On this page:
Who we are
Often known as MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) collects Britain's foreign intelligence. Through us, the government has a global covert capability to promote and defend the national security and economic well-being of the United Kingdom.
We're headed by Sir John Scarlett, known as the Chief of SIS or 'C' (the first Chief, Mansfield Cumming, signed himself 'C' and the tradition has continued.) The Chief is the only serving member of the Service who is officially named in public.
What we do
It's our task to collect secret intelligence and mount covert operations outside the UK. We obtain and provide information relating to the acts and intentions of people overseas where it affects our national security or economic well-being, or supports the prevention or detection of serious crime.
We may work in secret, but we don't work alone. Our partners include the Security Service and GCHQ, the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, and HM Revenue and Customs, to name a few.
Some history
The history of British intelligence organisations goes back at least to the second half of the 15th century. Thomas Cromwell ran secret agents in Europe on behalf of Henry VIII. Sir Francis Walsingham, too, developed expertise in secret interception, as well as maintaining a network of 50 secret agents abroad while Private Secretary to Elizabeth I.
Our own beginnings date back to 1909, when Britain faced the threat of Germany's military and naval expansion, and there was public concern about German espionage activity in the UK. We were established then, although our existence was never publicly confirmed before the organisation was formally avowed in 1992.
We've had a range of names and acronyms over the years, and our role has altered in answer to intelligence challenges which are dominant today: regional instability, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and serious international crime.
You'll find much more detail about our history here.
