by Julian Mann, TCW
DEAR Nigel, I am writing to ask whether a Reform government led by you would launch an investigation into the appointment of the new head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.
A report in the Financial Times last weekend revealed that SIS will get its first female head because the final two candidates from a shortlist of four are women. The FT said:
‘The final pair in the running for a job traditionally known as “C” are Barbara Woodward, at present the UK’s permanent representative to the UN and former ambassador to China, and a female candidate from inside M16.
‘The final decision will be made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and foreign secretary David Lammy following a round of “fireside chats” with the candidates, Whitehall officials said. Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, is also expected to have input. The process has been run by the Cabinet Office under Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.’
The paper also reported that the current head of MI6, Sir Richard Moore, who steps down after a five-year term, ‘has been an advocate of greater diversity in the appointments process and has previously pledged that he would be the last “C” to be selected from an all-male shortlist’.