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Original poster

Has anyone met a secret agent or mi5

230 replies

Overwhelmed245 · 17/04/2021 14:18

Has anyone met one like do you suspect your partner to be one etc. obviously I know you hear of woman being told the guy there dating works for mi5 but then find out the guy has two lives and another family

OP posts:
Creepygnochi · 17/04/2021 14:19

The duck flys at midnight

Wink
FadedRed · 17/04/2021 14:20

Well if I told you, I’d have to shoot you.

MyPatchworkQuilt · 17/04/2021 18:58

Yes, as it goes....DM had an affair with a former one and took me on one of their meetings as she had no childcare.

I think if someone is telling someone they are dating that they work for M15, it's probably bullshit, you know they are sworn to secrecy.

grumpyhetty · 17/04/2021 19:07

I am convinced one of my neighbours is a spy. He works for the government and whereas he and his wife used to talk about his previous job, they are vague and cagey now - something to do with computers is their response if asked. She also told me years ago that the whole family were going through some sort of enhanced vetting. He would be a perfect spy as there is absolutely nothing memorable about the way he looks (he is a nice person though). —he probably has a really boring job in the Civil Service but I like to speculate—

Beamur · 17/04/2021 19:09

DH is semi convinced that one of his friends brothers was. Highly intelligent chap, spoke mandarin and several other languages had some admin job in the Government. Seemed a bit pedestrian for such a clever man.

itwa · 17/04/2021 19:11

My godfather was in MI6. He told us when he retired! He's dead now, so I can tell you.

mpsw · 17/04/2021 19:11

Do you really think that anyone who genuinely knew would post about it?

SnuggyBuggy · 17/04/2021 19:13

For all I know all my friends might be secret agents but good at keeping discreet

Springchickpea · 17/04/2021 19:13

I knew a guy at uni who applied, but didn’t pass the vetting. The fact we all knew he had gone for it and was being vetted probably didn’t help his chances! Grin

ShaunaTheSheep · 17/04/2021 19:15

Yes. It met him through work, so obviously not a secret!

TheRedShoes75 · 17/04/2021 19:16

I’ve known a couple of JIS (Joint Intelligence Service) people. I can tell you because one is dead and one has left. They’re not sworn to secrecy but always referred to themselves as being civil servants when asked. Very low key. One of them was involved in recruitment and told me how difficult they found it to ensure the personalities were right and the level of annual questioning they underwent was something else.

HermioneWeasley · 17/04/2021 19:18

My Uncle was (not this country). Being a spy, an alcoholic and a gambling addict are not a good combination.

DuckyMcDuck · 17/04/2021 19:24

My parents did - they lived in Europe in the 1970s and enjoyed the ex-pat party lifestyle.

Apparently, one of the wives was a bit of a flirt (to put it nicely) and used to chat up all the men at parties including my dad who said she asked him lots of questions and was very attentive!

She went out to the shops one day and just disappeared. She sent her husband a letter from Moscow full of communist ideas from Moscow about 3 months later.

The poor husband went back to the UK and had a nervous breakdown.

bluebellscorner · 17/04/2021 19:31

My friend works in an intelligence adjacent position and she tells me that the actual agents are all super dull, possibly on purpose. If anyone asks what they do they always say they are in IT or similar as it’s not the sort of thing which inspires follow up questions... which is ideal.

I recommend the True spies podcast for real life stories from actual agents

Gingernaut · 17/04/2021 19:38

Was part of a group that had to be given a talk about security (don't ask).

The people who visited us were very nondescript and seemed to go out of their way to be 'boring'.

They seemed to create an aura of 'don't mind me, I'm nobody' - it was an excruciating afternoon hashing over stuff we already knew.

grumpyhetty · 17/04/2021 19:39

@bluebellscorner You are adding weight to my theory about my neighbour- the ultimate grey man

DontDrinkDontSmokeWhatDoIDo · 17/04/2021 19:45

@Beamur

DH is semi convinced that one of his friends brothers was. Highly intelligent chap, spoke mandarin and several other languages had some admin job in the Government. Seemed a bit pedestrian for such a clever man.

@Beamur

Pedestrian is such a GREAT word in this context - thank you for reminding me!!!

CovidCorvid · 17/04/2021 19:50

Yes, but a long time ago and I didn’t know at the time.

So the father of a good childhood friend. Our parents were friends as well. I always knew that after the 2nd world war he’d been involved in that sort of thing. He’d told my parents tales of car chases through east Berlin before the wall was built.

I was told he was a double glazing sales person. Worked for Everest. Funny because they lived in a massive house, way too expensive for a double glazing sales person. And he went on business trips abroad. A lot of trips.

So I’m not sure but I’m now suspicious that when I knew him he was still in that line of work.

pinkyredrose · 17/04/2021 19:53

How would you know if you met a spy?

user1471453601 · 17/04/2021 19:59

Some of you are worrying me now😁. Some years ago I met a really pleasant couple on holiday. We fell into the habit of meeting most evenings for a drink, before going off, seperatley,for our evening meals.

They asked what I did, I said oh, a civil servant. Didn't expand.

We met up quite a few times over the years. One evening one of them mentioned an area I had some expertise in. So I told him what I knew and what my area of work was (equality and diversity law and practice).. They laughed and said they had always thought I might be a spy because I didn't talk about my work.

So did they think I was " grey" and "nondiscript". Who knows

BigGreen · 17/04/2021 20:03

I've met CIA agents! They were all former lawyers. Weird.

Cookie79 · 17/04/2021 20:11

For a short while Some of DH’s relatives thought DH might be because he was vague about his job. He worked in civil service and was employed on a graduate band rather than an actual job so even he wasn’t actually sure what he did at first 🤣

So basically as he was like Chandler in friends and couldn’t really define his job they did wonder if he was a spy for a bit.

(He’s not by the way - he left and got a much more interesting job on the railway). Or did he....

Or maybe I’m the spy with MY boring local government job and random working hours 😉

ExJasper · 17/04/2021 20:12

No but I think I'd be a good one. I am the epitomy of forgettable and pedestrian, and I think an overweight middle aged woman could get away with a lot!

ExJasper · 17/04/2021 20:14

I also entertain regularly fantasies that my dh isn't in fact dead but is living a life as a secret agent and will walk in the front door one day. The fact that I was with him when he died is neither here nor there! The nurses could've covered it all up somehow I'm sure!

doctorboo · 17/04/2021 20:15

My cousin applied for MI5. They got through the first round(?) on the interview process and then I didn’t hear any more on it.
I’m assuming they didn’t get the job as they’ve been on UC following redundancies, had to move home a few times and had a few different job titles over the years!