LONDON: Britain could be left “poorer and weaker” by Brexit and needing to spend more to maintain influence abroad, the former head of the country’s foreign intelligence agency warned on Thursday.

John Sawers, head of the Secret Intelligence Service — known as MI6 — from 2009 to 2014, told a parliam­entary committee he fea­red quitting the European Union would harm Britain’s economy and diplomatic clout.

“In the next five years or so, if I’m right that the economy is going to take a hit, then our influence will diminish in that period,” said Sawers, now chairman of consultancy firm Macro Advisory Partners. “The default outcome is that the UK is poorer and weaker as a result of Brexit,” he added.

In a statement, Sawers told members of the House of Lords EU external affairs sub-committee, that Britain’s ability to deal with adversaries like Russia would be more difficult from outside the bloc. He argued the country would need to spend more on the military, intelligence and diplomacy to counter this impact.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2017