MI6 goes on-line
2005-10-13 21:06
London - For decades so secret it did not even officially exist, Britain's overseas intelligence agency MI6 emerged from the shadows Thursday with a website aimed at dispelling "myths" and recruiting would-be spies.
The Secret Intelligence Service, or SIS, as MI6 is officially known, said it hoped the information on the Internet would help quash "ridiculous" conspiracy theories such as the notion that British agents murdered Princess Diana.
The website - www.sis.gov.uk and also www.mi6.gov.uk - details the role, history and remit of the organisation, which gathers overseas intelligence while its counterpart spying agency MI5 concentrates on domestic security.
"It's important for the public to know more about the service and to explain why MI6 has to be secret in its operations and personnel," MI6 spokesperson Nev Johnson said ahead of the website's launch.
Diana
"Also, some of the allegations, myths and rumours that have grown up around the service, such as conspiracy theories that Princess Diana was murdered, are so ridiculous that they need to be corrected.
"And the best way of enhancing the public's knowledge of SIS's roles and responsibilities is a website because that is accessible to everyone."
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, which an official French investigation found was caused by excessive speed and a drunk chauffeur.
The openness is a far cry from the tradition of the agency, which was founded in 1909.
Although its existence was widely known, MI6 did not officially exist in government records until as late as 1994, when the then-government acknowledged the role of the agency in a new law.
James Bond
The MI6 internet site even has a careers page, which warns budding agents that their working lives will not be the stuff of James Bond films all the time.
In a frequently asked questions section, the site says the "glamour and excitement" of Bond films is not reflected in the real job.
But it adds: "Nevertheless, staff who join SIS can look forward to a career that will have moments when the gap between truth and fiction narrows just a little and the certainty of a stimulating and rewarding career which, like Bond's, will be in the service of their country."
Other web pages give profiles of three MI6 agents, although some details are changed to protect their identities.
"I've already been in some pretty testing situations abroad," says "Andrew", a 28-year-old politics graduate.
Hopeful spies should get in touch, said Johnson.
"If you think you have the qualities described on the website please apply, don't wait for us to get in touch," he said.