The outgoing head of MI6 has suggested that the next chief of the service could be a woman.
Sir Richard Moore is set to step aside as chief of the British intelligence service this summer after serving in the role since 2020.
The 61-year-old wrote in a post on X that a woman could fill the post.
Among the four director-generals at MI6, three are believed to be women, and at least two are reportedly considering putting themselves forward for the position, reports The Times.
MI6 chief Sir Richard MoorePAMoore wrote on social media earlier this month: “This International Women’s Day, #MI6 pledges to ensure that our brilliant female staff of now and the future can thrive with us.
"No one gets a job in MI6 except on merit. But we men, as allies, can help our female colleagues achieve the success their talent deserves.
"We have yet to have a woman as chief so there’s still a glass ceiling to shatter. #AccelerateAction."
Meanwhile, defence sources have played down the idea military chief could fill the role, with a source telling The Telegraph: "No military chief is remotely qualified...MI6 has strong internal candidates."
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A general view of the Secret Intelligence Service building, headquarters of MI6 at VauxhallPAThe decision of picking the new chief is down to Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Lammy will decide who becomes the next head of MI6 after being presented with a shortlist, which will then be supported by the Prime Minister.
It comes as Moore issued a warning last year about Russia's influence, saying in a rare public appearance: "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 still more dangerous."
Sir John Sawers, the former chief of MI6, told LBC earlier this month that there could be "border incursions into the Baltic states."
He said: "I think we’ll see more targeted attacks against undersea cables and maybe gas pipelines, just to unnerve the Europeans.
"And we might see some border incursions into the Baltic states, for example, just to test whether Article 5 is still there."
