Sir John Sawers, a career civil servant, has been appointed MI6 chief - the first to be appointed from outside the secret service for 41 years. By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent Sir John Sawers has been appointed MI6 chief Photo: AFP Although he trained with MI6 at the beginning of his career, he has spent the time since as a career diplomat, working as a foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair between 1999 and 2001 during the Kosovo conflict and Northern Ireland Peace Process. From there he moved to be ambassador to Cairo and then, for three months after the invasion of Iraq, as a special envoy in Baghdad, during which time he argued against the disastrous policy of dismissing members of the ruling Ba'ath party. He returned to London where he served as political director at the Foreign Office for four years at the... [read full story]
