MI6 chief warns 'we are in a space between peace and war'

The new chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli has said Britain's overseas spy agency is dealing with an "interlocking web of security challenges", during her first public speech.

Ms Metreweli, who took over as head of the Secret Intelligence Service in the autumn, is the first woman to head MI6, taking over from Sir Richard Moore.

The new chief pointed to the recent sanctioning of Russian entities accused of conducting information warfare, as well as two China-based companies sanctioned for their "indiscriminate cyber activities against the UK and its allies".

"Institutions which were designed in the ashes of the Second World War are being challenged. New blocks and identities forming and alliances reshaping," the MI6 chief has said.