Nigel Norman Inkster CMG (born April 1956)[1][2] is the former director of operations and intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6),[3][4] and was till June 2017 the Director of Transnational Threats and Political Risk at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). He remains as a Senior Adviser for Cyber Security and China, Nigel assists with IISS research that assesses the geopolitical and technological challenges posed by China.[5][6][7][8]

Inkster was educated at Oxford and joined SIS in 1975, for which he served in posts in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Beijing, and Hong Kong. He rose to become deputy to SIS chief Richard Dearlove, and was widely assumed to be in line for the top spot when Dearlove announced his departure in 2003 . The selection of John Scarlett instead of Inkster was the subject of considerable political controversy.[2] Inkster was a member of the SIS board for seven years before leaving SIS in 2006.[9]

Inkster has argued that the UK should not take part in direct military action in Syria, although supporting rebel forces was sensible.[9]

In 2017, Inkster was appointed to the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, and served on the commission until its successful conclusion in 2019, participating in the drafting of its eight norms related to non-aggression in cyberspace. Since August 2017 he has been Director of Geopolitical and Intelligence Analysis at London-based Enodo Economics [10]

References

  1. ^ "Inkster, Nigel Norman, Counsellor, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1998". Who's Who. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u56110. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 22 May 2021. ((cite book)): |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b West, Nigel (2006). At Her Majesty's Secret Service: The Chiefs of Britain's Intelligence Agency, MI6. Naval Institute Press. pp. 264ff. ISBN 978-1591140092. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. ^ "Nigel Inkster". The Guardian. London. 26 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Ex MI-6 officer sees ISI's hand in Kabul embassy attack". The News International. 15 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Nigel Inkster". International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
  6. ^ "Nigel Inkster". edX.
  7. ^ Giegerich, Bastian (2010). Europe and Global Security (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 978-0415669344.
  8. ^ Roula Khalaf and Sam Jones (17 June 2014). "Selling terror: how Isis details its brutality". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  9. ^ a b Mark Townsend (20 September 2014). "UK urged to avoid direct military action in Syria". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Who we are". Enodo Economics. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
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