Russia poses acute threat, new MI6 chief to warn
In her landmark first public address as the new Chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli has delivered a stark warning: Britain is currently operating in a "space between peace and war."
Speaking at the agency’s headquarters on Monday, 15 December 2025, Metreweli—the first woman to lead the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in its 116-year history—accused Russia of "exporting chaos" through a relentless campaign of hybrid warfare.
The New Intelligence Frontier
Metreweli, an Arabic speaker and former head of the agency's Q Branch (Technology and Innovation), emphasised that the nature of conflict is being fundamentally rewritten by technology.
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The Russian Threat: She described Russia as "aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist," warning that its tactics fall "just below the threshold of war." This includes cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, arson, sabotage, and the use of drones near sensitive European sites.
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"The Front Line is Everywhere": In an age of digital interconnectedness and hyper-personalised disinformation, Metreweli argued that traditional borders no longer define the battlefield.
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The "Python" Mandate: Breaking from the image of the analogue spy, she urged her officers to master the digital world.
"We must be as comfortable with lines of code as we are with human sources, as fluent in Python as we are in multiple languages."
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China’s Rise: While focusing primarily on Russia, she devoted a portion of her speech to the "national security implications" of China’s rise, noting that MI6 must ensure the UK government fully understands this global transformation.
A "Whole-of-Society" Approach to Defence
Parallel to Metreweli's address, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, delivered the Annual Defence Lecture to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Sir Richard echoed the urgency, stating the world is more dangerous than at any point in his 37-year career. He argued that deterring adversaries like Russia requires more than just military spending:
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National Resilience: Sir Richard called for a "whole-of-nation response," involving universities, industry, the rail network, and even the NHS to build a society capable of functioning through a major crisis.
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Bridging the Skills Gap: To address recruitment and technical challenges, he announced £50 million in funding for new "Defence Technical Excellence Colleges" to upskill the workforce.
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NATO Under Threat: He warned that the Russian leadership is determined to "challenge, limit, divide, and ultimately destroy NATO," making national preparedness a "higher priority for all of us."
