The director of GCHQ Anne Keast-Butler has used the organisation’s first annual lecture, held at Bletchley Park, to warn that the UK is at ‘a moment of consequence.’

Ms Keast-Butler was speaking in the Fellowship Auditorium at the wartime home of the UK’s intelligence, cyber and security agency.

She described it as ‘a pleasure’ to be speaking at Bletchley Park, describing the site as ‘hallowed ground’ for GCHQ.

Ms Keast-Butler said: “It’s rare for any head of an intelligence agency to speak in public, but I’m doing so today because we are at a moment of consequence, where the actions we take and the partnerships we build are ever more critical given the threats we face.”

GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler used a speech at Bletchley Park to warn that the UK was at 'a moment of consequence.' Image courtesy of Crown Copyright/Bletchley Park Trust

placeholder image — GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler used a speech at Bletchley Park to warn that the UK was at 'a moment of consequence.' Image courtesy of Crown Copyright/Bletchley Park Trust

Ms Keast-Butler said she saw the world in a similar way to her compatriots at MI5 and MI6 adding: “{We are in} a new era of radical uncertainty, contested geopolitics and rapidly changing technology, a space between peace and war.

“I’ve spent three decades working in national security, and the risk of miscalculation is as high as I’ve ever seen it.”

Ms Keast-Butler described technology and data as ‘transformational forces’ and used her speech to describe China as ‘a tech superpower with sophisticated cyber, intelligence and military capabilities.’

Ms Keast-Butler, the first female director of the GCHQ in its 104-year history also used her speech to address the actions of Russia.

“Russia is scaling up its daily hybrid activity against the UK and Europe, stretching from the seabed to cyberspace, relentlessly targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains and public trust,” she said.

“Let me be clear that in the face of such aggression and chaos, GCHQ is working tirelessly with intelligence and defence partners to degrade and reduce the Russian threat.

“One area in sharp focus for us is protecting the data and energy flowing through the critical cables and pipelines in and around British waters, and we do this by exposing Russia’s intent, motives and underwater capabilities.

“We’re also disrupting Russia’s attempts to smuggle Western tech, fending off its cyber-attacks and countering reckless sabotage and assassination attempts.

“As we remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine, Putin is going backwards on the battlefield, with new intelligence showing that almost half a million Russian soldiers have been killed since the conflict began.”

Addressing an audience of media, experts, academia, Government and national security partners, Ms Keast-Butler urged everyone to act to ‘make cyber security ten times more urgent.’

This was the first edition of the lecture, which is set to take place annually, and is expected to see the director of GCHQ set out the intelligence agency’s assessment of the changing threat landscape.

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