Younger, who was head of operations at SIS for the last two years, first joined the SIS as an intelligence officer in 1991 and has since held various roles, including overseas postings in Europe and the Middle East, plus the job of senior SIS officer in Afghanistan.
He also led the secret service’s work on counter-terrorism in the three years running up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Younger said that he is “delighted and honoured” about his appointment and added: “I would like to pay tribute to John Sawers for his lifetime’s dedication to the country. He brought us into a new era, and I am determined to build on this and bring my ideas for a modern [secret] service to life.”