MI6 has appointed its first ever female chief. Blaise Metreweli will be the 18th chief of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Commonly referred to as ‘C’, the chief has operational responsibility for MI6, the UK's foreign intelligence service, and is the only publicly named member of the organisation. They are accountable to the foreign secretary.
While the MI6 chief is frequently depicted as a woman in film and TV (played by Judy Dench in the James Bond films – although she was known as ‘M’ – and Fiona Shaw in BBC series Killing Eve), the Secret Intelligence Service has never had a female boss in real life.
MI5, the domestic security service, has had two female bosses, the first of whom was appointed in 1992. GCHQ, the intelligence and cybersecurity agency, appointed its first female director, Anne Keast-Butler in 2023.
Metreweli is currently director general ‘Q’ (named after the gadget-giving Bond character), responsible for technology and innovation in MI6, and has previously held a director-level role in MI5.
She will succeed current MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore, who will leave the service in the autumn.
Metreweli said she is "proud and honoured" to be asked to lead the service. "MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas," she said. "I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners."
A career intelligence officer, having joined the service as a case officer in 1999, Metreweli has spent most of her career in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe. She studied anthropology at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said Metreweli brings “a wealth of experience from across our national security community” and is “the ideal candidate to lead MI6 into the future”.
The cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, said Metrewli's "experience and leadership in the intelligence community will help MI6 protect the foundation of our national security and project our interests overseas".
"Blaise will be an excellent chief, who will embody the values of the service and act as a fine role model to its staff," he added.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said: "The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when 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."
Starmer, Lammy and Wormald all also thanked Moore for his leadership of MI6 over the last five years.
Commenting on the move, Moore said: "I am absolutely delighted by this historic appointment of my colleague, Blaise Metreweli, to succeed me as ‘C’. Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6."