In Secret Service, former Director Deneral of the British Security Service Jonathan Evans reveals how he balanced two apparently irreconcilable pressures during his tenure with MI5: state secrecy and public transparency. Despite popular perception, Evans argues, these values need not be at odds. Intelligence and the press share many goals, and partnerships formed on these grounds often prove fruitful. In disclosing his methods, Evans compares his approach with other agencies, especially in the United States, and speculates on the UK’s post-Brexit collaborations with European security services. In short, Secret Service presents an on-the-ground picture of life in British intelligence, one that calls us to care for the moral health of both the institution and its operatives.

Jonathan Evans was director general of the British Security Service from 2007 to 2013. In 2018 he was appointed chair of the United Kingdom’s Committee on Standards in Public Life. Claire Foster-Gilbert is the founding director of Westminster Abbey Institute, co-founder of the St Paul’s Institute, and member of numerous medical and theological ethics committees.