Britain’s MI6 spy agency has appointed Blaise Metreweli as its first female chief in its 116-year history, a historic milestone announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday.
Metreweli, who currently serves as the foreign intelligence agency’s director of technology and innovation, will succeed Richard Moore as MI6’s 18th leader. Known simply as “C,” the agency’s chief is the only publicly named figure within MI6 and reports directly to the British foreign secretary.
A Cambridge graduate and career intelligence officer, Metreweli joined MI6 in 1999. She has extensive experience working in Europe and the Middle East and has held senior roles at both MI6 and the domestic MI5 spy agency. “I am proud and honoured to be asked to lead my service. MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas,” Metreweli said. “I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners,” she added.
Starmer, announcing the appointment while arriving at the G7 summit in Canada, called it “historic” and stressed that it “comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital.” He highlighted the increasing threats facing the UK, noting, “The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy praised Metreweli as “the ideal candidate to lead MI6 into the future.” He said, “At a time of global instability and emerging security threats, where technology is power and our adversaries are working ever closer together, Blaise will ensure the UK can tackle these challenges head on to keep Britain safe and secure at home and abroad.”
MI6 is the last of the UK’s intelligence agencies to appoint a woman as its leader. MI5 was previously led by Stella Rimington (1992-1996) and Eliza Manningham-Buller (2002-2007), while in 2023, Anne Keast-Butler became the first female head of the cyber-intelligence agency GCHQ.
Richard Moore, the outgoing MI6 chief, had committed to promoting diversity within the agency. In 2023, he wrote on X that he would “help forge women’s equality by working to ensure I’m the last C selected from an all-male shortlist.”
