LONDON: Chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, has asserted that China, Russia, Iran and international terrorism make up the “big four” security issues facing Britain’s spies “in an unstable world”.
In his first public speech since becoming head of the Secret Intelligence Service, Richard Moore said China is the intelligence agency’s “single greatest priority” as the country’s leadership increasingly backs “bold and decisive action” to further its interests.
“China, which is increasingly flexing its muscles around the world, is one of the biggest threats to Britain and its allies, and a miscalculation by Beijing could lead to war,” the head of the UK’s foreign intelligence agency added.
He pointed out that China, Russia, Iran and international terrorism make up the “big four” security issues facing Britain’s spies in an unstable world where both countries and illicit organisations are racing to exploit fast-changing information technology.
Calling China “an authoritarian state with different values than ours”, he said Beijing conducts “large-scale espionage operations” against the UK and its allies, tries to ”distort public discourse and political decision-making” and exports technology that enables a “web of authoritarian control” around the world.
“Beijing’s growing military strength and the party’s desire to resolve the Taiwan issue, by force if necessary, also pose a serious challenge to global stability and peace,” Moore said.
Moore said the UK also continues “to face an acute threat from Russia”. He said Moscow has sponsored killing attempts, such as the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in England in 2018, mounts cyberattacks and attempts to interfere in other countries’ democratic processes.
“We and our allies and partners must stand up to and deter Russian activity which contravenes the international rules-based system,” the MI6 chief added.
“No country in Europe or beyond should be seduced into thinking that unbalanced concessions to Russia bring better behaviour,” he said, noting Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its recent buildup of troops near the border with Ukraine.
His comments are the latest warnings from senior British officials aimed at deterring Moscow from further incursions in Ukraine.
Moore said Iran also poses a major threat, and uses the political and militant group Hezbollah — “a state within a state” — to fuel political turmoil in neighbouring countries.
Turning to non-state threats, he said the fall of Afghanistan’s internationally backed government and the return to power of the Taliban were a “morale boost” to militants.
“I won’t soft soap it: The threat we face will likely grow now we have left Afghanistan,” Moore said — though he also said it would be “overblown” to call the surprise speed of the Taliban’s takeover a Western intelligence failure.
He argued that Britain’s spies must give up some of their deep-rooted secrecy and seek help from technology firms to win a cybersecurity arms race that is giving hostile countries and groups ever more capacity.
MI6 began publicly naming its chief, who uses the code name C, in the 1990s, and Moore is the first head of the service with a Twitter account.
