MI6 opens its doors for first time to Radio 1's Newsbeat

A reporter from BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat has become the first journalist to record an "on the record" taped interview inside MI6 headquarters in London. Andy West's movements inside Vauxhall Cross were strictly controlled so he was prevented from seeing anything that could be sensitive to any active operations, or compromise the identity of staff or agents.

However, he interviewed two MI6 officers and the Head of MI6 Recruitment in their genuine work place.

The interview will form part of a week long series of special reports on the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) starting on Radio 1's Newsbeat on Monday 26 November. A special documentary will go out on Thursday 29 November from 10.30pm as part of Colin Murray's Radio 1 show.

"Mark" the Head of MI6 Recruitment, speaking on tape for the first time, revealed the need to recruit a wider spectrum of officers from different ethnic backgrounds.

He said that SIS's decision just over a year ago to try "open" recruitment – as opposed to a surreptitious tap on the shoulder of potential recruits while they are still at top universities – has yielded great benefits. He also said the service has sometimes suffered because of the James Bond association.

"... to be honest I think sometimes we're hindered by it – because I think it gives people a false impression of what working for the organisation is actually like, so it does tend to turn up quite a lot of thrill seekers and fantasists and we're really not interested in them."

He also said the notion of a "license to kill" is not real.

"This is the biggest myth about the service – we do not have a license to kill – we do not carry Berettas – that's simply not true."

On the question of recruiting more ethnic minority staff:

"We need people to deploy into a range of situations around the world and people who have a different ethnicity can often go places and do things and meet people that those from a white background can't ... there are some places that white males can't go."

However, he denied that it should be interpreted as a call for more Muslim staff:

"No it isn't what I mean when we talk about ethnic minorities we mean just that – people from all the ethnic minorities in this country – we want to be truly representative and reflective but clearly if we are going to be reflective we do need to have Muslims in our organisation because of the insight and understanding that they bring, so in that sense we are very interested in seeing our recruitment from the Muslim Community increase."

Newsbeat also interviewed a serving MI6 Operational Officer, the role people outside the service would think of as "special agent" or "spy". "Yasmin", who is in her late 20s and from the Midlands, is a Muslim member of staff.

"My job is to identify, target and recruit people from abroad who will provide us with secret intelligence – for a particular part of the world – I can't tell you which one."

She revealed the areas of interest which MI6 officers look at:

"They include things like counter terrorism, the international drugs trade, the wider nuclear threat, it can also include promoting British economic interests abroad, so just making sure Britain isn't being ripped off."

She described working with informants abroad or what MI6 refer to as "agents".

"It's something that runs through every day of my job – their lives and their safety is my responsibility ... we will do everything in our power to make sure our agents are safe."

"Yasmin" said agents are never bullied or forced to co-operate with MI6.

"We absolutely never ever threaten or blackmail or coerce people to work with us ... that is the most counter productive tactic you can ever use."

When asked if she got the job because she's a Muslim, she said:

"No I don't think I was, the area of the world I work in, it would make no difference whether I was a Muslim or not."

She said she was aware that why some British Muslims feel they are being victimised in the UK but says she has never felt that herself and thinks others are wrong to do so. "... I think that is a perception we need to combat at all levels of society."

Responding to the accusation that there may be some elements of the British Muslim community who feel the Establishment or Government is out to get them, and they may even view "Yasmin" as a traitor to their cause she said:

"I would challenge that view very strongly ... the way I feel is my duty to God is totally compatible with my duty to my country ... I feel very, very strongly that if you are able to do something to make a difference you should make that difference."

The access to MI6 Headquarters was only agreed after careful consideration and increased security precautions being imposed.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "This latest project with Newsbeat follows the Colin Murray programme on Radio 1 in November 2006, which gave an important insight into the Secret Intelligence Service's open recruitment campaign."