MI6 chief to be woman for first time in history

A woman is to take charge of MI6 for the first time in the history of the Secret Intelligence Service, many years after Dame Judi Dench became James Bond’s boss on film, Report informs via The Sunday Times.

Dame Barbara Woodward, a former ambassador to China who has never been a spy, is one of three women in line for the top job at the Secret Intelligence Service.

Interviews for the post took place last week and the final three candidates were all women — two of them MI6 officers.

The MI6 chief, Sir Richard Moore, is due to stand down in the autumn after five years in charge.

However, the appointment is controversial because critics say the runaway favorite for the job is too sympathetic to China and is understood to have no previous intelligence experience at a time when Beijing has launched aggressive spying operations in the UK.