Buried in the Stevens inquiry is a fascinating little aside, and it’s not the answer to the question – ‘What happened to the lead singer of Marillion?’ Here it is, from page 825:

The SIS officer ‘Fish’ accepted that he wrote a proposal of assassination for consideration should a particular extremist leader, named in the proposal, come to power and be in a position to engage in genocidal activities. [Paget Note: The name is known to Operation Paget – it was not Slobodan Milosevic.]

It was an idea that was proposed for discussion by his line managers, not an operational plan. There was no reference to a car accident. The officer did not have the necessary skills or knowledge to suggest detailed operational options in the proposal.

So, MI6 officers really do write memos about assassinating foreigners. Presumably it’s written into the appraisals process under target-setting.

And who exactly is on their hit list? A question perhaps for the ISC? Or does writing lists keep them out of any real trouble?