Sir Richard Dearlove on

history

7 quotes · May 2016 – Aug 2026

Saidverbatim, newest first

  1. Dearlove notes MI6 was founded in 1909, giving it unique historical depth among European services.

    “bearing in mind MI6 is a historical creation that goes back to 1909 and there is no other European service that has a history with that depth.”

    1:00 · Bloomberg Podcasts · 22 Aug 2026 · permalink
  2. Dearlove notes MI6's founding in 1909 gives it unmatched historical depth among European services.

    “MI6 is a historical creation that goes back to 1909 and there is no other European service that has a history with that depth.”

    1:02 · Bloomberg Podcasts · 22 Aug 2026 · permalink
  3. Dearlove notes Five Eyes survived the political crisis of Suez 1956, demonstrating its institutional durability.

    “Mean think of the relationship with The United States after the Suez invasion of nineteen fifty six am I right?”

    34:37 · One Decision · 10 Jun 2025 · permalink
  4. Dearlove notes Five Eyes intelligence sharing continued despite appalling UK-US political relations after Suez in 1956.

    “I think '56. The state of play politically between The UK and The US was appalling it didn't stop Five Eyes from operating.”

    34:46 · One Decision · 10 Jun 2025 · permalink
  5. Dearlove states MI6 was founded in 1909 partly due to scaremongering from fictional spy novels.

    “it's because of that scaremongering, if you look at the historical record, that MI6 was started in 1900 It had been a section of specifically naval intelligence before that, and then it was formalized into a separate organization. So its origins are tied up, strangely, with a certain amount of fiction.”

    16:03 · Hoover Institution · 6 Jul 2022 · permalink
  6. Dearlove asserts Russia has never experienced a coup, only revolutions throughout its history.

    “Historically, there's never been a coup in Russia. There have been revolutions, there haven't been coups.”

    46:01 · Hoover Institution · 6 Jul 2022 · permalink
  7. Dearlove invokes Rome's fall to barbarian migration as a historical precedent for today's challenges.

    “Edward Gibbon elegantly charted how Rome, with all its civic and administrative sophistication and military prowess, could not stop its empire being overrun by the mass movement of Europe's tribes.”

    0:53 · BBC News · 16 May 2016 · permalink

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