Jonathan Evans (MI5 officer)

Jonathan Evans (born c. 1958) is Director General of the Security Service, the UK's domestic security and counter-intelligence service. He took over the appointment upon the retirement of his predecessor The Honourable Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller on 21 April 2007.cite news |title= MI5 deputy to take over as head |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6427993.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-03-07 |accessdate=2007-03-07 ]

Evans attended Sevenoaks School, and went on to read classical studies at the University of Bristol.cite news |author=Gordon Corera |title= From the Cold War to al-Qaeda |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6428477.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-03-07 |accessdate=2007-03-07 ] He joined the service in 1980, and initially worked in counter espionage..In 1985 he moved to the protective security function (safeguarding MI5's own personnel and the service's secrets) before switching to domestic counter-terrorism in the late 1980s. For more than a decade he was involved with the effort to combat the domestic threat of groups such as the Provisional IRA during The Troubles.

In 1999, with that risk greatly abated, Evans moved to G-Branch, cite news |title= New MI5 boss is top expert on Al-Qaeda |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article756272.ece |publisher=The Sunday Times|date=2006-12-17 |accessdate=2007-03-07] the section of MI5 which deals with international terrorism. There he became an expert on al-Qaedacite news |title= MI5 told MPs on eve of 7/7: no imminent terror threat |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,,1985972,00.html |publisher=The Guardian |date=2007-01-09 |accessdate=2007-03-07 ] and other branches of Islamic terrorism. He rose to head the section in 2001 (only a few days before the September 11, 2001 attacks), a position which put him on the service's board of management. In 2005, he became Deputy Director-General before being promoted to head the organisation in 2007.

In November 2007 he talked publicly about the threat the UK faces from digital espionage. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7123970.stm MI5 warns over China spy threat] ] He is an ex officio Member of Council of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies where he spoke on National Security in February 2008. He has a Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.

ee also

*MI6, the overseas counterpart to MI5
*Joint Intelligence Committee, to which MI5 reports

References

External links

* [http://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/Page60.html MI5's biography]