As Europe faces what some say is the biggest crisis since World War 2, British military intelligence agents are being urged to consider their “white privilege” and declare their gender pronouns.
A “diversity” and “inclusion” guide called “Mission Critical” was leaked by the UK security services, having been written by Sir Stephen Lovegrove – a UK national security advisor. The document was published by the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
The documents’ foreword reads:
“This toolkit is called Mission Critical because a diverse and inclusive culture is critical to succeeding in our national security missions.”
The document also urges agents to be “acknowledge your privilege,” and to declare their gender pronouns so that transgender colleagues feel more included.
“Sharing your pronouns, if you are comfortable doing this, helps to create an environment in which this is normal,” the text said.
“You can do this by: adding your pronouns to your email signature or sharing them at the start of a slidepack.”
The guide urges spies to avoid using gendered terms like “manpower,” as well as phrases like “strong” or “grip” which “reinforce dominant cultural patterns.”
Agents are also being encouraged not to speak on panels consisting only of men.
It also tells spies to use more politically correct ways of referring to various groups.
“Instead of ‘Asians’, try ‘Asian people’, ‘people of Asian heritage’ or specify a region or country,” the guide said.
“Instead of ‘the disabled’, try ‘people with disabilities’ and ‘people with mental health conditions’ over ‘the mentally ill’.”
The advice seems to mirror comments from UK General Sir Nick Carter last year, who is the UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff.
As Afghanistan descended into crisis, Carter said he would hesitate to call the Taliban “the enemy,” saying that they were “country boys” who “live by a code of honour” and who wanted an “inclusive” country.
As the news of this intelligence document came to light, Russia has launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine, plunging Europe into war and causing a crisis which some world leaders have dubbed “Europe’s Darkest Hour” since World War 2.