Dearlove told the Joint Intelligence Committee chairman that senior Iraqi staff were working seven days a week while the regime concentrated effort on anthrax production.
“, claimed senior staff were working seven days a week while the regime was concentrating a great deal of effort on the production of anthrax . Dearlove told the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), Sir John Scarlett , that they were ”
MI6 concluded by February 2003 that their source on Iraqi chemical weapons had been lying, one month before the invasion.
“ Iraq's weapons programme. [ 44 ] However, it was noticed that the agent's description of glass containers, not typically used for chemical munitions, resembled the nerve gas inaccurately depicted in glass beads or spheres in The Rock . By February 2003 – a month before the invasion of Iraq – MI6 concluded that their source had been lying ”
Dearlove alleged a KGB officer approached him in 2000 seeking British help to boost Putin's political profile, which led to Blair's meeting with Putin.
“ over this trip, which helped Putin rise to power. Dearlove also alleged that in 2000, a KGB officer approached him, seeking Britain's help in boosting Putin's political profile, and this was why Blair met Putin in Russia. [ 180 ] Blair also hosted Putin in London in April 2000, despite hesitation towards Putin from other world leaders, and opposition from human rights groups over atrocities committed in Chechnya . Blair told Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post that ”
Blair conceded he should have challenged intelligence reports before using them to justify military action in Iraq, the day after a report involving Dearlove was published.
“. [ 11 ] The day after the report was published, Blair conceded that he should have challenged such intelligence reports before relying on them to justify military action in Iraq. [ 12 ] Dearlove was elected Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge , on 1 August 2004. [ 6 ] He accepted an invitation to become the Chairman of Trustees of the Cambridge Union Society in 2006. [ 3 ] As Master of Pembroke , Dearlove was ex officio chairman of the board of Trustees of Pembroke House, a community centre in Walworth , London , via the college's patronage of the advowson of St Christopher's, Walworth ( CofE ). [ 13 ] [ 14 ] As of 2017 [ update ] , he is still the President of Pembroke College Boat Club (Cambridge) . [ 15 ] In February 2008, Dearlove gave evidence at the inquest of Princess Diana 's death, responding to Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed who said that MI6 had murdered Diana. [ 6 ] Dearlove is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society principles. [ 16 ] He is also a ”
Dearlove passed unverified intelligence about Iraqi WMD directly to Tony Blair without confirming accuracy, and the informant was later found to be lying.
“ to high levels in the Iraqi government directly to Prime Minister, Tony Blair , without first confirming its accuracy. [ 10 ] The investigators found that references to this intelligence in government reports were over-certain and did not adequately stress uncertainties and nuance. The informant was later found to have been lying. The Chilcot report stated that ”
Dearlove gave a talk examining how much secrecy the UK needs.
“ to the Monitor Group – a consultancy and private equity firm which has been implicated in undertaking PR work for Libya and Muammar Gaddafi . [ 17 ] [ 18 ] In April 2013, it was announced that Dearlove had joined the advisory board of Ergo, an intelligence and advisory firm. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] On 15 February 2011, Dearlove gave a talk at the Cambridge Union Society , taking as his theme the question of how much secrecy the UK needs: ”
Robin Niblett noted Americans could easily misunderstand references to intelligence in a debated context.
“ has caused debate. Robin Niblett , a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, has said it would be easy for Americans to misunderstand the reference to intelligence being ”
Dearlove's memo suggested US intelligence on Iraq was deliberately falsified rather than mistaken, and alleged that weapons inspections were manipulated for legal pretext while pre-war air strikes were ramped up before Senate authorization.
“ of removing Saddam Hussein from power, which was interpreted to show that US intelligence on Iraq prior to the war was deliberately falsified, rather than simply mistaken. [ 5 ] As this issue began to be covered by American media ( Los Angeles Times on 12 May 2005, The Washington Post on 13 May 2005), two other main allegations stemming from the memo arose: that the UN weapons inspection process was manipulated to provide a legal pretext for the war, and that pre-war air strikes were deliberately ramped up in order to soften Iraqi infrastructure in preparation for war, prior to the October U.S. Senate vote permitting the invasion . [ 6 ] Some elements of the U.S. media have portrayed the document as faked or fraudulent, and Dana Perino referred in her daily White House press briefing on 4 December 2008 to the fact that the Bush administration has ”
Dearlove calls Assange an undignified flag bearer who distracts from the important issues WikiLeaks raises.
