When MI5 ‘went public’ with its Director General (DG) position in 1993, the contemporary post holder – Dame Stella Rimington – didn’t know what to do. She was “suddenly famous”, as she once told me, over coffee in an Oxford bookshop cafe.
She was very intelligent (excuse the pun!) and I felt she could write books to the standard of the many that we sat around. In the store, holding our coffee mugs, we talked about the state of things.
She said a lot about how MI5 works and went into the sort of detail I needed to know as a Journalist in the UK. This was valuable information to me, and helped me as I set about looking into crime and criminal activity in the UK.
In hindsight, after what’s happened in terms of terror attacks and unforeseen crime events, it’s been useful to stabilise me in my thinking as I’ve gone over the facts and tried to make sense of things.
Long, lonely nights
She separated her roles (as a protective manager cum leader) into three categories of local, national, and secret. The last interested me because I thought it was a domain of MI6, not MI5, only. “Oh no,” she said, “I tell everyone about it!” It was a good, double-edged statement.
She was very kind, friendly, and polite. It caught me totally off-guard. I had been struggling with others harassing my early start in a career, and she reassured me about warm feelings in humanity. As well, she talked about gritty realities in Thames House logic.
After our ‘conversations’ I left her company feeling upbeat and more confident about life. It didn’t fade, or grow weak. Later, I even used her insight to speak to others in The Security Service, making inroads into further understanding how my country’s safety and security protection group works.
Making it work
She was a very important part of MI5’s existence as it transitioned into a modern mode of working. She opened up meetings and made sure decisions were democratic but had a real mandate. This bolstered staff confidence levels. She led from the front and made people feel proud, according to reports.
As a woman, she also felt the pressure of working above men in a close environment. In fact, women have proved as contributory to MI5 history as men, but realities on the ground and overseas has meant that interference stopped their rise to the top. This has changed, but the process has been slow.
Rimington was, therefore, the perfect person to be around. Her upbringing was noted by colleagues as being a strong influence on her, not necessarily education or the way of other women. She was very driven by early memories, as it gave her “a sense of order, and integrity” as she did her work.
As an example, she embodied the dignity that came with the job for many people. Inside and out of Whitehall offices (where an MI5 head often has to go) she conveyed a sense of service and duty. As difficult as our ‘local’ matters are, she didn’t weary or flip out at people. Her composure was noted as an asset by Public Service staff, and this is exactly her memory today.