UK names new MI6 spy chief to tackle challenges from China, Russia

Britain on Wednesday named career diplomat and intelligence officer Richard Moore as the new chief of the MI6 spy service as the West seeks to bolster its defences against hostile espionage from China and Russia.

Moore, 57, joined the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in 1987, just four years before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

An accomplished intelligence officer, Moore served in various diplomatic and security roles before winning one of the most powerful jobs in the Western intelligence. Alex Younger, the current chief of MI6 – or plain “C” – will step down in the autumn.

“I am pleased and honoured to be asked to return to lead my Service,” said Moore, who is currently director general of political affairs at the Foreign Office.

Moore served as British ambassador to Turkey from January 2014 to December 2017 and has also served as deputy national security adviser. Born in Libya, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and was a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard.

His biggest challenge is likely to be China, which the United States has identified as its major geopolitical foe, though he will also have to fight for funding after British politicians splurged on the coronavirus crisis.

“This is an excellent appointment,” Tom Tugendhat, chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a tweet. Moore “has huge experience in working with important allies. I look forward to seeing our strategy evolve and grow.”