Poor pay and conditions making Britain’s spies ‘unwilling to go the extra mile’

  • Starting salaries for three intelligence agencies start at £25,000
  • Computer experts lured away to work at companies such as Microsoft and Google
  • Security committee report calls for more attractive pay packages for cyberspace specialists
  • MI5 chief says 216 staff left organisation in 2010-11

By
Phil Vinter

03:56 EST, 22 July 2012

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05:13 EST, 22 July 2012

It’s enough to leave James Bond both shaken and stirred.

The head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, has raised serious concerns about levels of morale among staff who are employed to look after the nation’s security.

Sawyers says poor pay and working conditions are making spies ‘unwilling to go the extra mile’ and triggering them to seek alternative ‘less risky’ employment in the private sector.

Exit door: Spies are leaving the intelligence services to take up posts with internet companies which can pay up to three times as much in salaries

Exit door: Spies are leaving the intelligence services to take up posts with internet companies which can pay up to three times as much in salaries

A new employee at the three intelligence agencies – MI5, MI6 and GCHQ (the government’s communications headquarters) – would expect to earn £25,000, with the salary only rising to £43,000 after ten years’ service.

In comments made in the intelligence and security committee’s (ISC) annual report Sawyers said: ‘People are less likely to go the extra mile and do the more dangerous thing or take that added level of risk if they feel they are not recognised for it and their rewards are somehow inadequate… now this is a growing problem.’

The image of a hard-up, demoralised spy is a world away from the big screen portrayal of Bond carrying out audacious missions with a plethora of high-tech gadgets, driving top of the range Aston Martins and staying in some of the world’s best hotels.

Sawyers added: ‘We may have to do something which recognises that the staff of the intelligence agencies, a bit like the police or the armed forces, do something that’s unique and those unique qualities should be recognised.’

Different world: The image of a hard-up, demoralised spy is a world away from the big screen portrayal of James Bond, as shown here played by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale

Different world: The image of a hard-up, demoralised spy is a world away
from the big screen portrayal of James Bond, as shown here played by
Daniel Craig, in Casino Royale

Chairman of the committee Malcolm Rifkind has called for ‘flexibility’ in the government’s civil service pay policy, particularly for ‘unique’ sectors such as the intelligence services.

His concerns are recognised by Iain Lobhan, director of GCHQ, who said companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft are attracting computer experts with salaries three times as high of those they receive at GCHQ.

New move: The recruitment issue has prompted Jonathan Evans, head of MI5 to participate in an advert which aims to portray the agency in a positive light

New move: The recruitment issue has prompted Jonathan Evans, head of MI5 to participate in an advert which aims to portray the agency in a positive light

The report highlights a deterioration in the organisation’s ability to hold on to internet specialists over the last year with staffing levels now a matter of ‘grave concern’.

However, according to espionage historian Nigel West, quoted in the Sunday Times, those thinking of a career in the intelligence services should not be motivated by money but because of the ‘prestige’ and because of ‘making a difference’.

He argued that any lack of morale was due to bureaucracy as opposed to poor pay.

The recruitment issue has prompted Jonathan Evans, head of MI5 to participate in an advert which aims to portray the agency in a positive light.

In the film he describes the organisation as ‘fun’ and exciting’.

He told the ISC that in 2010-11 a total of £20million was spend on exit packages as 216 members of staff left the services.

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