MI6’s new chief, Blaise Metreweli, used a London speech on 15 December 2025 to set out how the Secret Intelligence Service intends to operate as the rules of conflict are rewritten. The official transcript places the present in a “space between peace and war” and argues that technology must sit alongside human judgement.
On Russia, Metreweli characterised the threat as aggressive, expansionist and revisionist, combining a grinding war in Ukraine with activity kept deliberately just below the threshold of open conflict. She cited cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, drone harassment of airports and bases, maritime interference, state‑sponsored arson and sabotage, and propaganda designed to exploit social fractures. UK support for Kyiv would be sustained, she said.
The speech set out a technology agenda with direct operational consequences. Advances in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum computing are portrayed as accelerating both risk and opportunity, with dual‑use applications and highly personalised tools reshaping how states, companies and even individuals can influence events. Control over these capabilities is described as increasingly diffuse.
Metreweli warned that the social foundations of trust are being eroded by weaponised information, where falsehood travels faster than fact and algorithmic feeds flatter bias. In this account, public debate fragments, common reference points narrow and the contest over “what is true” becomes a security issue in its own right.
Internally, SIS will push for technical fluency across roles. Officers are expected to be as comfortable with code as with human sources, with mastery applied not only in labs but in field tradecraft. The guiding principle is straightforward: intelligence should drive action; action should deliver advantage for UK security and prosperity.
Partnerships remain central. Metreweli highlighted closer working with MI5, GCHQ, Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, alongside Five Eyes cooperation and engagement with European formats such as the E3, the EU and NATO. She also pointed to collaboration with HMGCC, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund and the UK tech sector to meet digital threats no single organisation can handle alone.
China was noted as a central feature of this century’s geopolitical and technological change. MI6’s role, Metreweli said, is to inform government understanding of China’s rise and the implications for UK national security, while maintaining expertise on hostile states, terrorism and proliferation.
Operationally, the service will seek sharper impact through calculated risk‑taking while rejecting the methods of adversaries. Metreweli referenced SIS’s Special Operations Executive heritage to emphasise audacity when the national interest is clear, and restated values-courage, creativity, respect and integrity-as the basis for legitimacy and trust.
The speech placed responsibilities on wider society. Schools and families were encouraged to build resilience against information manipulation; citizens were urged to check sources, weigh evidence and recognise when algorithms are designed to provoke. The “front line”, Metreweli argued, now runs through online spaces, public places, supply chains and personal devices.
On transparency and recruitment, Metreweli committed to more public communication, broader engagement and sustained efforts to attract diverse talent-linguists, data scientists, engineers, case officers and behavioural experts-while protecting what must remain secret. The aim is to show who the service is, what it stands for and why the work matters.
Policy Wire analysis: for departments and regulated operators, the direction of travel is clear. Expect tighter integration between human and technical capabilities across the intelligence community; continued pressure in response to Russian grey‑zone activity; and more structured engagement with the UK tech sector to scale tools that improve threat detection and operational security. Education and civic bodies should anticipate renewed emphasis on media literacy and source‑checking, while procurement teams across government will face higher assurance expectations around AI‑enabled systems and data handling. These are not new mandates, but today’s speech makes coherence and delivery the test that matters.