MI6 Chief Blaise Metreweli: 'The Front Line Is Everywhere' — Tech, Russia and the Case for Human Judgment

Blaise Metreweli, the newly appointed head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6, will deliver her first public address warning that 'the front line is everywhere' as the UK confronts an expanding array of threats.

Metreweli became the first woman to lead the Secret Intelligence Service in its 116-year history when she assumed the role this autumn. Known publicly by the single-letter title 'C,' she is the only member of the notoriously secretive service to be named.

A Complicated Threat Landscape

Speaking at MI6 headquarters in London, Metreweli is expected to map out an increasingly complex threat environment that includes rapid technological disruption, deliberate information manipulation and persistent terrorist risks. She will also single out what she calls an 'aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist' Russia, alongside other hostile actors targeting UK interests.

'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 (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is forced to change his calculus,' she will say.

Security analysts note that, since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has waged a hybrid campaign against Western supporters of Kyiv. UK police say Russian-backed operatives have been implicated in arson attacks on Ukrainian-linked facilities in Britain. Across Europe, incidents such as drone sightings near airports, NATO airspace incursions over Poland and Romania, and suspected sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea have stoked wider concerns—though Russia has not claimed responsibility for these events.

Technology, Tradecraft and 'Q' Expertise

Metreweli will emphasize that mastering technology is now as important as traditional human intelligence. Before becoming chief, she led MI6’s technology and innovation teams—an internal role popularly likened to the 'Q' character from the James Bond films.

'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,' she is expected to say.

The speech will underline that technical skill must be matched by judgement: how people choose to use powerful tools will shape security, prosperity and the character of society.

'The defining challenge of the 21st century is not simply who wields the most powerful technologies, but who guides them with the greatest wisdom. Our security, our prosperity and our humanity depend on it,' Metreweli will say.

She will call for a 'rediscovery of our shared humanity' and stress the role of human agency: 'It is not what we can do that defines us, but what we choose to do. That choice—the exercise of human agency—has shaped our world before, and it will shape it again.'

Context: Policy Moves and New Tools

Metreweli’s address follows a recent speech by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who highlighted the growing threat of information warfare and outlined fresh sanctions on organisations and individuals accused of supporting Russian information operations. The government has also sanctioned two China-based firms for alleged widespread cyber activity against the UK and its allies.

Earlier this year MI6 launched Silent Courier, an online portal designed to attract potential sources via the dark web. The system offers anonymous access to a secure MI6 messaging platform, enabling people anywhere in the world to submit information to UK intelligence services. The portal followed a rare public appeal by former MI6 chief Richard Moore in Prague in July 2023 urging Russian citizens to consider passing information to the UK.

The themes Metreweli will set out—blending technology, tradecraft and moral responsibility—signal a UK intelligence service preparing to operate in an era of diffuse, tech-enabled threats.