Hunt on for ‘C’: Is the UK’s next spy chief going to be a woman?

Britain’s foreign intelligence agency could finally get its first woman chief. MI6 launched a search for a new leader on Tuesday (March 18).

Richard Moore, the current “C” – as the MI6 chief is known in real life, will step down from the coveted post this summer. He has previously indicated that his successor could be a woman.

Let’s take a closer look.

MI6 has had no woman chief

MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), has not been headed by a woman since it was formed in 1909.

This is in stark contrast to James Bond films where Judi Dench played M, the fictional head of MI6. The real-life Secret Service is expected to catch up to the hit franchise and get its first woman leader.

As per The Times newspaper, MI6’s gender pay gap report published in 2023 showed that the agency’s average pay for men was 7.6 per cent higher.

In a foreword to the report, C Moore wrote the SIS had an “ambitious set of plans to tackle some of the barriers to women having long and fulfilling careers in the service”.

Britain’s two other main intelligence agencies have already had women chiefs. MI5, the United Kingdom’s domestic spy agency, was led by ­Stella Rimington from 1992 to 1996. Eliza Manningham-Buller was the agency’s director-general between 2002 and 2007.

Anne Keast-Butler is the current leader of the electronic and cyber-intelligence agency GCHQ. She previously worked at MI5.

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Will MI6 be headed by a woman?

MI6 has kickstarted the recruitment process to pick its next leader to replace Moore, who has also backed a woman leader.

As per Associated Press (AP), Chris Wormald, the UK cabinet secretary, wrote to key government departments on Tuesday asking them to recommend the names of candidates.

Earlier this month, Moore, 61, who has held the post since 2020, said that the next chief of the British intelligence service could be a woman.

He wrote: “This International Women’s Day, #MI6 pledges to ensure that our brilliant female staff of now and the future can thrive with us.

“No one gets a job in MI6 except on merit. But we men, as allies, can help our female colleagues achieve the success their talent deserves.

“We have yet to have a woman as chief so there’s still a glass ceiling to shatter. #AccelerateAction.”

In 2023, he wrote on X that he would “help forge women’s equality by working to ensure I’m the last C selected from an all-male shortlist.”

Moore said in a speech at the time that he wanted MI6 to “better represent the country we serve.”

“Diversity brings greater creativity, better problem-solving,” he said, as per AP.

There is no shortage of female candidates for the post of MI6 chief. Of the four directors-general at the SIS, three are believed to be women. All of them report to Moore, including the agency’s head of operations and its technology chief – the real-life equivalent of supplier of state-of-the-art gadgets Q in James Bond movies.

As per The Times report, at least two of them are likely to enter the race for the MI6 leader, who usually has a tenure of five years.

The permanent under-secretaries of government departments such as the Foreign Office, Home Office, Ministry of Defence and Northern Ireland Office are also likely to put forward their applicants.

The new head of MI6 would be tasked with boosting coordination between Britain’s spy agencies and the Ministry of Defence, reported The Times.

Could new MI6 chief be from military?

Theoretically, a senior military chief or police chief could take over the post of the MI6 head, as per The Times.

However, UK defence sources have dismissed the speculations. Speaking to The Telegraph, a senior Army source said that the idea that a military chief could be the next MI6 leader was “rubbish”.

“No military chief is remotely qualified,” he said, adding: “MI6 has strong internal candidates.”

Another said that they would be “really surprised” if MI6 picked a candidate with no intelligence background.

How MI6 chief is picked?

A panel interviews a shortlist of candidates for the post of C. It then makes recommendations to the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who will decide the MI6 chief.

He will make the appointment, which will be endorsed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

With inputs from agencies