UK appoints first female MI6 spy chief

Kananaskis, ALBERTA — The U.K. has appointed its first-ever female leader for Britain’s MI6 spy agency — and no, Judi Dench didn’t count.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer named Blaise Metreweli chief of the Secret Intelligence Service on Sunday after 16 years working across the country’s intelligence services.

She becomes the 18th chief in the organization’s history and will get the title of “C” as is customary for the nation’s top spook.

(In the James Bond film series, by contrast, Dench and latterly Ralph Fiennes played the character “M” while serving as the fictional head of MI6.)

Speaking at the G7 summit in Canada’s province of Alberta, Starmer said “the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital.”

“The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale — be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services.”

Metreweli previously held director general-level positions at MI6 and at the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer named Blaise Metreweli chief of the Secret Intelligence Service on Sunday after 16 years working across the country’s intelligence services. | Pool Photo via Jaimi Joy via EPA

She said: “MI6 plays a vital role — with MI5 and GCHQ [Government Communications Headquarters signals intelligence] — in keeping the British people safe and promoting U.K. interests overseas.”

Metreweli takes over the role from Richard Moore, who served as the U.K.’s spy chief for nearly five years.

Moore said during a 2023 interview with POLITICO that “we now devote more resources to China than any other mission” because of “China’s importance in the world.”