TeaHe First woman appointed for the role of “C” As head of Secret Intelligence Service, when Britain’s two most important relationships will join espionage breaking point.
And she will lead a technical race that the UK cannot lose.
47 -year -old Blaise Metriveli, graduates of Cambridge University of Social Anthropology, are running in the department Q. Mi6Her appointment to the top job, where, will only be expected to write in the traditional green ink of the chief, including its use. Radical new technology.
As Q as Question, James Bond, a title adopted by MI6 in tribute to fictional Q in films, presided over the development of gadgets, secret communication, bugs, weapons and disguise. But also a broad digital race for artificial intelligence and dominance.
Former Mi6 head head Alex Younger told Independent He was glad that Metreveli was given the top job.
“She serves as cue and knows how to keep a hamint [human intelligence] Serving in a state -of -the -art service in a digital world, ”he said.
“This latter point is important. Only a few Hamint services will be erected in the air of digitization. This appointment is even more likely that Mi6 will be one of them.”
Other intelligence sources have talked Independent About the difficulties of installing a reliable profile or “legend” for officers working under the cover in the digital age. Social media profiles and other digital footprints have to return to years, often throughout life. The manufacture of real -world spy requires huge amounts of resources from the virtual world.
“If you do not show on Google or Twitter, you probably do not exist in cookies and Amazon payments and this is a problem for those we are investing,” an officer said.
Like many top Mi6 officials, Ms. Metriveli served for years Middle East Which has been crucible for most of his careers during the so -called “war on terror”.
But Russia has been the biggest single threat to Britain and its colleagues, especially since 2022. Vladimir Putin has become clear with his intentions to try to gain Russian control over most of Eastern Europe lost in democracy at the end of the Cold War.
Come during his career, C would have admitted that CIA was the closest aide of Britain. And that the relationship between Waxhall Bridge and Langley, Virginia was one of the strongest threads in the tapestry of the NATO coalition.
But the tapestry is coming separately. Came during the first sign of unraveling Donald TrumpWhen the first term as the President, when it became clear, he blew up the state’s secrets to the Russian Foreign Minister that he could not be trusted.
This concern has intensified when he was stored in the bathroom of his house in Florida after leaving the office.
And now Five eyes Intelligence sharing network that connects UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, has come close to collapse due to its open support for Russia in Ukraine.
It is impossible with their top appointments Top secret material And for a long time threatened to stand American allies. He has used individual phones in the “eyes” (highest level) of secret communication on live war plans in Yemen, and threatened to invade Greenland, part of NATO-Member Denmark.
It will be necessary to save new C Important relationship with LangleyAnd the US the National Intelligence Agency, which is the most important Evsdroping organization of the West along with the GCHQ, while simultaneously and invisible ensures that Trump and those who are in charge of American intelligence, do not get the best … intelligence information.
Israel is equally problematic. Some, if anyone, the Israeli campaign in Gaza in MI6 and the West Bank occupied by Israel is sympathetic to the Palestinian land by Israel. They see it as a moral failure and as a driver for Islamic terror as a threat to Western interests.
But he has long and close relationships with Israeli’s foreign intelligence service. Mossad, who prefers its domestic counterpart Shin stakes, often advises that Israel’s right -wing government does not welcome its nuances or recognition that Israel’s future depends on diplomacy that may not be military.
Britain sees Israel as a leading “collaborative” on intelligence when it comes to Iran, but as a strategic liability when it comes to its treatment of Palestinians.
What Ms. Metriveli has said by the International Criminal Court will have to keep the relationship alive without support.
Sir Alex said: “I think Blaise is an excellent choice (from a strong bench). He has huge operational reliability and intensive case officer experience, especially with excellent Arabic in the Middle East. He is widely honored and inside the outside.”
These are external relationships that will now count the most.