- How much did your family know about your work?
You are allowed to tell your wife. After all, when you work abroad there may be times when she has to cover for you. Some people tell their parents as well.
I did because my dad used to be a policeman so he understood the sort of work I was doing. But no matter who you tell, you never discuss operations. Ever.
- So why did you leave that career behind and how much do you miss it?
One of the main reasons was my wife has a very active career of her own and she didn’t want to be dragged all over the world.
- And what do you think about your career when you look back on it now?
It was fun while it lasted and the work can be really important.
- You have now published a series of books so how did you find the transition from secret agent to author?
The scariest thing of all has been working on television. I made the ten-part series 'Spy' for the BBC in 2004 and that has been broadcast all over the world. Even today I work overseas because of it. It feels really strange to give a lecture abroad and tell a load of foreigners that I was a British spy when I spent my whole career trying to avoid it.
Of course your books, such as Operation Kronstadt, are about MI6 and mission that they undertook so how easy is it to write a novel such as that - what sort of restrictions are in place?
I wrote Operation Kronstadt because people kept asking me what a real MI6 mission is actually like. Obviously I couldn’t talk about my own work because that is, as I have said, strictly forbidden. So I searched through the archives until I found the papers about Kronstadt.
Not only was it one of the most exciting missions MI6 has ever conducted, but I discovered that one of the officers had kept a diary throughout the entire mission. I found it just lying forgotten in a box of papers in a London museum.
It was like discovering buried treasure. I was constantly afraid that someone else would find the diary and tell the story before I could finish the book.
- You are currently helping promote Cars 2: the Video Game so what would be your top driving and racing tips to the hopeful Cars 2 secret agents training at C.H.R.O.M.E?
There is an important principle that MI6 agents are taught which you should use in Cars 2: be aggressive!
The game is so fast that you have to be as competitive as you can, right from the start line. I play Cars 2: the Video Game with all my teenage children and win every time. (Just don’t ask them about it..).
- Finally what coming up for you next?
I am in the middle of writing my first spy thriller. It’s called False Flag and is based on a mystery that occurred whilst I was working at MI6. It should be out next year.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw