Your Excellencies,
Mon cher collègue Nicolas Lerner, le Directeur Générale de la sécurité extérieure,
Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs,
Thank you Ambassador, Menna, to you and your team for hosting this splendid occasion, and to my dear friend and colleague Nicolas for his very kind words of introduction.
I’m not sure I can compete with you on popular culture so I’m going to leave that to one side.
As Chief of MI6, I tend to limit my public interventions to occasions when I believe I can contribute to public understanding of specific events.
But today, I want to talk about something else, the bigger picture if you like. I want to take this opportunity to highlight the hidden strengths of our democracies, the deep alliances built on shared values and forged in our collective work to maintain peace, freedom, and open societies.
Back in September, the Director of the CIA, Bill Burns, and I talked about Britain and America’s special relationship.
And I am here in Paris to highlight another of our vital partnerships with France and the DGSE. Britain and France; Britain and the United States. Nations built on the same ideals, creating partnerships through friendship, joint endeavour and historic achievement, transcending the generations.
I believe these partnerships are the secret weapon of free nations, never more valuable than today.
And it was that same insight which inspired the Entente Cordiale 120 years ago this year, when Britain and France resolved to unite our destinies, and stand together against common treats.
As early as 1912, the first Chief of MI6, Mansfield Cumming, made his first ever visit to a foreign partner, by coming to France to meet the Deuxième Bureau, to compare insights on German capabilities and intentions.
He began a tradition which our Services have honoured through two World Wars, one Cold War, and countless crises, including those that we face today in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Time and again our friendship has been tested in adversity starting with the cataclysm of the First World War, with Verdun being the epitome of French sacrifice, and the Somme evoking the same emotion in British hearts.
But one of the greatest crises of them all unfolded barely 60 miles from this room when, in March 1918, the British and French armies came close to being overwhelmed by Germany’s last great offensive of the War.
And in the heat of that emergency, our two countries asked Marechal Foch to become supreme commander of Allied forces on the Western Front.
And at a stroke, the British government placed the biggest land army Britain had ever fielded under French command. Foch and his allied comrades turned retreat into victory in just eight months, and afterwards Foch said ‘I am conscious of having served England as I served my own country’.
Later, in a time of still graver peril, General de Gaulle proclaimed in his ‘Appel’ on 18 June 1940, ‘La France n’est pas seule ! Elle n’est pas seule !’.
France was indeed not alone, because de Gaulle was broadcasting from London, re-igniting on British soil what he termed “The flame of French resistance”.
That flame in turn was kindled by the men and women of the Special Operations Executive, asked by Churchill to ‘set Europe ablaze’.
After the war, the SOE was merged into SIS, and we cherish our heritage of covert action which we keep alive today in helping Ukraine resist the Russian invasion.
The depth and trust of the intelligence cooperation between La France libre and Britain, embodying the spirit of the Entente Cordiale, was symbolised by the formation of DGSE’s forerunner, the Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Actions in 1940, by Colonel André Dewavrin with the help and support of SIS.
This year, we marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the liberation of France.
And behind that story lies an extraordinary example of wartime Franco-British intelligence cooperation.
Thousands of French men and women chose to risk their lives as members of the BCRA’s Centurie network in Normandy to provide vital intelligence on the ‘guns, concrete and steel’ of Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall”.
Everything from the arrival of troop trains, to the locations of machine-gun nests, bunkers, radar stations and minefields. Long before the liberating armies stormed the beaches, the French people were the eyes and ears of the Allies, allowing the comprehensive mapping of German positions.
The triumph of D-day began with this triumph of intelligence, which united French courage and élan with the code-breaking brilliance of Bletchley Park and the agent-running skills of BCRA and SIS.
Britain and France fought this secret war together and earlier this month, President Macron and Prime Minister Starmer retraced the steps of de Gaulle and Churchill in 1944 to the Arc de Triomphe paying their tribute to the shared sacrifice which has allowed all of us to live in peace and freedom.
Today, the Franco-British relationship builds on everything we have achieved together through the Entente Cordiale to secure peace and prosperity in Europe and further afield. And that partnership has never been more vital.
In 37 years in the intelligence profession, I have never seen the world in a more dangerous state. And the impact on Europe – our shared European home – could hardly be more serious.
The menace of terrorism has not gone away after retreating in Syria and Iran, Islamic State is again expanding its reach, inflicting deadly attacks in both Iran and Russia.
The Taleban, the hosts of Al Qaida, once again rule Afghanistan. And we have yet to have a full reckoning with the radicalising impact of the fighting and terrible loss of innocent life in the Middle East, after the horrors of October 7.
We and our allies agree on the imperative of de-escalation, breaking the cycle of violence and delivering the ceasefire in Gaza that follows the hard-won truce in Lebanon DGSE and SIS share reporting insights so that discussion about peace can benefit form a common intelligence picture.
Iran’s allied militias across the Middle East have suffered serious blows, but the regime’s nuclear ambitions continue to threaten all of us, especially friends of France and the UK in the Gulf region, and the Iranian regime maintains its efforts to eliminate dissidents, home and abroad.
We must navigate the rise of an increasingly assertive China which sometimes competes with our interests and whose values often do not align with our own.
As the Prime Minister said at the G20, a strong UK-China relationship is important for both of our countries, and for the international community more broadly.
We play our part in MI6, keeping lines of communication open with our Chinese counterparts.
However, when our values diverge, we must, as the Prime Minister said, respond in a way that shows that the UK is a consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law. And we always will.
Most of all though, we again have a war on European soil.
Nicolas and I are in no doubt about what is at stake in Ukraine if Putin is allowed to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he will not stop there.
