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Battle begins over security services Bill: Head of MI6 emerges from shadows to give press conference

Colin Brown,Chief Political Correspondent
Thursday 25 November 1993 00:02 GMT
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A BATTLE over scrutiny of MI6, MI5 and GCHQ began last night over the government Bill to put the intelligence services on a statutory footing.

The heads of MI6 and GCHQ, Sir Colin McColl and Sir John Adye, emerged from the shadows for the first time to welcome the Intelligence Services Bill at a press conference in the Foreign Office.

Sir Colin, traditionally known as 'C', refused to allow a photograph to be taken of himself, as part of MI6 'tradecraft' to reassure agents in the field that their identities would be protected.

'I am very anxious I give some sort of signal (to MI6 agents abroad) that we are not going to open up our files, we are not going to allow ourselves to be undressed in public with their names as part of our baggage . . .' Sir Colin said.

The Bill, which is part of John Major's commitment to more open government, will establish a committee of six MPs and peers, hand- picked by the Prime Minister, to provide oversight of the expenditure, administration and policy of MI6, MI5 and GCHQ, the government electronics listening post. They will meet in camera, report to the Prime Minister and will be denied operational secrets.

But Labour criticised it for not going far enough. John Cunningham, shadow foreign secretary, warned Labour would seek to change the Bill, introduced in the Lords, to allow scrutiny by a select committee, which would report to Parliament. Labour will also fight to re-establish union rights at GCHQ.

Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary, said the Government would resist changes and insisted the committee would remain 'within the ring of secrecy'.

The Bill will require MI6 - traditionally the overseas spy network - to obtain warrants before carrying out operations and Mr Hurd confirmed it could include operations in Britain against terrorism and crime.

Giving the impression that James Bond was now living in straitened circumstances, under threat of redundancy since the end of the Cold War, Sir Colin said MI6 was 'extremely happy' to see the Bill, because it would guarantee the future of the Secret Intelligence Service.

He disclosed that MI6 employs about 2,000 staff; that is about the same number as MI5, which operates in the UK, but marks a sharp reduction since the 1980s. 'We are having a difficult time,' Sir Colin said.

'We are a wavy line in terms of manpower. We were quite severely cut in the 1970s. After the Falklands war, when we were quite clearly seen to be too thin, not just there, but in other areas as well, we increased our numbers during the 1980s. We are now on a declining path, over the next two or three years we will be back to where we were before the Falklands war,' he said.

Sir Colin, resembling a dapper, balding family solicitor with beady eyes and a wry smile, made it clear he would not be copying the example of the United States, where the head of the CIA gives regular press conferences.

'I forsee a situation in which we will find different ways of being able to provide information and background on what we are doing, because that is one of the purposes of opening up. But I have to say I am very anxious to keep the profile of the service low.'

The Bill will also provide for a commissioner responsible for overseeing the SIS and GCHQ, with the establishment of a tribunal to investigate complaints against the two services. MI5 was put under statutory control by the 1989 Security Service Act.

The Foreign Secretary said since the ending of the Cold War, MI6 had changed its role to concentrate more on countering the threat from terrorism, organised crime and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and chemical weapons.

The parliamentary committee is certain to investigate the cost of the new headquarters for MI6 and MI5 being established on opposite banks of the river Thames near the Houses of Parliament.

The Bill was also welcomed by Sir David Steel, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on foreign affairs and a Privy Councillor, who is being tipped for membership of the committee. Most members are expected to be Privy Councillors, already covered by an oath of secrecy. Others being tipped include John Gilbert, the Labour MP and Privy Councillor, and Lord Cledwyn, the former Labour leader in the Lords.

(Photograph omitted)

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