If what MI5 does is a subject of constant review, its in its buildings and offices. It isn’t likely that any single staff member will have a settled view on the matter, so it has to be taken as having been settled by those previous.
It means that as they work they also get to stipulate what others might do.
This passes on the knowledge and the format of the work as people enter and exit their jobs. It matters, therefore, how senior someone is as to how far their ideas get put into the system, as it were.
It can be that some have more influence and see more effect to their choices than others. This is part of the hierarchy that’s necessary to its overall purpose.
It also establishes who doesn’t get to say what’s what and what doesn’t just get put in because it seems right to do so.
I’ve met a number of MI5 staff who said their ideas had begun “to see the light” many years after they had worked out a fix for something. In one instance this had to do with telecommunications.
It’s therefore a national pursuit that MI5 has across all the four nations of the Union. It’s not international, as if the UK is made up of countries that aren’t aligned with each other.
This breakup wouldn’t occur in our lifetime, so I’ve been told, because of how much work goes into keeping it all safe and secure. It’s sounds like an apt assessment of things.
As I’ve observed MI5 staff at work, as I’ve done on many occasions, it’s occurred to me that secrecy is the name of the game for them, as it is for anyone else worldwide.
It enables it to stay safe from their adversaries even as they have to fight them off. It also helps them to observe what threats are developing and to counter them as it builds.