A former MI5 chief will speak out about life in the security service this autumn - but no arrests will be made. Dame Stella Rimington, the former director general of MI5, has agreed to speak at the Surrey Business Awards Gala Dinner.
Dame Stella became MI5's first female chief executive in 1992. Under her direction, the Security Service broadened its remit from monitoring foreign agents and "subversives" in the UK to countering international terrorism
She retired from the service two years ago to move into commerce and is a board member of firms including Marks & Spencer and British Gas.
Dame Stella, 63, is also chairman of the Institute for Cancer Research, spearheading the charity's fundraising and its campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of cancer.
It was her high-powered career in the public, private and charity sectors which prompted Surrey Training and Enterprise Council to invite her to the business awards in Woking on November 12.
Richard Wormell, managing director of Surrey TEC, said: "Dame Stella's extraordinary achievement in becoming the first female head of MI5 sets a fine example for Surrey's own high-flyers.
Her wide-ranging experience of senior management - in an organisation like MI5 with 2,000 employees and an annual budget of £150 million - makes her an ideal person to share her experiences."
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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