Richard Moore has given his first speech as MI6 chief. It will be written up as puff pieces in tomorrow's national press.

Some observations from us in this thread.

gov.uk/government/new…
Moore said the MI6 chief giving a speech “is an important part of the way we hold ourselves to account”.

Far more important would be enabling the public to submit FOI requests on MI6, stop censoring MI6 records from national archives & being truly accountable to parliament.
Moore said what all security officials always say in every speech: threat to the UK are “growing” and our “adversaries” are “feeling emboldened”.

In other words, the security agencies need yet more public money. But the UK already has a deeply-embedded national security state.
Moore outlines “the ‘big four’ set of threats: China, Russia, Iran and international terrorism”.

These are traditional threats outlined by the UK elite: they are not those identified by the UK public, who were never asked. In whose interest are these the identified threats?
Moore said: “Everything we do is bound by UK law”.

This doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

declassifieduk.org/mi6-has-a-long…
Moore said: “I ask my officers to do things in their professional existence which they would not do in their private lives”.

Yes, we’ve noticed.

declassifieduk.org/tag/mi6/
Moore said: “A democratic society should only grant such powers to its most ethically literate citizens”.

But MI6 is almost completely unaccountable to democratically-elected officials & the public. How do we know MI6 hands such powers only to “ethically literate citizens”?
Moore said he wants “other countries” to be more aware of being vulnerable to a China “where there is no recourse to an independent judiciary or free press”.

Yet MI6 has its own special relationships with many states (eg Gulf dictatorships) just as repressive of media/judiciary
Moore stated the UK must stand up to Russian activity "which contravenes the rules-based international system”.

This is propaganda. MI6 knows full well there is no ‘rules-based international system’ and the UK violates international law as much/more than most other states.

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More from @declassifiedUK

26 Oct
THREAD. See our investigations into how the UK legal process has been conflicted from the start of the US attempt to prosecute Julian #Assange

The case has implications for media freedom and the US right to prosecute anyone in the world, but also for the independence of UK law
The husband of Lady Arbuthnot, Westminster chief magistrate who initially oversaw #Assange’s extradition case to the US, was shown to have financial links to the British military establishment, including institutions exposed by WikiLeaks.

declassifieduk.org/julian-assange…
Lady Arbuthnot had even received financial benefits from two partner organisations of the Foreign Office before her appointment - yet she failed to formally declare conflicts of interests in presiding over the #Assange case.

declassifieduk.org/revealed-chief…
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NEW -- How British journalists are seduced by the Ministry of Defence and spooks

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declassifieduk.org/how-british-jo…
SEE THREAD.

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The British government welcomed the 2019 coup in Bolivia that overthrew democratically-elected president Evo Morales. It then strongly supported the resulting coup regime. Here's why. Thread. Image
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30 Jun
New -- Foreign minister James Cleverly accused of breaking UK Ministerial Code over arms to Israel

by @markcurtis30

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dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-0…
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Parliament is not being informed about the possible use of UK military equipment against Palestinians in conflict in Gaza.

bit.ly/3w0S30w Image
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13 May
Revealed - Helicopter attack on Nigerian civilians puts British pilot training under fresh scrutiny

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dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-0…
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Nazanin’s story in Iran is not just a tragedy, it’s a warning

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dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-0…
"The debt owed by Britain to Iran relates to a large sale of tanks to the country from the UK during the Shah’s time.

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bit.ly/3vBQtCi
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bit.ly/3vBQtCi
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