Richard Dearlove
Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6) | |
---|---|
Service years | 1966–2004 |
Rank | Chief of SIS/MI6 |
Sir Richard Billing Dearlove
He is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
Early life and education
Dearlove was born at Gorran Haven, Cornwall,[3] the son of Jack Dearlove, a 1948 Olympic silver medallist in rowing.[4] He received his early formal education at Monkton Combe School near Bath, Somerset, and the Kent School in Kent, Connecticut. He graduated from Queens' College, Cambridge, with a Master of Arts degree in history.[5]
Career
HM's civil service
Dearlove joined MI6 in 1966 and was posted to Nairobi in 1968.[6] In 1984, he was appointed an OBE. After being posted to Prague, Paris and Geneva, he became head of Washington station in 1991,[6] director of personnel and administration in 1993 and director of operations in 1994.[6] Dearlove was appointed chief of MI6 in 1999,[6] by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, following David Spedding's August 1999 retirement from the position.[7] Dearlove facilitated publication of the Mitrokhin Archive, under Project Jessant.[7] In 2001, he was appointed Knight Commander of Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).[8]
His tenure as head of MI6 saw many events for the Service as well as tension with the Government over the evidence for war on Iraq. It has been suggested that many within the intelligence community were uneasy that their qualified judgements on Iraq's
The official
University administrator
Dearlove was elected Master of
In February 2008, Dearlove gave evidence at the inquest of
Dearlove is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society principles.[16] He is also a "senior advisor" to the Monitor Group – a consultancy and private equity firm which has been implicated in undertaking PR work for Libya and Muammar Gaddafi.[17][18] In April 2013, it was announced that Dearlove joined the advisory board of Ergo, an intelligence and advisory firm.[19][20]
On 15 February 2011, Dearlove gave a talk at the
In 2012, Dearlove took a sabbatical from Cambridge University to write an account of events leading up to the
On 7 July 2014, in a lecture at the Royal United Services Institute, Dearlove argued that the government and media had exaggerated the Islamist terrorism threat to the UK, giving extremists publicity counter-productive to UK interests.[23][24]
In 2015, Dearlove retired as Master of Pembroke College.[25] He is non-executive chairman of Crossword Cybersecurity plc.[26]
Political views
On 16 May 2016, Dearlove gave a public lecture televised by the BBC on contemporary mass foreign migration and its effects upon the European continent. In its text he stated that the governments of Europe were facing a "sea change" in their politics, and if they did not get control and prevent ongoing mass migration of peoples from Africa and Asia into Europe they would find themselves "at the mercy of a populist uprising, ... which is already stirring," and that the oncoming 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum was the first manifestation of it.[27] He stated further that foreign mass migration's geopolitical impact upon Europe, if it was not prevented, was set to reshape its political landscape as those of its citizens who feel their interests are threatened asserted their influence.[28]
On 8 June 2017, Dearlove intervened on the day of the 2017 UK general election in The Daily Telegraph saying "how profoundly dangerous it would be for the nation if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister."[29]
On 29 November 2018 Dearlove co-signed an open letter, published in a British national newspaper, condemning Prime Minister Theresa May's negotiated Brexit withdrawal agreement after the 2016 Referendum on the issue, as the matter was passing through the House of Commons to be voted upon. In its text he stated that the Withdrawal Agreement as negotiated undermined MI6's nationally independent global intelligence power.[30] In a published response, dated the same day, May's office issued a public rebuttal to the letter's content, singling out Dearlove personally from the named list of several signatories to the open letter, and stating that the Withdrawal Agreement "absolutely does not" compromise the national independence of the UK's intelligence capacity.[31] In early December 2018 Dearlove, in a jointly authored text with Major-General Julian Thompson, published on the website 'Briefings for Brexit' an extensive reply to May's statement entitled 'The Prime Minister is misleading the country on defence and security', citing a 'worryingly poor understanding of the issues' by her office.[32]
On 8 January 2019, Dearlove sent a letter co-signed by Field Marshal
On 16 May 2019 Dearlove characterised
On 3 June 2020 Dearlove stated in a podcast interview that the
References
- ^ Corera, Gordon (31 March 2015). "Plaque unveiled for first MI6 chief Mansfield Cumming". BBC News. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Iraq Inquiry".
- ^ a b "Exeter University: Honorary Graduates".
- ^ "The Olympic hero they kept in hiding". Daily Telegraph. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ New MI6 spymaster named, BBC News, 25 February 1999. Accessed 13 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Profile: Sir Richard Dearlove BBC News, 20 February 2008
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4299-4576-9.
- ^ "No. 56237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2001. p. 3.
- ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (23 November 2009). "Five key questions to be answered". The Guardian.
- ^ Rawnsley, Andrew (10 July 2016). "Ten things that Chilcot's verdict reveals about Tony Blair and the Iraq war". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ Taylor, Peter (7 July 2016). "Chilcot report: The flawed chain of intelligence that led to war". BBC News. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ Cooper, Charlie (7 July 2016). "Tony Blair admits he should have challenged intelligence that led to Iraq War". The Independent. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ "St Christopher's, Walworth". Southwark Diocese.
- ^ "Pembroke College Mission" (PDF).
- ^ "PCBC Pembroke College Boat Club". pembrokecollegeboatclub.com. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ "Signatories to the Statement of Principles". Henry Jackson Society. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010.
- ^ "Richard Dearlove". Monitor Group.
- ^ "Britain and Libya's web of deceit and hypocrisy".
- ^ "Home". Ergo – Global Intelligence.
- ^ Sir Richard Dearlove Joins Ergo's Advisory Board, PR Newswire, 23 April 2013, Retrieved 12 June 2013
- ^ a b c "Sir Richard Dearlove". Cambridge Union Society. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ Melanie Hall (21 July 2013). "Former head of MI6 threatens to expose secrets of Iraq 'dodgy dossier'". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ Richard Norton-Taylor (7 July 2014). "Islamist terror threat to west blown out of proportion – former MI6 chief". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "'Pathetic' Britons in Syria and Iraq do not pose threat, says former MI6 chief". The Daily Telegraph. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ Michael White (17 May 2016). "Is Sir Richard Dearlove seeking refuge from Chilcot?". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
- ^ "Leadership Team". Crossword Cybersecurity. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ "Richard Dearlove lecture at BBC's World on the Move Day". BBC News. 16 May 2016 – via Youtube.
- ^ "Former MI6 Chief warns against visa-free Turkish immigration". The Guardian. 17 May 2016.
- ^ Dearlove, Richard (8 June 2017). "Jeremy Corbyn is a danger to this nation. At MI6, which I once led, he wouldn't clear the security vetting". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "Former MI6 Chief accuses Theresa May of surrendering British national security to the EU". Brexit Central. 29 November 2018.
- ^ "Response to coverage of a Richard Dearlove letter in The Sun". Prime Minister's Office. 29 November 2018.
- ^ "The Prime Minister is misleading the country on defence and security". Briefings for Brexit. 1 December 2018.
- ^ "Theresa May's Brexit deal threatens national security says former head of MI6". Daily Telegraph. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Ex-MI6 and defence chiefs warn Tory MP's to vote down Brexit deal that "threatens national security". Sky News. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Huawei role in UK 5G network an unnecessary risk, ex-MI6 chief says". BBC. 16 May 2019.
- ^ "Trump is bluffing on Huawei Five Eyes threat, says EU trade commissioner". Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 2020.
- ^ "Exclusive: Coronavirus began 'as an accident' in Chinese lab, says former MI6 boss". Telegraph Media Group Limited. 3 June 2020.