What are British spies called?

We are SIS – the UK's Secret Intelligence Service - also known as MI6. Our people work secretly around the world to make the UK safer and more prosperous.

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What are English spies called?

MI6, formally Secret Intelligence Service, British government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and appropriate dissemination of foreign intelligence. MI6 is also charged with the conduct of espionage activities outside British territory.

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Why is MI6 called MI6?

The origins of the use of 'MI6' are to be found at the start of the Second World War when this abbreviation was adopted as a flag of convenience for SIS. It was used extensively throughout the war, especially if an organisational link needed to be made with MI5 (the Security Service).

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What is the difference between MI5 and MI6?

MI5 is responsible for protecting UK citizens and interests at home, notably against threats to national security. By contrast, MI6 (also referred to as the Secret Intelligence Service) is responsible for gathering intelligence outside the UK in support of the government's foreign and defence policies.

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What are MI5 spies called?

Covert Human Intelligence Sources, also known as 'agents', are not formally employed by MI5. We refer to our staff as 'officers'.

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What Do We Know About Britain's Spy Agencies?

30 related questions found

What does MI7 stand for?

WHY WE ARE NAMED MI7. During the first world war British Intelligence created the Military Intelligence Section 7 (or MI7 for short) that was responsible for collecting data from foreign sources, translating it, and transmitting it back to the allied leadership.

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Does MI7 exist?

MI7 was a branch of the British War Office's Directorate of Military Intelligence with responsibilities for press liaison and propaganda. The branch was originally established in the First World War and disbanded after the signing of the Armistice.

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Can MI5 tell their family?

You can't tell anyone what you do for a living

You can. But you have to think long and hard about who you tell. "The general advice in MI5 that we give," says Jo, "is that you can tell close family members or a close friend."

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Is MI5 FBI or CIA?

There are permanent liaison officers of each country in major intelligence agencies of the other, such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Secret Intelligence Service ("MI6") (which is the British counterpart of the CIA), FBI and the Security Service (MI5), and National Security Agency (NSA) and Government ...

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Is MI5 the same as FBI?

Mi5 is about affairs that happen on British soil. Mi5 is often referred to as security service or ss. On the other hand Mi6 deals with current affairs overseas and are often referred to as secret intelligence service or sis kind of like the FBI but the sis does not shed names or appearance of their agents.

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Does MI6 have 00 agents?

In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who holds a licence to kill in the field, at their discretion, to complete any mission.

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What is the UK version of the CIA?

The Secret Intelligence Service, often known as MI6, collects Britain's foreign intelligence. It provides the government with a global covert capability to promote and defend the national security and economic well-being of the country. SIS works with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

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Is the MI6 the equivalent to the CIA?

Founded under another name before World War I, MI6 — Britain's equivalent to the U.S.'s CIA, whereas MI5 is more like the FBI — operated for many years completely out of public view. The British government only officially acknowledged its existence in 1994.

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What are the 4 types of spies?

Local spies are hired from among the people of a locality. Inside spies are hired from among enemy officials. Reverse spies are hired from among enemy spies. Dead spies transmit false intelligence to enemy spies.

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What is a CIA spy called?

Contrary to popular belief or what is seen in film and television series, US-born, professional employees trained to work as Intelligence Officers for the National Clandestine Service (CIA) are never referred to as "secret agents", "spies", "agents" or "special agents", they are known as 'Operations Officers' or 'Case ...

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Who is the most famous British spy?

Kim Philby, byname of Harold Adrian Russell Philby, (born January 1, 1912, Ambala, India—died May 11, 1988, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) , British intelligence officer until 1951 and the most successful Soviet double agent of the Cold War period.

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What is the FBI called in England?

Like its predecessor SOCA, the NCA has been dubbed the "British FBI" by the media.

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Does MI4 exist?

MI4 was a department of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence, Section 4, part of the War Office. It was responsible for aerial reconnaissance and interpretation. It developed into the JARIC intelligence agency. The present day successor agency to MI4 is the Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre.

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Is Secret Service a MI5?

The Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6) began operations in October 1909 as a single organization, the Secret Service Bureau, staffed initially by only two officers: the fifty-year-old Royal Navy Commander Mansfield Cumming and an Army captain fourteen years his junior, Vernon Kell.

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Is MI6 still active?

We are SIS – the UK's Secret Intelligence Service - also known as MI6. Our people work secretly around the world to make the UK safer and more prosperous. For over 100 years SIS has ensured the UK and our allies keep one step ahead of our adversaries.

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Can MI6 carry guns?

Does MI6 have weapons? Despite a reliance on UKSF for special operations, SIS operatives still receive training in the use of firearms, including pistols and submachine guns. It would be rare, however, for an SIS Intelligence Officer to fire or even carry a firearm in the line of duty.

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What does MI6 stand for?

MI6. abbreviation for. Military Intelligence, section six; a former official and present-day popular name for the intelligence and espionage agency of the British Government.

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Does MI9 exist?

MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945.

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Is MI8 real?

MI8, or Military Intelligence, Section 8 was a British Military Intelligence group responsible for signals intelligence and was created in 1914.

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Does MI1 exist?

They all existed at one time or another - MI1 was responsible for code-breaking, MI2 dealt with Russian and Scandinavian intelligence, MI3 was concerned with the rest of Eastern Europe and MI4 was responsible for aerial reconnaissance. They were all discontinued or changed.

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