Downing Street has announced that the new head of MI6, Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, is to be John Scarlett.
Mr Scarlett is the current Chairman of Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee and will take up his new post later this summer.
However, news of his appointment has attracted controversy at Westminster.
As Chairman of the British government's Joint Intelligence Committee, he gave evidence to the Hutton Inquiry into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
Critics saw his role in the preparation and publication of a dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as being too close to that of former Downing Street spin-doctor Alastair Campbell.
Lord Butler inquiry
Another inquiry, chaired by Lord Butler, into the use of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war is ongoing and Mr Scarlett is central to those investigations.
Opposition MPs at Westminster today questioned the wisdom of appointing such a controversial figure to head the agency which is central to Britain's fight against terrorism.
Downing Street said that Mr Scarlett would follow the current MI6 practice of not giving interviews, making public appearances or providing on the record comment.
