Sir John Sawers has become the first ever Chief of MI6 to make a public speech about the Secret Intelligence Service and what it does.

Good extracts from what he said this morning here:

Sir John added that it was essential for MI6 agents and other intelligence agencies to be sure that their secrets were protected, in order to succeed in countering any terror threat.

He described his organisation as the "secret front line" protecting Britain.

"Secrecy is not a dirty word. Secrecy is not there as a cover-up. Secrecy plays a crucial part in keeping Britain safe and secure.

"Secret organisations need to stay secret, even if we present an occasional public face, as I am doing today. If our operations and methods become public, they won’t work. Agents take risks.

"They will not work with SIS [Secret Intelligence Service], will not pass us the secrets they hold, unless they can trust us not to expose them. Our foreign partners need to have certainty that what they tell us will remain secret, not just most of the time, but always."

This is the point, almost completely overlooked by the babbling media.

The real secret agent is not James Bond shinning up the drain-pipe of the Ruritania Kremlin and climbing in through the window to steal information, although he does need to be brave and resourceful.

It is the person whom James Bond has found and recruited to work inside the Ruritania Kremlin – and who loyally and at huge risk to himself/herself leaves the window open to let him get in.