“So what I think is important in this is the Assange story as such is ultimately a distraction. He's a very undignified flagpant in my opinion for a very important issue.”
Dearlove outlines basic IT security protocols that US systems violated: no downloads, no printing, keystroke auditing.
“Now the first thing you do is if you're trying to protect secrets, you don't have any openings on your system. You can read on the screen. Every keystroke is audited.”
Dearlove describes basic security protocols that US systems failed to implement: no print, no download, keystroke auditing.
“You can read on the screen. Every keystroke is audited. You can't print. You can't download. I mean that's just so basic. It's ridiculous.”
Dearlove identifies WikiLeaks' disclosure of 251,287 State Department telegrams as a game changer by sheer scale.
“We'll come back to that in a minute. And Wikileaks is disclosing 251,287 US State Department telegrams. 251,287.”
Dearlove describes basic IT security measures that should have prevented the leak but were not in place.
“Now the first thing you do is if you're trying to protect secrets, you don't have any openings on your system. You can read on the screen.”
Dearlove says WikiLeaks leak resulted from stunning US IT incompetence following post-9/11 information-sharing mandate.
“The fact that these are in the public domain is a consequence of stunning incompetence in terms of the US government's IT security and should never have happened.”
Dearlove says WikiLeaks is releasing 251,287 State Department telegrams over what will be three thousand days at current rate.
“Wikileaks is disclosing 251,287 US State Department telegrams. 251,287. Now in the past, the journalist who specializes on writing about the State had disclosed 10 State Department telegrams, it would have been a sensation.”
Dearlove argues Brexit would bring security gains by giving UK full control over its security policy.
“There would, in fact, be some gains as if we left because The UK would be fully master of its own house.”
Dearlove says intelligence analysis matters more than borders; lethal terrorists already inside Europe and UK.
“And a number of the most lethal terrorists are from inside Europe, including The UK.”
Dearlove says intelligence analysis, not borders, is key to counter-terrorism as threats come from within Europe.
“Good intelligence, drawing on human and technical sources, and the analysis of data flows is the key to effective counter terrorism.”
Dearlove says EU membership does not significantly affect UK counter-terrorism cooperation quality.
“The idea that the quality of that cooperation depends in any significant way on our EU membership is misleading.”
Dearlove asserts UK intelligence capabilities exceed those of most European partners.
“Third, for reasons that I don't have time to explain, The UK, compared to most of its European partners, is good at this sort of intelligence work.”
Dearlove states he has seen no convincing evidence of significant Russian intervention in the Brexit referendum.
“I've not seen anything that convinces me at all that the Russians intervened significantly in the Brexit referendum.”
Dearlove states he has seen no convincing evidence of significant Russian intervention in Brexit referendum.
“I don't think I've not seen anything that convinces me at all that the Russians intervened significantly in the Brexit referendum.”
Dearlove says Iraq invasion decision placed 100% weight on intelligence rather than the usual 80% on overt information.
“when it came to persuading Parliament to vote in favor of the invasion, 100% of the decision weight on the policy was placed on the intelligence.”
Dearlove contends Iraqi intelligence sources told Saddam rearmament was more advanced than reality, misleading both Saddam and Western intelligence.
“And the people we were talking to, I think, were telling Saddam that the rearmament was much more advanced than it actually was.”
Dearlove argues Iraqi sources misled both Saddam and Western intelligence about rearmament progress out of fear.
“And the people we were talking to, I think, were telling Saddam that the rearmament was much more advanced than it actually was. So our sources themselves were telling Saddam stuff which wasn't entirely accurate.”
Dearlove says France asked UK to disregard intelligence about Iraq's uranium purchases weeks after sharing it.
“Several weeks after that visit, I got a call from an extremely senior French official saying, Richard, would you please disregard what we told you?”
Dearlove says intelligence community knew from chatter something big was planned before 9/11 but lacked specifics.
“And we knew from the noise, not from specific humid, from the noise. By noise you mean chatter on Chatter on intercept and chatter that something big was being planned.”
Dearlove reveals intelligence agencies knew from intercept chatter in June 2001 that something big was being planned.
“And the senior cohorts of FBI and CIA had flown down to meet us, and this was in June. And we knew from the noise, not from specific humid, from the noise.”
Dearlove says intelligence knew something big was planned before 9/11 but not the specifics.
“we knew from the noise, not from specific humid, from the noise. By noise you mean chatter on Chatter on intercept and chatter that something big was being planned.”
