MI6 chief defends demand for secrecy
Source: Agencies |
October 29, 2010, Friday
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BRITAIN'S spy agency chief stepped out of the shadows with an unprecedented public address yesterday, defending the need for secrecy to counter growing terror threats.
MI6 chief John Sawers said even though Cold War-era secrecy has been lifted and intelligence agencies were working to become more accessible, keeping intelligence material secret was vital to protect people against terror attacks.
"Secrecy is not a dirty word. Secrecy is not there as a cover-up," Sawers told a select group of journalists in London. "Without secrecy there would be no intelligence services, or indeed other national assets like our special forces. Our nation would be more exposed as a result."
The question of secrecy has dominated world news in the last week, after the whistleblowing group WikiLeaks published nearly 400,000 United States intelligence logs detailing daily carnage in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion.
In July, the same group published 77,000 secret US documents on the war in Afghanistan.
Some of the leaked documents show that coalition forces handed over terror suspects to Iraqi security services even after abuse was suspected, or continued with interrogations despite visible injuries to suspects.
There has been no clear mention of MI6 involvement in the logs, however.
Sawers' speech also comes as two government inquiries probe whether MI6 and other agencies were complicit in the abuse of terror suspects - allegations that Sawers denied yesterday, adding that MI6 agents are obligated by law to stop and avoid torture.
"And we do - even though that allows terrorist activity to go ahead," he said, adding that although his agency hasn't been specifically accused of torture it has been accused of "being too close to it."
Sawers - also known by the codename "C" as all MI6 directors have been known - said that progress had been made in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but new terror threats were growing elsewhere.
MI6 chief John Sawers said even though Cold War-era secrecy has been lifted and intelligence agencies were working to become more accessible, keeping intelligence material secret was vital to protect people against terror attacks.
"Secrecy is not a dirty word. Secrecy is not there as a cover-up," Sawers told a select group of journalists in London. "Without secrecy there would be no intelligence services, or indeed other national assets like our special forces. Our nation would be more exposed as a result."
The question of secrecy has dominated world news in the last week, after the whistleblowing group WikiLeaks published nearly 400,000 United States intelligence logs detailing daily carnage in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion.
In July, the same group published 77,000 secret US documents on the war in Afghanistan.
Some of the leaked documents show that coalition forces handed over terror suspects to Iraqi security services even after abuse was suspected, or continued with interrogations despite visible injuries to suspects.
There has been no clear mention of MI6 involvement in the logs, however.
Sawers' speech also comes as two government inquiries probe whether MI6 and other agencies were complicit in the abuse of terror suspects - allegations that Sawers denied yesterday, adding that MI6 agents are obligated by law to stop and avoid torture.
"And we do - even though that allows terrorist activity to go ahead," he said, adding that although his agency hasn't been specifically accused of torture it has been accused of "being too close to it."
Sawers - also known by the codename "C" as all MI6 directors have been known - said that progress had been made in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but new terror threats were growing elsewhere.
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