Our security – British, French, European and transatlantic – will be jeopardised.
The cost of supporting Ukraine is well known, but the cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher.
If Putin succeeds, China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened, and Iran would become yet more dangerous.
We have recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear sabre-rattling, to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine, and challenge Western resolve in so doing.
Such activity and rhetoric is dangerous and beyond irresponsible.
We have no doubt that our Ukrainian friends have the will to win.
SIS and DGSE intelligence has been critical to calibrating risk and informing the decisions of our respective governments so they can navigate successfully Putin’s mix of bluster and aggression.
As our two leaders affirmed in Paris, France and Britain are united and unflinching in our determination to support Ukraine, for as long as it takes, to defeat Russia’s war of aggression, and protect European security and the international order.
Together Europe and North America have many times Russia’s GDP and defence budget.
75 years after its foundation, we have a larger and stronger NATO than when Putin invaded Ukraine.
Our allies in northern and eastern Europe are sharing their expertise form their long and bitter experience as Russia’s neighbours.
We know that we all need to do more that’s why the British government has committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.
But we should never doubt that our alliance has strength in numbers, both economic and military, and our unity of purpose makes that count.
Putin, by contrast, is jeopardising Russia’s future, pouring vast sums into his military machine and squandering tens of thousands of lives – Russian and now North Korean – in his catastrophic conflict.
Putin has made Russia demandeur to Tehran, Beijing and Pyongyang.
I do not doubt the transactional consequence of that arrangement and the succour it brings to Russia.
But it is a transaction there is no real trust or respect, its roots are shallow. There are limits to the partnership.
As Nicolas and Sir John Scarlett, one of my distinguished predecessors here today, they would tell you trust, mutual respect and unity of purpose, sit at the heart of every enduring alliance.
As I have warned previously, Russia should avoid the classic error of the authoritarian state, which confuses the splendidly irreverent clash and thunder of democracy, with weakness and irresolution.
Our democracy is our strength, continuously bestowing legitimacy on our leaders’ decisions.
Since the summer, the UK has a new Prime Minister, France has a new government, and America has elected its next President.
For decades the US-UK intelligence alliance has made our societies safer; I worked successfully with the first Trump administration to advance our shared security and I look forward to doing so again.
Together, as allies, our collective strengths will outmatch and outlast Putin’s morally bankrupt axis of aggression.
The 120 years of the Entente Cordiale remind us of the deep roots of our friendship and how often we have risen to even graver challenges with courage, determination, and ingenuity.
On both sides of the Channel, the cooperation between SIS, GCHQ, and DGSE, together with our sister services, MI5 and DGSI, lies at the heart of the Entente Cordiale. Officers from MI6 and DGSE work arm in arm countering terrorism in forbidding locations, preventing the proliferation of weapons and countering Russian aggression.
But we do not just cooperate on “the what” – the intelligence picture – but also “the how” – devising together the means for discovering the information our governments need to guarantee our security.
Years of technical collaboration mean we are constantly learning from each other in delivering technology to enable operations.
We have shared our AI strategies, to understand its potential, and asses the threat it poses to free societies.
Our intelligence officers, data scientists, engineers, linguists, and analysts, are in regular dialogue, continuously shuttling beneath the channel on the Eurostar, which carried its first passengers thirty years ago this November.
These professional and personal connections, built up over many years – like mine with Nicolas and those of our leadership teams – help us to have honest conversations and make pragmatic decisions.
We frequently apply a “best athlete” approach to operations, where we decide which agency would be best placed to pursue and opportunity, for our shared benefit.
And talking of “best athletes”, as Nicolas noted, our teamwork was demonstrated to the full during the Paris Olympics when we worked together to keep the athletes and spectators safe.
The backdrop to Paris 2024 was far from rosy with threats in various guises.
My service and our UK counterparts worked hand-in-glove with French colleagues – just as they supported us so brilliantly in the run-up to London 2012 – to help them deliver a successful Olympics, a fantastic exhibition of all that is great about France, and Paris in particular.
Who here will forget fencers silhouetted against the magnificent Grand Palais, or the roars of the crowd around the pool in La Défense as Léon Marchand raced to gold after gold?
This global showcase of the best of humanity simply would not have happened safely without the work and commitment outside the stadia of the men and women of DGSE and DGSI, and I pay tribute to them and their police colleagues.
In our business, success is often invisible, but no less valid for that. This is something we tell our new officers.
MI6 and DGSE put in a lot of effort to ensure we recruit talented people, capable of developing cutting-edge tech, judging risk and crafting operations to persuade people to work with us.
Doing this is only possible with a diverse range of officers whose varied background and experience make us better at spying as well as reflecting the countries we serve.
I want to return to the theme that frames today’s lecture how our secret strength is found in the alliances that we maintain through thick and thin, over decades.
Contrasted to the tactical cooperation of others, it is our deep alliances that give us the critical edge we need.
In our business, perhaps more than many others, you need friends you can rely on.
I have been blessed with outstanding counterparts in DGSE first Bernard Émié and now Nicolas, who led the French domestic service DGSI until Céline Berthon took over last year.
Together, the three of us, along with my British colleagues Ken McCallum of MI5 and Anne Keast-Butler of GCHQ, are living not only an Entente Cordiale, but, I might venture to suggest, an Entente Amicale.
The French Republic crystallises our shared ideals into three words Liberté. Égalité. Fraternité.
That immortal rallying cry inspires our partnership, and stirs British and French hearts alike.
It is in this spirit that we are equipping an intelligence partnership forged in the darkest moments of the 20th century, for the challenges of the 21st.
Vive l’Entente Cordiale ! Vive l’Entente Amicale !
Thank you.
