Internal watchdog for MI6
The Foreign Office has confirmed that a long-standing MI6 officer has been put in charge of vetting all intelligence reports that come out of the Secret Intelligence Service.
A senior business figure has also been appointed to improve the running of the agency.
The appointments follow 2004’s Butler report that said that intelligence on Iraqi weapons had been unreliable.
In the wake of media reports on the subject, the Foreign Office has confirmed that a senior officer has begun heading an internal watchdog charged with monitoring the quality of intelligence gathered by MI6.
This person, known as R, would act as an “independent quality control officer” and vet reports before they were sent to customers such as the Ministry of Defence.
The business figure, described as a “senior management expert in the private sector”, would provide management expertise at the agency.
Last year’s report from Lord Butler highlighted “serious flaws in pre-war intelligence” and claimed that MI6 sometimes relied on third-hand reports.
The Foreign Office said that the agency had acted quickly to respond to these criticisms, explaining: “One of the first ideas was to go back to the drawing board to ensure that all intelligence sources were validated.”
Part of the reorganisation has involved separating the officers who collect the intelligence from those responsible for assessing its reliability.
Since the invasion of Iraq, MI6 has withdrawn intelligence on the country’s weapons of mass destruction because it is now considered unreliable.
This includes the now notorious claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons within 45 minutes, which was prominently featured in the Government’s dossier on Iraq’s weapons.
