Every man has his personal devil waiting for him somewhere. - John le Carré

I would say that since the war, our methods—ours and those of the opposition—have become much the same. I mean you can’t be less ruthless than the opposition simply because your government’s policy is benevolent, can you now?

Where I kick myself is where I think I actually contributed to the myth of the intelligence services being very good.

The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.