The new head of MI6 has warned of the growing threat posed by “expansionist” Russia in her first major public speech.
Blaise Metreweli said the UK is operating in a “space between peace and war” and that while the Ukraine conflict drags on, Russia is also “testing us in the grey zone”.
She said the “front line is everywhere” as she set out her understanding of the global security landscape in a speech at the headquarters of the UK’s foreign intelligence service.
Ms Metreweli, appointed head of MI6 in June, briefly mentioned China and the need for MI6 to inform the Government of the implications of Beijing’s rise and its national security implications.
But she said she would not give a “global threat tour” and instead focus on the threat posed by an “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist” Russia.
She said: “Putin should be in no doubt, our support is enduring. The pressure we apply on Ukraine’s behalf will be sustained.”
She added: “Alongside the grinding war, Russia is testing us in the grey zone with tactics that are just below the threshold of war” with cyber attacks on critical infrastructure and drones sent to buzz over airports.
Drones have been spotted in European airspace in recent months, including during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Dublin earlier this month.
Ms Metreweli also cited “aggressive activity” in UK seas, state-sponsored arson and sabotage and propaganda and influence operations.
“The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, in the Russian approach to international engagement, and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus,” she said.
The UK is already working to harness technology to tackle global threats including technological disruption, and disinformation, she said.
She continued: “Mastery of technology will infuse everything we do.
“Not just in our labs, but in the field, in our tradecraft, and even more importantly, in the mindset of every officer.
“We will become as comfortable with lines of code as we are with human sources, as fluent in Python as we are in multiple other languages.”
The spy chief also pointed to how her agency’s work builds on sanctions recently slapped on Russian companies and individuals by the Foreign Office.
Just last week, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a series of sanctions on entities linked to the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, and disinformation spread by the Kremlin.
