Notable Baker
MI5 & MI6 heads both to step down
Found the ex redditor
Found the article copied by a plebbitor
Heads of MI5 and MI6 expected to stand down in 2020 despite 'dangerous times' for Britain
The heads of both MI5 and MI6 are due to step down in the new year at a time of ongoing threats from Islamist extremists, Russia and the rise of China, The Telegraph understands.
Two new top spies, who could be posted in from outside the agencies, will face immediate global problems in these “dangerous times,” a former intelligence official has told the Telegraph.
Sir Alex Younger, the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), better known as MI6, and Sir Andrew Parker, his opposite number at MI5, are both thought to be standing down in 2020.
Their successors are expected to come from within their organisations, although there has been a drive in recent years for personnel to ‘cross pollinate’ between agencies.
Ciaran Martin, 45, who set up the National Cyber Security Centre in 2016, will also leave his post in the summer. Mr Martin will take up a role in the private sector and become a visiting professor at King's College London, he announced on Friday evening.
Philip Ingram, a former military intelligence officer who advises on security matters, said the government will be careful to ensure there is no “gap in the wider understanding” of the threats facing Britain as the pivotal roles are handed over.
“Global events will have a great impact on the selection of their successors,” he told the Telegraph.
“They don’t necessarily need to be spies from with in the agencies but they need credibility. Whoever comes in needs to be knowledgeable on the current issues so you don’t get a gap in the wider understanding. It will be very interesting to see who they put in there [as] they will also need to get on with government.
"I don’t think it’s an issue that they’re both going at the same time. There is nothing to stop them appointing from out of different agencies; there has been a move to bring more outsiders in.”
Sir Alex Younger, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service
Sir Alex has been head of SIS since 2014 and has provided advice to three Prime Ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Director General of MI5, Sir Andrew Parker, has been in post since April 2013.
Sir Alex, known in his organisation as ‘C’, was due to retire in November 2019 after serving the traditional five-year tenure in the role.
However, last April Theresa May confirmed he would remain in post for at least another year on the recommendation of Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary who also serves as National Security Advisor, to oversee any security issues that may have arisen from Brexit.
The Telegraph understands a shortlist of three people has been drawn up to become the new ‘C’, with at least one currently serving in another government department.
Sir Andrew Parker, Director General of MI5
Sir Andrew has previously warned that Britain faces “a three dimensional threat: at home, overseas, and online” and that losses in Syria and Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) shows that “ideology does not require territory to survive”.
High on the list of priorities for the new Director General of MI5, expected to be in post in the first half of 2020, will be the threat to the UK from Isil fighters returning from Syria, Libya and Iraq.
There are an estimated 2,000 foreign fighters held in custody in Syria, mainly by Kurdish forces, and the number of escapees after the recent Turkish incursion following the partial US withdrawal was less than feared.
However, the problem is still thought to be a major concern in Whitehall as the scale of the potential threat is unprecedented and few of the underlying radicalising practices or grievances have been addressed in the Arab world.
Thames House, home to MI5 in central London
The threat from a resurgent Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine and the nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018, will also demand attention from the new spy chiefs.
Likewise China, from where the Telegraph understands the espionage threat is considered significant, growing and severe.
Security concerns over technology firm Huawei and pressure on China’s leadership could increase global tensions, experts believe. President Xi Jinping is currently managing demands of internal stability, wider territorial integrity in the South China Sea and economic growth.
>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/28/heads-mi5-mi6-expected-stand-2020-despite-dangerous-times-britain/
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