Dearlove describes arriving in Washington within days of 9/11 to pledge British intelligence support to shocked U.S. officials.
“Intelligence community, I think meeting the President at the time, and really pledging British support to The U. S. In response to this extraordinary attack.”
Dearlove argues Iraq invasion decision placed 100% weight on intelligence rather than normal 80% policy mix.
“So as it were, the intelligence beam had too much weight on it and it buckled.”
Dearlove argues the 1993 World Trade Center bombing provided a clue to the target eight years before 9/11.
“And what I'm saying is that we had a clue to the target in 'ninety three.”
Dearlove says China embedded in UK 5G is a serious security problem given Chinese intelligence nature.
“The fact is, if you understand the nature of Chinese leadership, Chinese intelligence, having China embedded in our five gs is a security problem, a serious one.”
Dearlove reveals British Telecom signed a deal with Huawei in 2001-2002 while he was MI6 chief, creating significant entanglement.
“The problem is that British Telecom signed a deal back in 2001, 2002 actually, whilst I was chief with Huawei.”
Dearlove reveals British Telecom signed a deal with Huawei in 2001-2002 while he was MI6 chief.
“The problem is that British Telecom signed a deal back in 2001, 2002 actually, whilst I was chief with Huawei. And we became very much involved with this company and entangled with them.”
Dearlove asserts that Chinese intelligence is driving some of China's positioning in science at leading universities.
“the Chinese have positioned themselves in crucial areas of science in all of our leading universities.”
Dearlove states UK is Europe's defense and intelligence leader, deliberately keeping these outside EU control.
“The UK is Europe's defense, security and intelligence leader. We have been very careful over the years not to put any of those equities in the hands of the European communion.”
Dearlove explains MI6 agents receive lifelong anonymity guarantees to protect families across generations.
“those who've worked as espionage agents or agents of The United Kingdom are given a lifelong guarantee of anonymity beyond the grave, so that their families and their relatives' families are not, as it were, ever compromised by what might have been done by preceding generations.”
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.”
Dearlove says MI6 was formally established in 1909 because of scaremongering from fictional spy thrillers.
“And actually, 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.”
Dearlove calls the Mitrokhin archive the most revelatory Cold War espionage archive that exists to this day.
“The Matrokian archive is probably the most revelatory archive that exists to this day of Cold War espionage, and a whole range of cases are described, successful KGB cases, described in detail.”
Dearlove criticizes Cameron and Osborne for misunderstanding intelligence implications of Brexit debate.
“If they'd come and asked me and sat down with me, I could have explained to them why they'd got this wrong.”
Dearlove argues the UK is Europe's leading intelligence power and led support for Ukraine.
“The UK is Europe's leading intelligence and security power, and of course we also are one of Europe's leading defense powers, and I think you just have to see what's happened in Ukraine and the way that we would have been able, as it were, to lead on the support for the Ukrainians.”
Dearlove predicts Russians are currently offering intelligence services to the West over Ukraine disagreements.
“There will be, for sure, Russians who will be offering their services to the Americans or to other Western nations because they so fundamentally disagree with Russian policy.”
Dearlove says Official Secrets Act penalties for disclosure are only two years and need increasing.
“I think what would be the main characteristic of the changes, the penalties for disclosure will be much higher than they are hitherto at the moment.”
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?”
Dearlove reveals intelligence community objected to BT's original China deal but was overruled by policymakers.
“Now at the time that that deal was signed there were strong objections from people like me in the intelligence community. We were totally overruled.”
Dearlove reveals Five Eyes treaty text remained secret from 1947 until publication in 2010.
“it's based signed treaty. Well yes it is a signed treaty so you accuse that and the text of that treaty wasn't published until 2010.”
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.”
Dearlove flew into Libya in an unmarked plane to negotiate Gaddafi's abandonment of nuclear weapons programme.
“I flew into Libya in an unmarked plane to meet Gaddafi, to negotiate Libya's getting rid of their weapons of mass destruction.”
Dearlove says US switched off intelligence for eight days, during which Ukraine lost the Kursk salient.
“if you want to force Zelensky to accept a ceasefire, if you switch off the intelligence for eight days I think it was and during those eight days they pretty much lost the Kursk salient so you can see immediately the detrimental effect it had militarily on the Ukrainians.”
Dearlove says chemistry between Trump and Zelensky is terrible and US can force ceasefire by cutting intelligence.
