Currently the UK’s ambassador to the United Nations (a post he has held since 2007) and based in New York, 52-year-old Sawers will replace the present Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) supremo Sir John Scarlett when he retires this coming November.
Sawers is notable for being the first head of MI6 to have been appointed from outside the service since Sir John Rennie, also a career diplomat, took office in 1968.
Sawers is a former ambassador to Egypt and one-time political director of the Foreign Office. In fact, he was a member of the SIS early in his career, thus the new appointment announced by Gordon Brown’s Government represents a return for Sawers to his counter-espionage roots (which are said to be “in his blood”).
Foreign policy advisor to the Government
Having trained with MI6 at the beginning of his career, Sawers has since worked as a foreign policy advisor to (then) Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1999 and 2001, concentrating on both the Kosovo conflict and the Northern Ireland Peace Process (encompassing the Good Friday Agreement).
For three months after the invasion of Iraq, as a special envoy in Baghdad, Sawers argued against the disastrous policy of dismissing members of the ruling Ba’ath Party.
Elsewhere overseas, Sawers has served in the British Embassy in Washington, and in South Africa from 1988 through to 1991 as apartheid was coming to an end.
When he becomes ‘C’ – a term Whitehall mandarins ascribe to the SIS leader – and begins to write all of those internal memos in green ink, Sawers will begin to play a vital role in ensuring that new guidelines on the questioning of terrorist detainees are enforced rigidly by MI6’s intelligence officers.
The Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee was asked by Gordon Brown to draw up fresh guidelines following the row over the CIA’s alleged torture-treatment of al-Qaeda suspects. A Metropolitan Police Service inquiry is presently examining whether MI5 or MI6 indirectly committed a criminal act by supplying the CIA with questions that were posed to one detainee – Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born British resident.
Sign of MI6’s new window on the world
The appointment is another sign of how far MI6 has moved towards being a far more approachable organisation that conducts its business out in the open.
Sir John Sawers is a highly recognisable figure and a career diplomat, unlike the incumbent Scarlett (who played a key role in espionage against the Soviets, and stands as the second longest serving head of MI6 after Sir Colin McColl in the early 1990s).
Scarlett has been chief of the SIS since 2004, a post he took up after a controversial period as head of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), which is tasked with assembling information from several intelligence arms. Under the system designed to shield spies from politicians, the various secret services report to the JIC, itself existing as an arm of the civil service, which in turn advises the Government.
A probe into pre-war intelligence leading up to the 2003 Iraq invasion criticised Scarlett for putting his name as JIC head on a dossier that Blair used to justify the war. That dossier, of course, made the intelligence appear stronger than it was, and the seal of approval from Scarlett’s Committee made matters worse in the view of official inquiry chairman Lord Butler.
However, Butler also pointed out that the error was not a sacking offence, and explicitly cleared Scarlett – who turns 61 in August – to accept a promotion such that he could become the head of SIS.
What the Foreign Office has to say
Speaking in an official statement issued on behalf of the Foreign Office, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband said: “I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Sir John Scarlett’s outstanding record as ‘C’ over more than five years in the post. I very much look forward to a continued close working relationship with him over the coming months.”
Beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that the departing leader had done “an important and extremely valuable job”. Brown concluded: “Sir John has made a real contribution to protecting Britain from international terrorism and other global threats.”
The Prime Minister has also been quick to squash any suggestion that Sir John’s move away from office is in any way connected to the forthcoming inquiry into the Iraq war, at which time he’s likely to be a key witness.
Whitehall insiders have suggested there’s no doubt that Sawers’ “distinguished career” as a diplomat and the time he spent in 10 Downing Street as Blair’s foreign policy adviser were crucial factors in the decision to opt for an outsider rather than the best insider.
Traditional route to appointment
Insiders were picked for the top job in MI6 as a matter of course from the 1970s. However, in the first 50 years of MI6’s existence – the service celebrates its centenary this year, in fact – a number of military officers were drafted in to serve as ‘C’.
One former chief, the late Sir Dick White, was director-general of sister intelligence service MI5 before moving across the Thames to take over at the Secret Intelligence Service, where he was in charge from 1956 to 1968.
It’s no secret that there has always been a battle between 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Office over who’s in charge of foreign policy, and this appointment will give the Prime Minister the chance to deploy Sawers for covert diplomacy. To the wider world, it would appear to be making the best use of a man who is unquestionably a Grade One ambassador and not a spook.
In the official statement, Miliband added: “I’m looking forward to working with Sir John Sawers on the challenges we face as a country. International terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the growth of regional conflict and instability mean that there has never been a time when the skills and dedication of our intelligence agencies, including the SIS, have been more necessary to our national security and the safety of our people around the world.”
Retreating into the shadows
Sawers began his career with MI6 in 1977, serving in both the Yemen and Syria. He then switched to the Diplomatic Service in the 1980s, following a more conventional path as a British envoy, and was appointed political director of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office back in 2003.
Sawers will now have to learn how to retreat into the shadows after a long career as a public figure. It will be a challenge for him, certainly, because he has garnered a reputation for being highly approachable and good company.
During his career, Sawers has been closely involved in policymaking on Iran, including Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme, Afghanistan and the Balkans. Academically bright, he studied physics and philosophy at the University of Nottingham, also subsequently attending the universities of St Andrews, Witwatersrand in South Africa and Harvard in the US.
The Conservatives have issued a statement about Sir John Sawers’ appointment. “We welcome his appointment. If we are elected we look forward to working with him.”Career civil servant appointed MI6 chief
High-flying diplomat Sir John Sawers – who boasts extremely close ties with 10 Downing Street – has been appointed as the first outsider to lead MI6 in more than four decades.
