MI-6

formally Secret Intelligence Service British government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and appropriate dissemination of foreign intelligence. MI-6 is responsible for the conduct of espionage activities outside British territory. It has existed in various forms since the establishment of a secret service in 1569 by Sir Francis Walsingham, who became secretary of state to Queen Elizabeth I. It was constituted in its present form by Commander (later Sir) Mansfield Cumming in 1912 as World War I approached. In the 1930s and 1940s it was considered the most effective intelligence service in the world. During the rise of Nazi Germany, MI-6 conducted espionage operations in Europe, Latin America, and much of Asia. (The MI-6 label developed during this period because it was then section six of military intelligence.) When the United States entered World War II, the British agency helped train personnel of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services and has since cooperated with the successor Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The revelation in the mid-1950s that MI-6 had been penetrated by British double agents who had served the Soviet Union since the 1930s stirred wide public consternation. Details of MI-6 operations and relationships seldom appear in the British press. The agency has the power to censor such stories through the use of D notices under the Official Secrets Act. MI-6 reports to the Foreign Office.