Richard Moore

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Person.png Richard Moore   TwitterRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(spook, diplomat)
Richard Moore.JPG
BornRichard Peter Moore
9 May 1963
Tripoli, Libya
Alma materWorcester College (Oxford), Harvard University, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)

Employment.png Chief of the SIS

In office
1 October 2020 - Present
EmployerUK/FCDO

Employment.png Director General (Political)

In office
April 2018 - 30 September 2020
EmployerUK/FCDO

Employment.png British Ambassador to Turkey

In office
January 2014 - December 2017
EmployerHM Diplomatic Service

Richard Peter Moore is a British intelligence official, currently the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and formerly the Director General (Political) at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,[1][2][3][4] and previously the British Ambassador to Turkey.[1]

Own words

"In the contest for power through the 21st century, those who command key technologies will have an advantage," says Richard Moore.

Radio interview

On 30 November 2021 Richard Moore, known to spies as 'C' and who oversees the UK’s foreign intelligence apparatus, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme that while he believed that free societies possessed an advantage over authoritarian ones, “we need to be very robust in fighting our corner” and leverage “the entrepreneurial animal spirits” within science and techonology to keep pace with Beijing.

Moore said Britain had observed China using loans and debt to “acquire significant ports that have the potential to become naval facilities”, doing by economic means what nations including the UK and US had done in the past by force.

But he added that data and technology now provided a comparable avenue for Xi Jinping’s government to gain power.

Control over critical data

'C' said:

Mansfield Cumming's English Heritage Blue Plaque at 2 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EJ

“If you allow another country to gain access to really critical data about your society, over time that will erode your sovereignty – you no longer have have control over that data. That’s something which I think in the UK we are very alive to and we’ve taken measures to defend against. It’s not true, I think, in all the conversations I have around the globe, but I’m very keen that people should understand that.”[5]

Green ink

In the same BBC Radio 4 interview, Richard Moore revealed the significance of the green ink used by those in his role - which came from a tradition started by Sir Mansfield Cumming, the first head of MI6, who was the original 'C' .

Moore said the green ink means those working in the service know any directive has been signed by him.

"The same is true of my typescript on my computer," the latest 'C' added.[6]

Public speech

Richard Moore's first public speech as 'C'

Later, on the same day as his Today Programme interview, Richard Moore made his first public speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies as Chief of the SIS. In his speech entitled "Human intelligence in a digital age", Moore talked about the seismic changes he was seeing in the world, specifically in the espionage environment.

'C' discussed China, Russia and Iran, three of the ‘Big Four’ priorities for the intelligence world. He also explained what the UK is doing to address the fourth priority – the amorphous, shape shifting character of international terrorism.[7]

Opinions

“With the tragedy and destruction unfolding so distressingly in Ukraine, we should remember the values and hard won freedoms that distinguish us from Putin, none more than LGBT+ rights. So let’s resume our series of tweets to mark #LGBTHM2022”
Richard Moore (Feb 25, 2022)  [8]


 

Events Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
Munich Security Conference/201915 February 201917 February 2019Germany
Munich
Bavaria
The 55th Munich Security Conference, which included "A Spreading Plague" aimed at "identifying gaps and making recommendations to improve the global system for responding to deliberate, high consequence biological events."
Munich Security Conference/202218 February 202220 February 2022Germany
Munich
Bavaria
Munich Security Conference/202416 February 202418 February 2024Germany
Munich
Bavaria
Annual conference of mid-level functionaries from the military-industrial complex - politicians, propagandists and lobbyists - in their own bubble, far from the concerns of their subjects
Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.


References