Currently the UK’s ambassador to the United Nations (a post he has held since 2007) and based in New York, 52-year-old Sawers will replace the present Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) supremo Sir John Scarlett when he retires this coming November.
Sawers is notable for being the first head of MI6 to have been appointed from outside the service since Sir John Rennie, also a career diplomat, took office in 1968.
Sawers is a former ambassador to Egypt and one-time political director of the Foreign Office. In fact, he was a member of the SIS early in his career, thus the new appointment announced by Gordon Brown’s Government represents a return for Sawers to his counter-espionage roots (which are said to be “in his blood”).
Foreign policy advisor to the Government
Having trained with MI6 at the beginning of his career, Sawers has since worked as a foreign policy advisor to (then) Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1999 and 2001, concentrating on both the Kosovo conflict and the Northern Ireland Peace Process (encompassing the Good Friday Agreement).
For three months after the invasion of Iraq, as a special envoy in Baghdad, Sawers argued against the disastrous policy of dismissing members of the ruling Ba’ath Party.
Elsewhere overseas, Sawers has served in the British Embassy in Washington, and in South Africa from 1988 through to 1991 as apartheid was coming to an end.
When he becomes ‘C’ – a term Whitehall mandarins ascribe to the SIS leader – and begins to write all of those internal memos in green ink, Sawers will begin to play a vital role in ensuring that new guidelines on the questioning of terrorist detainees are enforced rigidly by MI6’s intelligence officers.
The Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee was asked by Gordon Brown to draw up fresh guidelines following the row over the CIA’s alleged torture-treatment of al-Qaeda suspects. A Metropolitan Police Service inquiry is presently examining whether MI5 or MI6 indirectly committed a criminal act by supplying the CIA with questions that were posed to one detainee – Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born British resident.
Sign of MI6’s new window on the world
The appointment is another sign of how far MI6 has moved towards being a far more approachable organisation that conducts its business out in the open.
Sir John Sawers is a highly recognisable figure and a career diplomat, unlike the incumbent Scarlett (who played a key role in espionage against the Soviets, and stands as the second longest serving head of MI6 after Sir Colin McColl in the early 1990s).
Scarlett has been chief of the SIS since 2004, a post he took up after a controversial period as head of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), which is tasked with assembling information from several intelligence arms. Under the system designed to shield spies from politicians, the various secret services report to the JIC, itself existing as an arm of the civil service, which in turn advises the Government.
A probe into pre-war intelligence leading up to the 2003 Iraq invasion criticised Scarlett for putting his name as JIC head on a dossier that Blair used to justify the war. That dossier, of course, made the intelligence appear stronger than it was, and the seal of approval from Scarlett’s Committee made matters worse in the view of official inquiry chairman Lord Butler.
However, Butler also pointed out that the error was not a sacking offence, and explicitly cleared Scarlett – who turns 61 in August – to accept a promotion such that he could become the head of SIS.
What the Foreign Office has to say
Speaking in an official statement issued on behalf of the Foreign Office, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband said: “I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Sir John Scarlett’s outstanding record as ‘C’ over more than five years in the post. I very much look forward to a continued close working relationship with him over the coming months.”
Beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that the departing leader had done “an important and extremely valuable job”. Brown concluded: “Sir John has made a real contribution to protecting Britain from international terrorism and other global threats.”
The Prime Minister has also been quick to squash any suggestion that Sir John’s move away from office is in any way connected to the forthcoming inquiry into the Iraq war, at which time he’s likely to be a key witness.
Whitehall insiders have suggested there’s no doubt that Sawers’ “distinguished career” as a diplomat and the time he spent in 10 Downing Street as Blair’s foreign policy adviser were crucial factors in the decision to opt for an outsider rather than the best insider.
Traditional route to appointment
Insiders were picked for the top job in MI6 as a matter of course from the 1970s. However, in the first 50 years of MI6’s existence – the service celebrates its centenary this year, in fact – a number of military officers were drafted in to serve as ‘C’.
One former chief, the late Sir Dick White, was director-general of sister intelligence service MI5 before moving across the Thames to take over at the Secret Intelligence Service, where he was in charge from 1956 to 1968.
It’s no secret that there has always been a battle between 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Office over who’s in charge of foreign policy, and this appointment will give the Prime Minister the chance to deploy Sawers for covert diplomacy. To the wider world, it would appear to be making the best use of a man who is unquestionably a Grade One ambassador and not a spook.
In the official statement, Miliband added: “I’m looking forward to working with Sir John Sawers on the challenges we face as a country. International terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the growth of regional conflict and instability mean that there has never been a time when the skills and dedication of our intelligence agencies, including the SIS, have been more necessary to our national security and the safety of our people around the world.”
Retreating into the shadows
Sawers began his career with MI6 in 1977, serving in both the Yemen and Syria. He then switched to the Diplomatic Service in the 1980s, following a more conventional path as a British envoy, and was appointed political director of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office back in 2003.
Sawers will now have to learn how to retreat into the shadows after a long career as a public figure. It will be a challenge for him, certainly, because he has garnered a reputation for being highly approachable and good company.
During his career, Sawers has been closely involved in policymaking on Iran, including Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme, Afghanistan and the Balkans. Academically bright, he studied physics and philosophy at the University of Nottingham, also subsequently attending the universities of St Andrews, Witwatersrand in South Africa and Harvard in the US.
The Conservatives have issued a statement about Sir John Sawers’ appointment. “We welcome his appointment. If we are elected we look forward to working with him.”