This week Downing Street named Sir John Sawers as the new head of MI6 , the Secret Intelligence Service. Fans of James Bond may be glad to know that the post still carries a one-letter code name, C. And it's not the only one ... C ... is a title jealously preserved by Britain's spies, who delight in pointing out that he also has the privilege of signing his letters in green ink. The tradition began 100 years ago when the first head of MI6, Captain Sir Mansfield Cumming, signed himself C after his surname. C now stands for Chief. K ... was the name MI5 gave to its head, after the first man in the role, Sir Vernon Kell. However, unlike C, this soubriquet fell by the wayside in the 1940s. M ... is the title Ian Fleming gave Bond's boss. Fleming eventually revealed his fictional full name as Vice Admiral Sir Miles Messervy.... [read full story]
