Blaise Metreweli CMG will be the 18th Chief in the organisation’s history and the first woman to hold the role, at a time when the United Kingdom faces increased threats from our adversaries, the British government said in a statement.

Commonly referred to as ‘C’, the Chief has operational responsibility for MI6, and is the only publicly named member of the organisation.

They are accountable to the Foreign Secretary.

Her present responsibility

She is currently Director General ‘Q’, responsible for technology and innovation in MI6, and has previously held a Director-level role in MI5.

She will succeed Richard Moore, who leaves the Service in the autumn.

PM calls her appointment 'historic'

British PM Keir Starmer described her appointment as 'historic'.

"The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital," Sharmer said.

The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services," he said.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "I am delighted to appoint Blaise Metreweli as the next Chief of MI6. With a wealth of experience from across our national security community, Blaise is the ideal candidate to lead MI6 into the future."

Outgoing Chief Moore described Metreweli as a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader.

Having joined the service in 1999, she has spent most of her career in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe.