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Sir Richard Dearlove became the second MI6 chief to be named publicly, when he was appointed head of the secret intelligence service in 1999. Described as an intelligence “all rounder”, his appointment was seen as a reflection of the agency’s new post-Cold War priorities – fighting organised crime rather than spying on the Soviets.
Chosen by then Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, in consultation with Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sir Richard took the classic route into the espionage business.
He went to Cambridge, a favourite recruiting ground for the intelligence agencies, where he was almost certainly “talent spotted”. He began his MI6 career in 1966 and two years later received his first overseas posting to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
After postings in Prague, Paris and Geneva, Sir Richard became head of MI6’s Washington station in 1991. and later appointed chief and, like all his predecessors since the agency’s founder Captain Sir Mansfield Cumming, became known in Whitehall simply as “C”.
The agency’s reputation came under fire after the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. MI6 was accused by the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee of failing to respond with sufficient urgency to warnings that al-Qaeda was planning a major terrorist attack.
In February 2008, he was called to appear at the inquest into the death of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed. He denied claims by Harrods boss Mohammed Al Fayed that the intelligence services killed the princess and his son, who died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.
In 2012 Dearlove took a sabbatical from Cambridge University to write an account of events leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq from his perspective at MI6, including coverage of the production of the so-called “dodgy dossier”. Publishing such an account was unprecedented for a former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Serious issues, serious concerns…a serious speaker.
Mr. Dearlove charges a fee for his services. Please contact the London office for further details.