Britain's MI6 Ranked Europe's Top Intelligence Agency In Peer Review

MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, is ranked as the most powerful foreign intelligence service in Europe. MI6 is ahead of France and the Netherlands, according to a peer review conducted by French magazine L’Express.

The review was given by 60 professionals from 25 countries. Britain finished comfortably ahead of France, Germany and Ukraine. MI6 scored 251 points, followed by France’s General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) 169 points. The MI6 was lauded for going deep inside the ruling class in Russia, China, Iran and Turkey and its expertise in recruiting high level informants.

Why Was MI6 Ranked Number One?

Matthew Dunn, a former MI6 intelligence officer, told The Telegraph, that their recruitment style has been a reason they secured this result. “It’s recruiting people who are, to some extent, already spies. They are always inclined to that way of thinking,” he said.

“We’re simply looking for a particular breed of animal. But what that animal is, we can’t put our finger on. In modern parlance, we might say it’s the X factor,” Dunn said.

MI6 was ranked first with 251 points, and has been praised by the DGSE and CIA as well.

“The United Kingdom has by far the strongest secret services in Europe. MI6 is extraordinary,” Robert Gorelick, a former CIA station chief, told L’Express. A former head of the DGSE said, “The British have the ability to play the long game, investing in sources over a ten-year horizon, somewhat like the Russians. And they have a taste for dirty tricks.”

Britain was the first to warn the Ukraine about Russian attack in February 2022. Ralph Goff, a former chief of operations for Europe and Eurasia at the CIA, told L’Express, “The British are in the lead on the Ukrainian file. We are right behind them.”

Which Agencies Followed MI6?

Britain was followed by DGSE, which earned the second place for its global reach and operational capability, the Times reported. The Netherlands, Ukraine and Germany complete the top five, while Slovakia’s service was rated the worst.

The “action” service of the DGSE, which is a military organisation, is known to “eliminate” people deemed a threat to French security, as per The Times. François Hollande, the former French president, ordered at least 40 operations to kill “high value” jihadi targets in the Middle East and Africa.

The third place was given to the much smaller Netherlands-based agency AIVD. Jorge Silva Carvalho, former director of Portuguese intelligence, said about AIVD, “It offers the best return on investment! They have the most flawless track record and inspire total trust.”

Ukraine stood fourth, known for “innovation, ingenuity and risk-taking” comparable to that of Israel’s Mossad. Germany’s BND is widely mocked for its bureaucracy, and has great analytical strength but not much spying powers. It had, unutil recently, avoided operations abroad.

How Was The Ranking Conducted?

L’Express sought out around hundred intelligence professionals to rate their counterparts in the western-allied countries. This is not an official NATO or EU ranking, but a peer review by intelligence professionals.

Dunn said, intellect, interpersonal skills and problem-solving ability all mattered, but beyond that, the ideal candidate was difficult to define for the job. An overwhelming majority of the candidates interviewed put MI6 on rank one, The Times reported.

Why Does The Ranking Matter?

Intelligence agencies increasingly shape diplomacy and military planning before conflicts begin, and the way a country holding decisive intelligence is perceived. Due to secrecy, the general public only has access to an incomplete, sometimes misleading, account of history’s upheavals L’Express said.

A Former Swiss intelligence Director said, "Coming from the Foreign Office, I never imagined the intensity of intelligence relations between countries. It is far richer than diplomacy."