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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Kevin Rawlinson

Recruitment of UK spies no longer restricted to those with British parents

The MI6 headquarters in London.
The MI6 headquarters in London. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The selection criteria for spies are, perhaps unsurprisingly, quite opaque and presumed to be fairly stringent. But there is one thing that will no longer be required of would-be British agents: British parentage.

The UK’s three intelligence agencies are seeking to broaden the pool of talent they can recruit from by accepting anyone who has British citizenship – regardless of where their parents are from.

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