The head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Blaise Metreweli, has warned that Russia poses an “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist” threat, pledging sustained pressure in support of Ukraine in her first public speech since taking office.
Metreweli, who assumed leadership of the UK’s foreign intelligence agency in October, became the first woman to head MI6 in its 116-year history. The role is publicly identified by the codename “C.”
In remarks scheduled for delivery on Monday, Metreweli said Russian President Vladimir Putin should have no doubts about Britain’s long-term commitment to Ukraine.
“Putin should be in no doubt, our support is enduring. The pressure we apply on Ukraine’s behalf will be sustained,” she said, according to advance extracts of the speech.
She described Moscow’s foreign policy as deliberately destabilising, saying: “The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, in the Russian approach to international engagement, and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus.”
Britain has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russian business figures, political leaders, companies, vessels and entities, including the GRU military intelligence agency, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Her remarks come amid renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, with Germany hosting talks involving US and Ukrainian officials over the weekend ahead of a broader summit of European leaders in Berlin.
Metreweli also emphasised the growing importance of technology in confronting threats to UK security, including terrorism and information warfare, calling for intelligence officers to be as fluent in coding as they are in languages and traditional espionage.
“Mastery of technology must infuse everything we do,” she said, stressing the need to integrate digital skills across intelligence operations.
Separately, Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Richard Knighton, is expected to call for a “whole-society” approach to national defence, warning of rising global uncertainty and an increased risk of Russian aggression against NATO states.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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