MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence on foreign nationals in support of its Five Eyes partners. SIS is one of the British intelligence agencies and the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service ("C") is directly accountable to the Foreign Secretary.[3]
For other uses, see MI-6 (disambiguation).Agency overview
4 July 1909
Semper Occultus ("Always Secret")
3,644[1]
Single Intelligence Account £3.711 billion (2021–22)[1]
Formed in 1909 as the foreign section of the Secret Service Bureau, the section grew greatly during the First World War officially adopting its current name around 1920.[4] The name "MI6" originated as a convenient label during the Second World War, when SIS was known by many names. It is still commonly used today.[4] The existence of SIS was not officially acknowledged until 1994.[5] That year the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (ISA) was introduced to Parliament, to place the organisation on a statutory footing for the first time. It provides the legal basis for its operations. Today, SIS is subject to public oversight by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.[6]
The stated priority roles of SIS are counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, providing intelligence in support of cyber security, and supporting stability overseas to disrupt terrorism and other criminal activities.[7] Unlike its main sister agencies, Security Service (MI5) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), SIS works exclusively in foreign intelligence gathering; the ISA allows it to carry out operations only against persons outside the British Islands.[8] Some of SIS's actions since the 2000s have attracted significant controversy, such as its alleged complicity in acts of enhanced interrogation techniques and extraordinary rendition.[9][10]
Since 1994, SIS headquarters have been in the SIS Building in London, on the South Bank of the River Thames.[11]
The main mission of SIS is to collect Britain's foreign intelligence. It provides the British government with vital intelligence regarding foreign events and informs concerning global covert capabilities to uphold national interests, security and protect the country's economic well-being. SIS works with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and therefore falls under the supervision of the Foreign Secretary.[12]
SIS officers and agents engage in operations and missions all around the world. The SIS regularly cooperates and work with MI5 and GCHQ regarding domestic and cyber intelligence.[13] SIS have three primary tasks:[12]
The impact and success in these situations helps to prevent hostile influence, keep the UK's defences on alert to reduce serious and organised crime, and to detect violations of international law.[14]
Organisation[edit]
Governance[edit]
SIS is governed under the law of the United Kingdom and so the British government has the power to pass the mandate to SIS oversee independent investigation, intelligence gathering and oversight to operations.[15] The government set the necessary laws, regulations and needed funding to keep the SIS operating and to conduct its activities.[16]
Under these rules, SIS is accountable to the government of the time and the SIS carry out their work in accordance to the government's foreign policy. The Prime Minister is ultimately responsible for intelligence and security, with day-to-day ministerial responsibility with the Foreign Secretary, to whom the SIS report directly. The Foreign Secretary appoints the head of SIS, to oversee SIS daily management and work. [17]
The Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service has a twofold responsibility within SIS. Internally, they oversee the continuous gathering of intelligence from agents, which involves making complex decisions about risk, resource allocation, and technological adaptation. In today's interconnected, data-driven world, maintaining secrecy and conducting undercover operations have become increasingly challenging.[18]
Externally, the chief also operates as a secret diplomat, tasked with maintaining vital alliances that support intelligence cooperation. Additionally, they may need to establish discreet communication channels with countries where traditional diplomatic relations are delicate. Successfully navigating these dual roles requires a nuanced understanding of both internal operations and international relations. Since 2020, Sir Richard Moore is the current chief of SIS.[18]
Command and control over SIS is done through by four main government entities: the Central Intelligence Machinery, the Ministerial Committee on the Intelligence Services, the Permanent Secretaries' Committee on the Intelligence Services, and the Joint Intelligence Committee.[19]
Joint Intelligence Committee[edit]
The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) assesses the intelligence gathered by the GCHQ, MI5, and SIS and presents it to the cabinet ministers, who in turn, enable the government's policies to help achieve national security and defence.[20] The JIC also reports the intelligence analysis, based on SIS gatherings, to the Cabinet Office itself.[19]
Committee members are required to bring the reports and findings to their perspective ministers and departments, so as to make appropriate assessments that help in planning, preparing operational activities, planning or making policy decisions. The Chairman of the Committee is responsible specifically with ensuring the Committee's monitoring and oversight over intelligence data are conducted effectively and responsibly. Permanent and temporary sub-committees and working groups are constituted by the Committee, to carry out its duties responsibly.[21]
Budget[edit]
HM Treasury has directed the security and intelligence agencies to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.[22]
Due to security concerns, the Government does not publish these financial statements which are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and then shown to the chair of the Public Accounts Committee in accordance with the Intelligence Services Act 1994.[22]
The annual Parliamentary financial statements for 2021-2022 indicated that the combined British intelligence services spending was £3.44 billion, with some $1.09 billion being further allocated to staff pay and agents and a further £636 million allocated to capital spending.[23]
Oversight is undertaken by Parliament through the following organisations:[20]
History and development[edit]
Foundation[edit]
The service derived from the Secret Service Bureau, which was founded on 1 October 1909.[4] The Bureau was a joint initiative of the Admiralty and the War Office to control secret intelligence operations in the UK and overseas, particularly concentrating on the activities of the Imperial German government. The bureau was split into naval and army sections which, over time, specialised in foreign espionage and internal counter-espionage activities, respectively. This specialisation was because the Admiralty wanted to know the maritime strength of the Imperial German Navy. This specialisation was formalised before 1914. During the First World War in 1916, the two sections underwent administrative changes so that the foreign section became the section MI1(c) of the Directorate of Military Intelligence.[24]
