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  • 5/12/2025
Barbara Woodward, the U.K.'s ambassador to the United Nations and a former envoy to China, is a top contender to lead MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence agency. But her candidacy is drawing fire from critics who say she was reluctant to challenge China over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, as well as her lack of direct intelligence experience.
Transcript
00:00A leading candidate to head the UK's foreign spy agency is drawing scrutiny over past positions
00:06some say were too soft on China. Barbara Woodward, Britain's current ambassador to the United Nations
00:13and a former ambassador to China, is in the running to lead MI6, the UK's foreign intelligence agency.
00:21But her candidacy is raising eyebrows. Critics point to what they see as her reluctance to
00:27challenge China over its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Yet her shortlist is historic.
00:33All three candidates for the role are women, a milestone for an agency that's never had a woman at the top.

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