MI6 Chief warns UK faces “new age of uncertainty”
The new Chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, has warned that the UK faces a “new age of uncertainty” as global threats evolve in scope and complexity.
Delivering her first public speech from inside MI6 headquarters, Metreweli said Britain must adapt to a world where the “rules of conflict are being rewritten” by Russia and other hostile actors.
She described the range of modern threats as “increasingly complex and interconnected”, spanning technological disruption, hybrid warfare, terrorism and information manipulation.
Metreweli said MI6 is responding by building stronger international partnerships and investing in advanced technology to protect the UK and its allies.
“…Mastery of technology must infuse everything we do. Not just in our labs, but in the field, in our tradecraft, and even more importantly, in the mindset of every officer. We must be as comfortable with lines of code as we are with human sources, as fluent in Python as we are in multiple languages…”
Focusing on Russia, she said President Putin remains an “aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist” threat to European security.
“…Putin should be in no doubt, our support is enduring. The pressure we apply on Ukraine’s behalf will be sustained.”
“The export of chaos is a feature not a bug in the Russian approach to international engagement; and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus.”
Metreweli’s remarks follow the Foreign Secretary’s Locarno Centenary speech, which highlighted the government’s efforts to counter modern hybrid and information threats through technology and alliances.
She closed by stressing the importance of human judgement in a rapidly changing world.
“…The defining challenge of the twenty-first century is not simply who wields the most powerful technologies, but who guides them with the greatest wisdom. Our security, our prosperity, and our humanity depend on it…”
“…It is not what we can do that defines us, but what we choose to do. That choice – the exercise of human agency – has shaped our world before, and it will shape it again…”
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