Today’s spies are more likely to be women, from diverse backgrounds and even have lawyers to help them plan their operations, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner has revealed.
Gone are the days when a James Bond-type spy, a la Roger Moore, “went around the world shooting people whenever he felt like it,” Gardner said.
She said: “I’ve met some very impressive women in the security industry. They were just as impressive as the men, if I do say so myself.
‘The modern world of espionage is not as ‘hardened and polished’ as Oxford and Cambridge; it is much more diverse.’
Gone are the days when a James Bond-style spy, a la Roger Moore, “speeds around the world.” (Roger Moore plays agent 007 in the James Bond film “For Your Eyes Only.”)
The BBC expert said modern spies are more likely to be women of ethnic background. (Frank Gardner pictured outside the BBC studios)
Mr Gardner was giving a talk at the Buxton Literary Festival in Derbyshire on the latest in his series of novels about a fictional MI6 spy.
He said his characters and plots are “grounded in a modern setting,” and that his latest novel, Invasion, is set against the backdrop of a feared invasion of Taiwan by a belligerent China.
In previous novels, Gardner’s main protagonist, secret agent Luke Carlton, has faced very 21st-century impediments to his work.
Mr Gardener said: “When Luke goes to Columbia, he has to bring a lawyer with him. And at one point, his supervisor stops him and says ‘you haven’t done your unconscious bias training.'”
The journalist said the use of lawyers by UK spies was due to mistakes such as the one in 2004, when “MI6 got into a terrible mess” for its role in the illegal rendition of Libyan dissident Abdul Hakim Belhaj by the Gaddafi regime.
In 2018, then-Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to apologise to Belhaj, who spent six years in Gaddafi’s prisons and says he was tortured.
Today, “every transaction has to be legalized from the beginning, when the lawyers sit in the room while the discussion takes place and they give their initial opinions,” Gardner said.
Mr. Gardner spoke of China’s “smart” positioning at the forefront of global technological development.
Gardner said the Russian economy was on a “war footing” as 7-8% of GDP was spent on manufacturing cheap ammunition in defence factories. (Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin)
Analysing current threats to global security, Mr Gardner spoke of China’s “clever” positioning at the forefront of global technological development, which would make economic sanctions more difficult for the West.
He also explained how a lack of defence spending means Western European nations would struggle to cope with a war on the continent, and how the return of Donald Trump as US president could “pull the rug out from under Ukraine”.
Mr Gardner said: “The problem with China is that it is the second largest economy in the world and is directly connected to the global economy. China is absolutely essential to the global supply chain.
‘This is a problem because China has done things in the recent past that have really upset the West, such as suppressing democracy in Hong Kong, oppressing the Uighurs and threatening Taiwan.
‘China’s behavior is enough to make the West worried… but if the West were to impose really serious sanctions on China, it would hurt both the West and China.’
Commenting on China’s role at the forefront of developing solar panels, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, Gardner said: “China has positioned itself very cleverly. In the future, the world will depend on them.”
Turning to Russia, Mr Gardner weighed in on the debate over defence budgets, saying spending by Western European countries is “painfully low and there are concerns about that”.
He noted that Russia’s economy is on a “war footing,” with 7-8% of GDP spent on defense factories aimed at producing cheap ammunition that “is not particularly good, but can overwhelm the Ukrainians.”
Mr Gardner said: “I think the big concern for a lot of people in the security, defence and international relations world is that we’re not spending enough on defence. Britain currently spends 2.3% of GDP.
The BBC expert said that Donald Trump’s return as US president could “pull the rug out from under Ukraine.” (US Secret Service agents help Donald Trump off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler)
Mr. Gardner said that if there is a challenge to Joe Biden’s bid to run for president again by the Democrats, a last-minute candidate must be found “very quickly.” (President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference after the NATO Summit in Washington)
‘There have been a number of warnings from service chiefs that we are not spending enough on defence.
“Our army is the smallest it has been since Napoleonic times. We have too few ships, let alone aircraft, to wage a full-scale war in Europe if one were to break out.”
Across the Atlantic, Gardner said that if there is a challenge to Joe Biden’s bid to run for president again from the Democrats, a last-minute candidate needs to be found “very quickly.”
He said Donald Trump’s return to the White House risked “turning America even more inward.”
But he added: “Many of his supporters say: why should we spend our tax dollars defending Europe when they can’t spend 2.5% of GDP on defence?
“If Trump becomes president, there is a strong chance that he will pull the rug out from under Ukraine by withdrawing military aid.”
Mr Gardner said eastern European states, such as those in the Baltics, fear they could be the next target of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression.