In a rare interview more than 20 years ago, Jonathan Powell, who is currently Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, admitted, “My job is best done in the shadows.”

The recent collapse of the state’s prosecution of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, two Britons accused of spying for China, has thrust this reclusive civil servant into an unwelcome spotlight.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-10-21/china-spying-trial-uk-shouldn-t-conduct-foreign-policy-in-the-shadows