The biggest security threat Britain and the world faces is climate change but the so-called “security services” barely mention it.
Why? Well, every head of MI6 since 1999 has joined a fossil fuel company after leaving the agency, making millions of £s in the process. Thread.
Sir Richard Dearlove, head of MI6 from 1999-2004, joined Texas-based oil company Kosmos Energy in 2012. From 2013-2019, Dearlove earned more than £2-million in fees from the company, having attended an average of 12 meetings a year.
Sir John Scarlett, head of MI6 from 2004-09, became chair of the Strategic Advisory Council of Norwegian company Statoil (now Equinor) in 2011. Scarlett’s name doesn’t appear in the company’s annual reports or its website and it’s not known how much he’s been paid in this role.
Sir John Sawers, head of MI6 from 2009-2014, joined board of BP in 2015. In first 5 years he earned £699,000, and possessed shares worth £91,300 in the company.
Sawers was a foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair and was appointed Britain’s special representative to Iraq in 2003.
Sir Alex Younger, head of MI6 from 2014, stood down last year. So far he has joined Goldman Sachs, but recent history suggests he will join the fossil fuel industry at some point in the future.
It is highly likely other MI6 personnel move on to the fossil fuel industry after leaving the agency. The only names of MI6 officers which are not highly classified are the heads.
It was revealed that former MI6 head of counterrorism, Sir Mark Allen, joined BP after leaving service, helping company to negotiate a £15bn oil contract with Gaddafi. Allen developed a relationship with Gaddafi regime while in MI6 and was investigated over rendition to Libya.
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