Its first director was Captain Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming, who often dropped the Smith in routine communication. He typically signed correspondence with his initial C in green ink. This usage evolved as a code name, and has been adhered to by all subsequent directors of SIS when signing documents to retain anonymity.[4][25][26]
First World War[edit]
The service's performance during the First World War was mixed, because it was unable to establish a network in Germany itself. Most of its results came from military and commercial intelligence collected through networks in neutral countries, occupied territories, and Russia.[27] During the war, MI6 had its main European office in Rotterdam from where it coordinated espionage in Germany and occupied Belgium.[28] A crucial element in the war effort from the British perspective was the involvement of Russia, which kept millions of German soldiers that would otherwise be deployed on the Western Front, engaged on the Eastern Front. On 7 November 1917 the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin overthrew the Provisional government in Petrograd and signed an armistice with Germany.[29] The main objective for the British was to keep Russia in the war, and MI6's two chosen instruments for doing so were Sidney Reilly, who despite his Irish name was a Russian-Jewish adventurer, and George Alexander Hill, a British pilot and businessman.[30] Officially, Reilly's mandate was to collect intelligence about the new regime in Russia and find a way to keep Russia in the war, but Reilly soon became involved in a plot to overthrow the Bolsheviks.[31]
Personnel[edit]
Selection and training[edit]
SIS agents are often chosen based on merit and skill by authorities at elite universities and military academies. The chosen recruit then must make a his or hers application within the United Kingdom, must be a British citizen or have been a resident of the UK for at least ten years.[127] First, all recruits must pass the basic civil service entry exam before being introduced to a panel of SIS officers during an in-depth competency-based interview. If the interviewee passes, then finally, a detailed background and security check is provided for each candidate.[128]
Training for recruits takes place at Fort Monckton, Portsmouth. The chosen candidates must go through an intense six-month training programme known as the Intelligence Officer's New Entry Course (IONEC). IONEC recruits must learn how to select and handle agents, to operate undercover identity and use tradecraft skills such as dead drops, surveillance and counter-surveillance techniques, secret writing and code writing. These skills would enable the incoming agents to successfully use these techniques during complex missions and operations.[129][128]
After the training programme ends, recruits will be fully inaugurated as SIS agents. SIS recruits rely on the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) for special operations and basic training, SIS operatives also receive training in firearm use, which includes pistols and submachine guns, although it would be rare for an SIS agents to use or even carry a firearm in the line of duty.[128][130]
A special programme for recruits, stemming from an ethnic minority or low socio-economic background, a joint SIS, MI5, GCHQ Summer Intelligence Internship is available. If a would-be recruit is in his or hers final (or penultimate) year of university (as of the 2023/24 academic year) that recruit will be chosen by academics to be admitted into the internship.[131]
Paramilitary Group[edit]
E Squadron is the sole paramilitary group within SIS.[132] There is limited information about the squadron in the public domain, and it was not until the 1990s that it was officially recognized by the British government. Although the Government has declassified some information about the squadron, details about its operations generally remain secret. Before the 1990s, the group was known mainly by pseudonym The Increment.[133]
Out of all the British special forces units, E Squadron is a branch of the wider UKSF and many of its combatants are hand-picked to work with the SIS. The group is available for undertaking any task at the requirement of the both UKSF Directorate and SIS. It is manned by operators from the Special Air Service (SAS), Special Boat Service (SBS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR).[133]
Salary[edit]
As of April 2024, the salary range for interns and recruits salaries was around £25,000 to £35,000. This would increase about to around £40,000 with the first promotion.[134]
As of April 2024, the starting salary for an agent was £31,807 a year, increasing to £34,385 the second year, with further increases thereafter.[134]
As of April 2024, salaries for SIS agents range from £33,800 to £42,700 a year.[134]
Awards[edit]
MI6 personnel are recognised annually by King Charles III (formerly the Prince of Wales) at the Prince of Wales's Intelligence Community Awards at St James's Palace or Clarence House alongside members of the Security Service (MI5), and GCHQ.[135] Awards and citations are given to teams within the agencies as well as individuals.[135]
Commemorations[edit]
Centenary[edit]
The year 2009 was the centenary of the Secret Intelligence Service.[136] An official history of the first forty years was commissioned to mark the occasion and was published in 2010. To further mark the centenary, the Secret Intelligence Service invited artist James Hart Dyke to become artist in residence.[136]
A Year with MI6[edit]
A Year with MI6 was a public art exhibition, showing a collection of paintings and drawings by artist James Hart Dyke to mark the centenary of the Secret Intelligence Service.[136] The project saw Dyke working closely with the SIS for a year, both in the United Kingdom and abroad.[137] The Service allowed Hart Dyke access to enable him to undertake the project, sending him on hostile environment courses to allow him to work in dangerous parts of the world, and admitting him into their Vauxhall Cross headquarters. The sensitivity of SIS work required Dyke to maintain secrecy, and his access was carefully controlled.[136]
The works were exhibited to the public to promote understanding of the SIS's work, and why their operations must remain secret.[138][136] The exhibition ran from 15 to 26 February 2011 at the Mount Street Galleries, Mayfair, London.[136] More than 40 original oil paintings and many sketches and studies were exhibited after being screened for security; the content and meaning of some of the paintings was intentionally left ambiguous.[136]
