The new head of the Secret Intelligence Service has said he will try and persuade some of his Twitter followers to work for MI6.
Richard Moore, formerly the British ambassador to Turkey, was an active Twitter user under his old account – tweeting more than 18,000 times since joining in November 2013.
Tweeting from @ChiefMI6 at the end of his first day in the office, Mr Moore said he was “immensely privileged to lead such talented and committed public servants”.
He also told his 93,000 followers that he would “try to persuade some of you come and work for MI6”, although warned that the agency wasn’t looking for candidates inspired by the world of fiction.
Referencing the novels and cinematic depictions from Ian Fleming and John le Carre, he wrote: “Bond or Smiley need not apply. They’re (splendid) fiction but actually we’re secretly just like you.”
The MI6 headquarters on the River Thames
Mr Moore’s appointment was announced in the summer, when he left his role as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s political director to succeed Sir Alex Younger as the SIS chief.
He had previously held directorial roles in MI6 and was deputy national security adviser in the Cabinet Office.
The dominant concerns as he enters office are growing tensions between Russia and the West, particularly following allegations that the Kremlin supported the poisoning of one of its most high-profile critics in Alexei Navalny.
A father-of-two, Mr Moore was born in Libya, speaks fluent Turkish and is a keen golfer who enjoys watching cricket and rugby. His interests are also said to include Turkish carpets and porcelain, and visiting historical sites.