MI6 set to appoint first female boss

Dame Barbara Woodward’s critics say she was reluctant to criticise Beijing while ambassador between 2015 and 2020

Barbara Woodward, a civil servant with no experience as a spy, could be the next MI6 chief, according to reports (AP)

A civil servant could become the first woman MI6 chief, according to reports.

Dame Barbara Woodward, who is Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, was one of three women interviewed for the top job last week, The Sunday Times reported.

Sir Richard Moore, 62, is due to stand down as the spy agency’s current boss later this year after five years in charge.

Before becoming the agency’s boss, Sir Richard worked undercover in Vietnam, Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia, the newspaper reported.

Dame Barbara joined the Foreign Office in 1994 and has worked as international director of the UK Border Agency as well as Britain’s ambassador to China between 2015 and 2020.

Barbara Woodward is the UK’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations (AP)

The 63-year-old was dubbed “Beijing Barbara” for her reluctance to criticise China during her time in that post, according to the same newspaper.

When several MPs were sanctioned by China for their criticism of an alleged genocide against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, she was accused of “being less than robust” in dealing with the issue.

After she left China, she told the pro-Beijing Chinese tabloid Global Times that Taiwan would never have independence.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer will make the final decision on her appointment, advised by a board of senior government figures including foreign secretary David Lammy and national security adviser Jonathan Powell.