Spy services must be able to tap emails, says ex-MI6 chief

Intelligence services must be able to tap into encrypted emails, Skype calls and messaging services, or else Paris-style terrorist attacks will become a “feature of our lives”, the former head of Britain’s MI6 has warned.

An agreement must be struck between governments and technology firms, said Sir John Sawers, who warned it is inevitable that the intelligence services will not be able to stop every single attempt at attacks by terrorists.

“Some of these threats will get through and there will be another terrorist attack in this country,” warned Mr Sawers, who was making his first public speech since he stepped down as head of MI6 last November.

Implicit criticism

The ex-spy agreed with the implicit criticism of Charlie Hebdo's decision to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad made by Pope Francis, who said those who mocked religion "can expect a punch".

“There is a requirement for some restraint on the side of those of us in the West. I rather agree with the pope that of course the attacks in Paris were completely unacceptable and cannot be justified on any basis whatsoever. But respect for other people’s religion is also an important part of this.

“If you show disrespect of others’ core values then you are going to provoke an angry response,” he said.

Informal co-operation had existed between intelligence agencies and major technology firms, such as Google and Microsoft, until ex-National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden leaked hundreds of thousands of files.

Traffic records

Co-operation then ended “and has not been repaired”, he said. He supported prime minister David Cameron’s demands that technology firms keep traffic records that can be investigated by security agencies, if necessary.

However, Mr Snowden’s legacy is not entirely negative, believes Sawers, who was known as “C” during his five years in charge of MI6 – more properly known as the Secret Intelligence Service.

The public’s anger about intelligence monitoring was amplified because it had not been aware beforehand of the amount of surveillance that the National Security Agency in the US and GCHQ in the UK were able to carry out.

The public wants governments to be able “to monitor the activities of terrorists and other evil-doers but they do not want their own activities to be open to any such monitoring”, he said during a question-and-answer session.

People “now understand that is simply not possible”, he said. “You cannot afford to have a complete no-go areas, we cannot have no-go areas in our communities where the police cannot go, because that just allows space for the evil-doers to ply their trades.

“It is the same in the virtual world. If you allow areas which are completely impenetrable, then okay, you might feel comfortable that your communications are private and no one else can see them, but so are those who are trying to do you down and undermine your society.”