skills gap highlighted in a recent Royal Academy of Engineering report, Sir Richard will speak about the need to work with industry and young people and announce £50 million for new Colleges of Defense Technical Excellence.

In recent weeks, France and Germany have presented plans for voluntary national service.

Last year, the then Conservative government brought forward its own mandatory proposals, which Labor called a ploy.

But the debate over how Britain as a whole should respond to an increasingly uncertain world is gathering pace.