Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service

British intelligence post

Chief of the
Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)

Incumbent
Sir Richard Moore

since 2 October 2020; 4 years ago (2020-10-02)

Secret Intelligence Service
Abbreviation| C
Reports to| Foreign Secretary
Appointer| Foreign Secretary
Constituting instrument| Intelligence Services Act 1994
Formation| 1909; 116 years ago (1909)
First holder| Captain Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming
Succession| Blaise Metreweli[1]
Unofficial names| Chief of MI6
Salary| £169,999 (2010)
Website| sis.gov.uk
On 16 June 2025, Moore stated that his successor from 1 October 2025 would be Blaise Metreweli.[1]

The Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service serves as the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also commonly known as MI6), which is part of the United Kingdom intelligence community. The chief is appointed by the foreign secretary, to whom they report directly. Annual reports are also made to the prime minister.[2]

The chief of the Secret Intelligence Service typically signs letters with a "C" in green ink.[3] This originates from the initial used by Captain Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, when he signed a letter "C" in green ink. Since then the chief has been known as "C".

## History

[edit]

From 1782 until 1909, British intelligence at the government level was handled directly by the Foreign Office, with the Army and Navy also maintaining their own intelligence branches. By 1909, growing tensions with Germany led the Committee of Imperial Defence to recommend the creation of the Secret Service Bureau to provide organization and leadership to the intelligence-gathering process as well as a layer of insulation from espionage activities for the Foreign Office.[4] A 10 August 1909 letter from the Director of Naval Intelligence, Alexander Bethell, to then-Commander Mansfield Smith-Cumming offered him a "new billet": the opportunity to head the Foreign Section of the new Secret Service Bureau. Cumming was to begin in this role on 1 October 1909, but bureaucratic and funding obstacles delayed the start of his work. His first full day in this capacity was not until 7 October, and even then, he "went to the office and remained all day, but saw no one, nor was there anything to do there."[4][5]

Cumming's tenure as chief established many of the traditions and trappings of the office. Among the best known of these, he signed documents with the initial "C" in green ink, a custom upheld throughout the history of the service.[6] One tradition that was not maintained was the selection of the Chief from the ranks of the Royal Navy. Although Cumming and his successor Hugh Sinclair both had long Navy careers,[7] in 1939 Army veteran Stewart Menzies was appointed over naval officer (and Churchill's preferred candidate) Gerard Muirhead-Gould.[8] Plans to rotate the selection of Chief among the various branches of military service were considered, but most subsequent Chiefs have been career intelligence officers.[7]

Although the existence of the Secret Intelligence Service, much less its Chief, was not officially acknowledged until 1992,[9] the role's reality was an open secret for many years. In 1932, Compton MacKenzie was fined under the Official Secrets Act for elements of his book Greek Memories. Among these offences, according to Attorney General Sir Thomas Inskip was "reveal[ing] the mysterious consonant by which the Chief of the Secret Service is known." By 30 May 1968, however, The Times was willing to name Menzies as the "former Head of the Secret Intelligence Service" in his obituary.[8] A 1989 House of Commons debate listed a number of publications in which information about the Chief and his organization had been revealed.[10]

The 1994 Intelligence Services Act established a statutory basis for the Secret Intelligence Service and the position of Chief. Since then, the office has had more public visibility, including a speech by John Sawers in 2010, described by The Times as "the first of its kind".[11][12] The Chief remains the only member of the Secret Intelligence Service whose identity is officially made public.[2]

A 2010 report revealed the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service was receiving a salary of £169,999 at that time.[13]

In June 2025, it was announced that Sir Richard Moore would be succeeded by Blaise Metreweli, who would be the first woman to hold the role of C.[14]

## List of chiefs

[edit]

Chiefs have been:[15]

