“[We] urge Russia or any other state intent on subverting our way of life not to underestimate our determination and our capabilities, or those of our allies,” Younger is set to say at St Andrew’s University, as quoted by The Telegraph newspaper.
The MI6 chief will also appeal to the youth, regardless of backgrounds, to join a new generation of secret service agents.
Younger is set to call for a new era of spying with a focus on artificial intelligence and robotics as the means to combat activities of countries that are allegedly aimed at “perpetual confrontation” with the United Kingdom.
Russian-UK relations significantly deteriorated in March over the attempted poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The United Kingdom accused Moscow of being involved in the attack and urged the West to express solidarity, which resulted in expulsion of Russian diplomats from the majority of Western countries and a new round of anti-Moscow sanctions.
Moscow has denied all accusations, saying that the Skripal affair was falling apart due to the lack of evidence proving the purported Russian involvement. The Russian Foreign Ministry has sent dozens of diplomatic notes to the UK Foreign Office demanding that Russia be given access to the investigation and the Skripals, who have Russian citizenship, as well as proposing legal assistance and cooperation, including on the joint inquiry. The UK authorities have not responded to the requests for cooperation.