MI6 Regrets Helping Vladimir Putin to Win Power, says ex-Spy Chief
The former head of MI6 has admitted there is "significant regret" over MI6 allowing Tony Blair to attend the opera with Vladimir Putin during his rise to power, Daily Mail reports.
Sir Richard Dearlove, who was head of the Secret Intelligence Service between 1999 and 2004, made the revelations at the Cliveden Literary Festival in Berkshire at the weekend, where he featured as a guest speaker.
Sir Richard told the audience that ahead of the Russian presidential election in 2000, he was approached by the KGB asking for MI6 to help Putin, and agreed for the pair to meet in St Petersburg.
At the time of the controversial visit, Downing Street had stressed it "was too good an opportunity to miss" despite uproar from human rights activists and Amnesty International.
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