Why Britain beat France in the spy league table

 For more than 70 years, James Bond has been the unofficial face of British intelligence.

The Aston Martins, the martinis and the Bond girls have become as much a part of MI6’s reputation as its real-life exploits.

But now, Britain’s spies have followed in the footsteps of their most iconic fictional character, beating international rivals to be crowned Europe’s most powerful intelligence agency.

A peer review of 60 intelligence professionals from 25 countries ranked MI6 top, followed by France’s DGSE in second place.

The Dutch AIVD, Ukraine’s FISU and Germany’s BND make up the top five.

To former MI6 agents, the result comes as little surprise. “MI6 is frankly the best intelligence organisation in Europe,” said Sir Richard Dearlove, who served as C, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), between 1999 and 2004.

“It has historical depth, an unbroken archive that no other European service has that goes back to 1909,” he told The Telegraph.

“It has learned good lessons from its failures, it is extremely well-integrated into government, with multi-party support and a well-developed process for using its intelligence via the Joint Intelligence Committee, and it is regarded as a prestigious career.”

The survey, conducted by French magazine l’Express, praised Britain’s expertise in recruiting high-level moles and penetrating the likes of Russia, China, Iran and Turkey.

So how did MI6 become the crown jewel of European espionage?

Recruitment is one reason it has maintained its edge, according to Matthew Dunn, a former MI6 intelligence officer who contributed to the survey.

“It’s recruiting people who are, to some extent, already spies. They are always inclined to that way of thinking,” he said.

Intellect, interpersonal skills and problem-solving ability all mattered, but beyond that, he said, the ideal candidate was difficult to define.

When he asked the head of MI6 recruitment exactly what the service was looking for, the answer was: “We’re simply looking for a particular breed of animal. But what that animal is, we can’t put our finger on.”

“In modern parlance, we might say it’s the X factor,” said Mr Dunn.

When he joined MI6, recruitment was a closed process, with promising candidates approached directly. Today, anyone can apply online.

Though James Bond comparisons often prompt eye rolls from former officers, they acknowledge that the fictional spy helps bolster the service’s mystique.

“Whether it’s Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, John Le Carré, they’ve all sort of mythologised the organisation, which has given it a phenomenal profile,” Sir Richard said.

That reputation helps it attract talented case officers, and makes it easier for them, in turn, to persuade potential foreign agents to work for them.

Reality versus Bond

But how closely does the reality resemble Bond?

“It’s the mindset of James Bond, the attitude that definitely does resonate,” Mr Dunn said.

Philip Ingram, a former senior intelligence and security officer in the British Army, added that those working in intelligence jokingly refer to the Bond films as “training movies”.

“We just wish we had the cars and the lifestyle that James Bond’s got, because intelligence operations tend to be very boring indeed.

“You spend an awful lot of time sifting through information or talking to people. You certainly don’t get access to the standard of cars that James Bond has. But you do get access to some very good gadgets.”

MI6’s global reach and willingness to work closely with allies are also central to its success.

Unlike many foreign intelligence agencies, which tend to operate more independently, MI6 draws heavily on partnerships, Mr Ingram said.

“It’s very good at working with its international partners, and it’s built up a very good reputation of working closely with its equivalent organisations in different countries around the world in a very co-operative way.

“It brings a professionalism to its intelligence gathering that many other agencies around the world are very jealous of,” he added.

Mr Ingram said France’s position was deserved. “What lets them down is they’re not quite as co-operative on the international scene as MI6, but they have strong capability and strong influence.”

Olivier Mas, a former senior officer in the French intelligence agency, was similarly unsurprised by Britain’s victory.

“I’m not so disappointed that MI6 is number one,” he said.

“I think MI6 is more focused on operational work. It’s more concrete, and of course, lots of the Western intelligence services have been trained initially by MI6.”

He added that the French service devoted more time and resources to producing analysis and government briefing papers than its British counterpart.

Asked to rank the world’s intelligence agencies, Mr Ingram placed MI6 ahead of the intelligence services of the US, Russia and China as the world’s leading spy agencies.

One former SIS officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The Russians and our other adversaries all rate us highly, and probably man-for-man higher than the CIA [the US’s agency].

“But I think they’re also aware that the British government’s influence in the world has declined. If what motivates a potential agent is you want to have an impact on world affairs, you know, working for us is not as attractive as it would have been 20 years ago. Which I think is a problem.”