UK’s new spy chief warns the ‘front line is everywhere’ amid growing threat from Russia

The new head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6 will warn the nation that the “front line is everywhere” in her first public speech on Monday, with the UK facing a growing threat from Russia.

Blaise Metreweli became the first female chief of the Secret Intelligence Service’s 116-year history when she took up her post this fall. Commonly referred to as “C,” the chief is the only publicly named member of the famously secretive organization.

In a speech at MI6 HQ in London, Metreweli is expected to highlight the increasingly complex landscape of threats facing the UK, including technological disruption, information manipulation and terrorism.

The chief will also address the acute threat posed by an “aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist” Russia, alongside other hostile actors.

“The export of chaos is a feature not a bug in the Russian approach to international engagement; and we should be ready for this to continue until (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is forced to change his calculus,” she is expected to say.