Security in the United States will be at risk if Vladimir Putin succeeds in Ukraine, the head of Britain’s secret intelligence service has said in a warning for Donald Trump.
The spy chief offered warm words to the incoming US administration though, using an annual public speech to say he had worked successfully with the first Trump White House and that he is “looking forward to doing so again”.
As well as talking about Ukraine, the head of MI6 – or the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – also raised the alarm about:
• A “staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe”
• The potential for terrorism in the UK and across the continent inspired by the loss of innocent life in Gaza and Lebanon
• Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions and its desire to “eliminate dissidents, home and abroad”.
Sir Richard said: “In 37 years in the intelligence profession, I’ve never seen the world in a more dangerous state.”
Appearing at the British embassy in Paris with Nicholas Lerner, the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency, the DGSE, the British spy chief touched on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Nicholas and I are in no doubt about the stakes in Ukraine: if Putin is allowed to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he will not stop there,” he said.
“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.”
