Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6,[1] is the United Kingdom's intelligence agency which collects intelligence about foreign countries.[2] It is a branch of the Foreign Service, and reports to the Joint Intelligence Committee.
The service was formed in 1909 as the Secret Service Bureau, but its existence was not officially acknowledged until 1994.[3]
The service works with the Security Service (MI5), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the Defence Intelligence (DIS). SIS deal with the United Kingdom's espionage (spying) activities outside the United Kingdom.
The headquarters are at Vauxhall Cross in London in a purpose-built building. In John le Carré novels it is called The River House.
The National Audit Office (NAO) put the final cost at £135.05 million for site purchase and the basic building, or £152.6 million including the service's special requirements.[4]
Secret Intelligence Service Media
54 Broadway, SIS headquarters from 1924 until 1964
A young Englishman, member of the Secret Intelligence Service, in Yatung, Tibet, photographed by Ernst Schäfer in 1939
Operation Gold: the Berlin tunnel in 1956
The SIS Building at Vauxhall Cross, south London, seen from Vauxhall Bridge
.jpg)
Related pages
References
- ↑ SIS or MI6. What's in a name? Archived 2006-11-15 at the Wayback Machine on the MI6 web page
- ↑ Dorril, Stephen 2002. MI6: inside the covert world of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service. Simon and Schuster.
- ↑ Whitehead, Jennifer (2005-10-13). "MI6 to boost recruitment prospects with launch of first website — Brand Republic News". Brandrepublic.com. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ↑ Thames House and Vauxhall Cross Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, 18 February 2000. [1]