Jonathan Evans (MI5 Officer) - Biography

Biography

He was educated at Sevenoaks School and Bristol University where he read classical studies, Evans joined the Security Service in 1980, and initially worked in counter espionage.

In 1985 he moved to the protective security function, dealing with internal and personnel security, before switching to domestic counter-terrorism in the late 1980s. For more than a decade he was involved with the effort to combat the domestic threat of groups such as the Provisional IRA during The Troubles.

In 1999, with the violence in Northern Ireland greatly reduced due to the Good Friday Agreement, Evans moved to G-Branch, the section of MI5 which deals with international terrorism. There he became an expert on al-Qaeda and other branches of Islamic terrorism. He rose to head the section in 2001 (only a few days before the September 11, 2001 attacks), a position which put him on the service's board of management. In 2005, he became Deputy Director-General before being promoted to head the organisation in 2007.

In November 2007 Evans talked publicly about the threat the UK faces from digital espionage. He is an ex-officio Member of the Council of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies where he spoke on National Security in February 2008. He has a Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.

In July 2010 the government revealed Evans received an annual salary of £159,999.

In September 2010, Evans said that Anwar al-Awlaki was the West’s Public Enemy No 1.

In January 2012, the Daily Mail newspaper alleged that Evans had been leading a "lobbying campaign" to allow the use of secret evidence in court, and give government ministers "sweeping powers" to withhold evidence they deem 'sensitive' from civil court hearings and inquests.

Evans was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to defence.