Russia’s ‘export of chaos’ creating new security threats, warns MI6 chief
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The new head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, has warned that Russia’s strategy of spreading instability abroad is reshaping modern conflict and creating complex security challenges for the UK and its allies.
In her first public speech as MI6 chief, Blaise Metreweli said Britain faces increasingly unpredictable and interconnected threats, singling out what she described as an “aggressive and expansionist” Russia. She said President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to export chaos were deliberate and central to Moscow’s approach to international affairs.
“The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, in the Russian approach,” Metreweli said, adding that such tactics are likely to continue unless Putin is forced to reassess his strategy.
Metreweli, who took over from Richard Moore at the end of September, is the only MI6 officer whose identity is publicly disclosed. Previously the agency’s director of technology and innovation, she emphasised the growing importance of blending human intelligence with technological expertise.
MI6 officers, she said, must be as comfortable working with computer code as with human sources, reflecting the rise of hybrid threats that combine cyber operations, espionage and influence campaigns.
Her remarks echo recent warnings from Western security officials about the activities of Russia, Iran and China. The UK last week imposed sanctions on Russian media outlets over alleged information warfare and on Chinese technology firms accused of large-scale cyber activity.
Metreweli is the first woman to lead MI6 since its founding in 1909.