No. | Portrait  | Name
(born–died) | Term of office  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Took office  | Left office  | Time in office
1  |  | Captain
Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming
(1859–1923) | 7 October 1909  | 14 June 1923 †  | 13 years, 250 days  |
2  |  | Admiral
Sir Hugh Sinclair
(1873–1939) | 1923  | 4 November 1939 †  | 15–16 years  |
3  |  | Major-General
Sir Stewart Menzies
(1890–1968) | 1939  | 1952  | 13–14 years  |
4  |  | Major-General
Sir John Sinclair
(1897–1977) | 1953  | 1956  | 2–3 years  |
5  |  | Sir Richard White
(1906–1993) | 1956  | 1968  | 11–12 years  |
6  |  | Sir John Rennie
(1914–1981) | 1968  | 1973  | 4–5 years  |
7  |  | Sir Maurice Oldfield
(1915–1981) | 1973  | 1978  | 4–5 years  |
8  |  | Sir Arthur (Dickie) Franks
(1920–2008) | 1979  | 1982  | 2–3 years  |
9  |  | Sir Colin Figures
(1925–2006) | 1982  | 1985  | 2–3 years  |
10  |  | Sir Christopher Curwen
(1929–2013) | 1985  | 1989  | 3–4 years  |
11  |  | Sir Colin McColl
(born 1932) | 1989  | 1994  | 4–5 years  |
12  |  | Sir David Spedding
(1943–2001) | 1994  | 1999  | 4–5 years  |
13  |  | Sir Richard Dearlove
(born 1945) | 1999  | 6 May 2004  | 4–5 years  |
14  |  | Sir John Scarlett
(born 1948) | 6 May 2004  | 1 November 2009  | 5 years, 179 days  | [16]
15  |  | Sir John Sawers
(born 1955) | 1 November 2009  | 1 November 2014  | 5 years, 0 days  | [17]
16  |  | Sir Alex Younger
(born 1963) | 1 November 2014  | 30 September 2020  | 5 years, 334 days  | [18]
17  |  | Sir Richard Moore
(born 1963) | 1 October 2020  | Incumbent
‒30 September 2025 | 4 years, 304 days  | [19]
18  |  | Blaise Metreweli
(born 1977) | 1 October 2025 | Designate | −61 days  | [1][20]

## See also

[edit]

* Director General of MI5
* Director of the Government Communications Headquarters
* M (James Bond)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Moore, Richard [@ChiefMI6] (16 June 2025). "I am delighted to announce that Blaise Metreweli will succeed me as Chief of #MI6 on 1 October 2025. Blaise has had a distinguished career as an intelligence officer and leader. She possesses all the qualities to be an outstanding 'C'. …" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 June 2025 – via Twitter.I+am+delighted+to+announce+that+Blaise+Metreweli+will+succeed+me+as+Chief+of+#MI6+on+1+October+2025.+Blaise+has+had+a+distinguished+career+as+an+intelligence+officer+and+leader.+She+possesses+all+the+qualities+to+be+an+outstanding+'C'.+…&rft.date=2025-06-16&rft.aulast=Moore&rft.aufirst=Richard&rft_id=https://x.com/ChiefMI6/status/1934376904900891129&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Chief+of+the+Secret+Intelligence+Service" class="Z3988">
2. ^ a b "The Chief". Secret Intelligence Service. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
3. ^ Massicotte-Lalumiere, Sébastien (17 June 2009). "Every spy boss needs a cunning code letter ..." The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
4. ^ a b Jeffery, Keith (21 September 2010). The Secret History of MI6. Penguin. ISBN 978-1594202742.
5. ^ ""Bethell letter"". Secret Intelligence Service. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
6. ^ Moore, Matthew (27 July 2009). "MI6 boss Sir John Scarlett Still Signs Letters in Green Ink". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
7. ^ a b "Previous chiefs". Secret Intelligence Service. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
8. ^ a b West, Nigel (26 October 2006). At Her Majesty's Secret Service: The Chiefs of Britain's Intelligence Agency, M16. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591140092.
9. ^ Whitehead, Jennifer (13 October 2005). "MI6 to boost recruitment prospects with launch of first website". Brand Republic News. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
10. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 25 Jan 1989". Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
11. ^ "Sir John Sawers, head of MI6: Full speech". BBC News. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
12. ^ "The West can't be lucky all the time". The Times. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022. "the speech last week by Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, the first of its kind..."
13. ^ "Quango chiefs' salaries revealed". BBC News. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
14. ^ "Blaise Metreweli appointed as MI6's first female chief". www.bbc.com. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
15. ^ "British civil servants" (PDF). Retrieved 25 October 2014.
16. ^ "Iraq inquiry backs new MI6 chief". CNN. 14 July 2004. Archived from the original on 16 August 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
17. ^ Macaskill, Ewen; Norton-Taylor, Richard (26 June 2014). "MI6 chief Sir John Sawers to step down". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
18. ^ "MI6 officer Alex Younger named as new SIS chief". BBC News. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
19. ^ "MI6: Richard Moore named as new head of Secret Intelligence Service". BBC. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
20. ^ Mason, Chris; Gardner, Frank; Preston, Rich (15 June 2025). "MI6 appoints first female chief in 116-year history". BBC News. Retrieved 15 June 2025. "Blaise Metreweli, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service in 1999, will become the 18th chief … take over from Sir Richard Moore later this year [2025]."

*[No.]: Number
*[Ref.]: Refences
*[I]: Richard Moore (diplomat)