GCHQ chief: western spy agencies must ‘pre-bunk’ disinformation

Jeremy Fleming says war in Ukraine prompted new public outreach effort by intelligence community

Western spy agencies should use intelligence to “pre-bunk” narratives pushed by Russia and other authoritarian states, the head of GCHQ said on Thursday while guest editing BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Jeremy Fleming, who leads the largest of Britain’s three main intelligence agencies, said the war in Ukraine had prompted a significant opening up, in a Christmas broadcast co-produced by a serving spy chief for the first time.