MI6 launched as official government website for Secret Intelligence Service

In the shadowy world of intelligence, secrecy means everything. Or at least - it did - reports The Times.

From today, however, anyone will be able to go onto the internet to find out all they need to know about MI6, by accessing the official website of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service.

The website’s launch is the latest attempt at openness by the intelligences services, and is aimed at boosting recruitment to counter the heightened threat of terrorism. But if the website offers openness, it is typically secretive about what it really thinks you need to know.

The home page does not pull any punches about the threat we are facing. After announcing with a magnificent oxymoron "The Official Secret Intelligence Service Website", it gets straight to the mission point: "SIS provides the British Government with a global covert capability to promote and defend the national security and economic well-being of the United Kingdom".

Without mincing its words, it continues: "Regional instability, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and illegal narcotics are among the major challenges of the 21st century. SIS assists the Government to meet these challenges".

But as for giving away its secrets, the site is slightly more coy, stating "SIS must protect the secrets of its sources and methods. This factor is reflected in our website".

So a look at the Frequently Asked Questions reveals only some Frequently Given Answers. "Q: How big is SIS? A: SIS does not reveal the number of staff it employs nor where they are based for reasons of operational security".

Or this, on costs: "Q: How much does SIS cost the British taxpayer? A: For security reasons either the SIS, the Security Service, nor GCHQ, makes public their annual budget".

We are told that the overall money for intelligence stands this year at £1.355 billion and is expected to rise to £1.553 billion by 2008. But of course "Like any other public authority SIS is subject to stringent financial controls and oversight".

Like any good website, there is a search section for those with inquiring minds. But it is far from clear what information will be divulged. A simple attempt to find out some basics did not get far: in response to the key words "Russian" and "spy" the site responded that there were no matches for this request.

However, the site does clarify certain points, mainly for people who really know nothing about the security services.

In case anyone is already muddled about the difference between the SIS and the Security Service, for instance, the site spells out the difference.

The first is known as MI6, the second as MI5. And whereas MI6 operates oversees, MI5 is responsible for protecting Britons against security threats in this country. In other words, Six are spies and Five are counter-intelligence.

Why are the two services known by these numbers? That goes back in history. A useful section in the site gives the origins of British intelligence in 1909, when the Secret Service Bureau was set up in response to Germany’s military and naval expansion and sensational press coverage of German spying.

Various sections of Military Intelligence were established, with only the fifth and sixth now remaining. The first chief was Commander Mansfield Cumming, who always signed papers in green ink as "C" - which is what the head of MI6, now John Scarlett, is still called.

One of the aims of the new website is to make it easier to recruit new blood — especially from ethnic minorities and, of course, from the Muslim community.



A section on how to apply tells those interested simply to send in their CV - though they are warned not to tell anyone apart from their partner or spouse that they have done so. "You don’t have to wait for the tap on the shoulder nowadays," a Whitehall official said today.

But any applicant will have to be ready for the background checks, the security clearances and the informal vetting with discreet inquiries among friends and neighbours. The whole process can take up to six months.

The website comes as close as politically correct to making it clear that SIS wants more black, Asian or other ethnic minorities: "The Service welcomes applications from all parts of the community".

The entire website is also available in Russian, for former KGB officers wanting a change of employer. It is also provided in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and French — all the official languages of the United Nations.

And the site provides links to all those organisations for whom its employees can one day be expected to provide information — the Cabinet Office, the Foreign Office, the Defence Intelligence Staff, the Home Office, No 10 Downing Street, the Ministry of Defence, the National Archives, the National Audit Office, among others.

And in case intelligence officers are not sure whether they will have a licence to kill, all the relevant legislation is given that might inhibit such a freewheeling mode of operation: the Human Rights Act of 1998, the Data Protection Act of 1998, the Intelligence Services Act of 1994 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

http://www.mi6.gov.uk

Thanks to `Kyvan` for the alert.

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