The Jewish Chronicle, Jan. 19, 2024
“He revealed that there remained a significant level of suspicion from British spies towards their Israeli counterparts. “There is no doubt that Israel plays by a different set of rules than the rules that we observe in the UK. I’m not going to expand on that, but I will just have to leave it to the imagination.”
One of Britain’s top spies has described the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood as “at heart a terrorist organization” and labelled Hamas and Hizbollah as surrogates of the Iranian state.
In a rare – and extraordinarily candid – public appearance, Sir Richard Dearlove, who was head of MI6 at the time of the 9/11 attacks, told an audience at foreign affairs think tank Chatham House to be wary of the Brotherhood’s influence in Egypt.
Speaking at a conference on Wednesday marking the 60th anniversary of British-Israeli diplomatic relations, Sir Richard said: “I, for one, have absolutely no illusions about what the Muslim Brotherhood is, or can be. It can be a social organisation. It can be a political organisation. But it is at heart, in my view, a terrorist organisation.”
He said it was not clear in what direction events in Egypt might lead. “What is the medium to long-term threat from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt? I worry greatly about what may or may not happen in a semi-democratic Egypt which is trying to change its constitution very fast, at speed faster than it is possible to create new political organisations.” He added that the Muslim Brotherhood was by far the most organised political movement in Egypt.