MI5 DG Gives First Interview In 106-Year History

The intelligence agency MI5 should only exist to the extent needed to keep the UK safe, its Director General (DG) has said.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4, the first live interview by a serving head of MI5 in its 106-year history, Andrew Parker addressed what he said were misconceptions about the organisation and some of the security challenges they are currently facing.

It is understood that Mr Parker took the interview to offer context around the threat from Syria/Iraq-related terrorism ahead of a parliamentary debate on proposed new powers for agencies like MI5.

Speaking after the interview, Mr Parker said: "MI5 exists to keep the country safe. There should be no more of MI5 – with no more powers - than necessary to do that.

"Today we are being stretched by a growing threat from terrorism, and from Syria in particular, combined with the constant challenge of technological change.

"The way we work these days has changed as technology has advanced. Our success depends on us and our partner agencies having sufficient up to date capabilities, used within a clear framework of law against those who threaten this country.

"I welcome Government's intent to update the legal framework accordingly and to make our powers more transparent. Keeping our laws up to date in this area can only be a good thing in a free, democratic country – the very thing MI5 exists to protect. We need to be able to operate in secret if we are to succeed against those who mean the UK harm. But the capabilities we use can be described more fully in law.

"We take our legal and ethical duty to use these powers proportionately extremely seriously. We never use them for the sake of it and do not trawl at will through people's private lives.

"I pay tribute to the exceptional dedication, professionalism and sacrifices made by the men and women of MI5, those in communities who help us save lives, and our colleagues in GCHQ, SIS and the police."

(MH/CD)