“It's quite clear you know that the chemistry between Trump and Zelensky is terrible. They don't like each other, they don't get on with each other and that's been clear for some time but if you want to force Zelensky to accept a ceasefire, if you switch off the intelligence”
Dearlove assesses Blaise as forceful and tough with the makings of an effective intelligence chief.
“I gather she's really quite a forceful and tough personality, and I think she has the makings of a head of service and will do credit to the fact that she's the first woman to lead British intelligence.”
Dearlove explains Palantir's core achievement is making disparate legacy intelligence systems communicate through an overlay layer.
“What Palantir does brilliantly is you can stick it over the top of all these legacy systems and make them much more intelligent and get them to talk to each other.”
Dearlove says Palantir solved the problem of making legacy intelligence systems communicate.
“I mean, I was well aware. I can't remember the exact date, but, I mean, I had retired by then that Peter Thiel and Palantir had the probable solution to this problem.”
Dearlove says Palantir transformed operations at GCHQ and intelligence services.
“So you really changed the life of organizations like GCHQ, collectors, but I mean, also the operational intelligence and security services.”
Dearlove says Palantir's core capability is layering over legacy systems to make them intelligent and interoperable.
“What Palantir does brilliantly is you can stick it over the top of all these legacy systems and make them much more intelligent and get them to talk to each other.”
Dearlove warns that big bang system changes are the worst approach for intelligence agencies.
“of course, the worst thing that you want to do is to have a big bang change in the intelligence community and introduce a new system.”
Dearlove says big bang system changes are the worst approach for intelligence communities.
“And, of course, the worst thing that you want to do is to have a big bang change in the intelligence community and introduce a new system.”
Dearlove says big-bang system changes are the worst approach for the intelligence community.
“the worst thing that you want to do is to have a big bang change in the intelligence community and introduce a new system.”
Dearlove compares Palantir to an intelligence organization that must spend resources protecting against penetration.
“I mean, in a way, you're rather like an intelligence and security organization where they have to spend an awful lot of time and energy and talent, as it were, protecting themselves against predation or penetration, to put it not too lightly.”
Dearlove links Trump's eight-day intelligence cutoff to Russian gains at Kharkiv Salient.
“Trump did cut it off briefly at one point for eight days, and that is when the Kharkiv Salient Yeah. Was basically regained by the Russians.”
Dearlove reveals US general was in hangar with 400 Iraqi officers when disbandment order arrived ending their pensions simultaneously.
“I mean, the huge mistake that Bremer made in Iraq on which we were not consulted, I was chief at the time, was to disband the Iraqi military.”
Dearlove reveals an American general was meeting with 400 Iraqi officers about running Iraq when disbandment order arrived.
“the huge mistake that Bremer made in Iraq on which we were not consulted, I was chief at the time, was to disband the Iraqi military.”
Dearlove outlines Israeli war aims: destroy 450 kilos of enriched uranium and render Iran's ballistic missile system impractical.
“Tiny rich uranium, which survived the original attack during the twelve day war. I think I think the second one is to render the ballistic missile system impractical.”
Dearlove suggests Iranian army could take over, would be nationalistic but more amenable to negotiation than IRGC regime.
“They are the Iranian military. Okay. They would still be a very nationalistic government, but they might be more amenable to negotiation.”
Dearlove reveals he was the only foreign intelligence officer at Israel's 2006 Hezbollah war debrief.
“When I got there, I discovered it was the IDF Mossad Shin Bet wash up for the two thousand and six war against Hezbollah. I was the only foreign intelligence officer present.”
Dearlove directly challenged CIA briefers in front of President Bush, stating there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.
“It was clear there was a wish in the Bush administration to ascribe 9/11 to a linkage with Saddam Hussein. We in the UK violently disagreed. At a briefing in the White House with the president I challenged the CIA briefer and said he was talking nonsense, that there was absolutely no linkage, and that I could say authoritatively we knew there was not one.”
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.”
Dearlove says there has been a shocking purge of senior CIA officers based on loyalty to MAGA republicanism.
“I think rather shockingly, been a purge of senior officers on the basis of the degree of their loyalty to mega republicanism.”
Dearlove claims MI6 has the broadest international remit and unmatched experience among European intelligence services.
“The United Kingdom in MI6 has, let's say, the agency with the broadest international remit with representation in many countries and with a depth and length of experience which is unmatched by any other European service.”
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.”
Dearlove regards the present US administration as an aberration but says cooperation remains important.
“I think we regard as something of an aberration. But there are still areas of cooperation which are hugely important.”