20 June 2025

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch notes that Britain is now literally keeping Tabs on its enemies.

With the recent appointment of Blaise Metreweli as “C”, the head of MI6, officially known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), the organisation has its first female chief in all of its 116 years. C is the only publicly-named person at the SIS. Metreweli previously held the position popularly known as “Q”, Director General of Technology and Innovation in the SIS. At the age of 47, she is part of the first generation who grew up with digital technology.

The Secret Intelligence Service gathers intelligence overseas to support the UK’s foreign and defence policies. It is roughly the equivalent of the US CIA and Metreweli will report to the Foreign Secretary. SIS’s sister organisation, MI5, properly the Security Service, focuses on protecting the UK from threats to its national security from within the UK’s borders. 

A career intelligence officer, Metreweli joined the SIS in 1999 shortly after graduating from Cambridge. Most of her time has been spent in operational roles in Europe and the Middle East. She is said to be fluent in Arabic and is one of a few senior intelligence figures with technical and regional expertise.

Metreweli (the name is Georgian in origin) was an anthropology student at Pembroke College, Cambridge, from 1995 to 1998, a good time for CUWBC who were undefeated from 1992-1999. Metreweli’s 1997 Boat Race 1 1/4 length win was during the Presidency of future Olympic bronze medallist, Sarah Winckless.  

As Women’s Captain of Pembroke College Boat Club 1997-1998, Metreweli rowed in the first-ever Pembroke women’s boat to take the Headship of the May Bumps in 1997, and she was in the crew that retained it in the following year.

Before Cambridge, Metreweli was a pupil at Westminster School from September 1993 to July 1995. I contacted David “CD” Riches, The Master-in-Charge of Water (as Westminster calls the Head of Rowing). CD replied:

Blaise learnt to row while at Westminster in the 6th Form and was Head of Girls Water (Head of Girls Rowing) in 1994-1995… (We) have a boat… with her name on it .. She was perhaps the first girl to be Head of School…. She would have probably raced at (the National Schools Regatta) in 1995… I certainly remember racing at Cambridge Autumn Regatta in 1994 in a mixed four with her and (1992 Olympian) Fiona Freckleton who was also a teacher at Westminster… 

I also contacted the historian of rowing at Westminster School, Christopher Seward: 

Unfortunately, the recording of information was pretty spasmodic then and the girls were not well recorded. Girls rowing was actually pretty good at that time and an eight and a four did very well but few of the names are recorded and Blaise Metreveli was not one of those. She might well have rowed in one of those successful crews but I cannot confirm that.

I do not know if Metreweli continued rowing after Cambridge but she must have kept fit as, in her mid-40s, she took part in the first three Women’s Veteran Boat Races (WVBRs), 2022-2024.

WVBR 2022 – Oxford win by 2 3/4 lengths

WVBR 2023 – Cambridge win by 5 lengths

WVBR 2024 – A Dead Heat

Writing in the Daily Telegraph of 16 June 2025, Old Dark Blue Lebby Eyres penned an article titled, “I rowed against ‘C’ – it’s no surprise she’s the new MI6 chief.” In it Eyers wrote:

She’s really friendly, down-to-earth and very charming… Obviously when we are out on the river we want to win, and some of them carry that with them afterwards, but not Blaise. Whether they’ve won or lost, she’s always warm and approachable and, I sense, up for a laugh. She’s not going to be a stuffy boss – far from it, she’ll be a refreshing change.  

In 2024, we had a historically close race… Afterwards… I chatted to Blaise about what midlife rowing means to us. We agreed that the sport was a chance to get away from all the other stresses of midlife and recreate those bonds we had when we were younger.

However, also in the Telegraph of 16 June, Robert Mendick wrote about the time he interviewed Metreweli in 2021:

She was clearly super-smart but also engaging and engaged. Here was a spy who exuded charm… (However) an expert in espionage pointed out that secret service agents are essentially “professional manipulators of human beings.”

I prefer to think that Metreweli is both nice and clinically effective. Even the reactionary Daily Telegraph allowed Mendick to conclude:

This is not some kind of “woke” appointment, pandering to the diversity and inclusion brigade. And anyone suggesting otherwise is frankly a fool…