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A licence to kill, or license to kill in American English, is a licence granted by a government or government agency to a particular operative or employee to initiate the use of lethal force in the delivery of their objectives. The initiation of lethal force is in contrast to the use of lethal force in self-defence or the protection of life. It is well known as a literary device used in espionage fiction.
The legitimacy of deadly force usage from country to country is generally controlled by statute, particular and direct executive orders, the common law, or rules of engagement.
Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of the UK Secret Intelligence Service MI6, testified in court as part of the 2007–2008 Diana, Princess of Wales Inquest in agreement with a statement that the SIS (MI6) could only use force "likely to cause injury" if specially authorized to do so by the UK Foreign Secretary. [1]
Dearlove also testified in the same inquest that he was unaware of anyone ever having been assassinated by MI6 during his time as head from 1999 to 2004. [2]
Former MI6 agent Matthew Dunn stated that MI6 agents do not need a licence to kill as a spy's primary job is to violate the law in other countries, and if an agent is compromised, they are at the mercy of the authorities of that country. [3]
The idea of a licence to kill is popularly known from the James Bond novels and films, where it is signified by the "00" (Double O) designation given to the agents in the series who are licensed to kill; Bond himself is famously agent 007.
Mohamed Al-Fayed was a British-based Egyptian businessman, whose residence and primary business interests were in the United Kingdom from the mid-1960s. His business interests included ownership of the Hôtel Ritz Paris, and Harrods department store and Fulham Football Club, both in London. At the time of his death in 2023, Fayed's wealth was estimated at US$2 billion by Forbes.
Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed, commonly known as Dodi Fayed, was an Egyptian film producer and the eldest child of the businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was romantically involved with Diana, Princess of Wales, when they both died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.
Michael Mansfield is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers. He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights.
Sir Richard Billing Dearlove is a retired British intelligence officer who was head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), a role known informally as "C", from 1999 until 6 May 2004. He was head of MI6 during the invasion of Iraq. He was criticised by the Iraq Inquiry for providing unverified intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
Richard John Charles Tomlinson is a former officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). He argued that he was subjected to unfair dismissal from MI6 in 1995, and attempted to take his former employer to a tribunal. MI6 refused, arguing that to do so would breach state security.
Michael John Clement Burgess, CVO, OBE was the Coroner of the Queen's Household. He was educated at Beaumont College and King's College London. He was appointed deputy coroner in 1991 and was appointed coroner in 2002.
The Intelligence Services Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
In English law, Irish law and Northern Irish law, unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales and Ireland when someone has been killed by one or more unknown persons. The verdict means that the killing was done without lawful excuse and in breach of criminal law. This includes murder, manslaughter, infanticide and causing death by dangerous driving. A verdict of unlawful killing generally leads to a police investigation, with the aim of gathering sufficient evidence to identify, charge and prosecute those responsible.
During the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained earlier that night in a fatal car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Diana's partner, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were found dead inside the car. Dodi's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was seriously injured but was the only survivor of the crash.
Operation Paget was the British Metropolitan Police inquiry established in 2004 to investigate the conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car crash in Paris in 1997. The inquiry's first report with the findings of the criminal investigation was published in 2006. The inquiry was wound up following the conclusion of the British inquest in 2008, in which a jury delivered its verdict of an "unlawful killing" due to the "gross negligence" of both the driver of Diana's car and the pursuing paparazzi.
Sir Thomas Scott Gillespie Baker, PC is a retired English Court of Appeal judge.
Events from the year 2008 in the United Kingdom.
Paul Burrell is a former servant of the British Royal Household and latterly butler to Diana, Princess of Wales.
There are many conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August 1997. Official investigations in both Britain and France found that Diana died in a manner consistent with media reports following the fatal car crash in Paris. In 1999, a French investigation concluded that Diana died as the result of a crash. The French investigator, Judge Hervé Stephan, concluded that the paparazzi were some distance from the Mercedes S280 when it crashed and were not responsible for manslaughter. After hearing evidence at the British inquest, a jury in 2008 returned a verdict of "unlawful killing" by driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi pursuing the car. The jury's verdict also stated: "In addition, the death of the deceased was caused or contributed to by the fact that the deceased were not wearing a seat belt and by the fact that the Mercedes struck the pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel rather than colliding with something else."
Gareth Wyn Williams was a Welsh mathematician and Junior Analyst for GCHQ on secondment to the Secret Intelligence Service who was found dead in suspicious circumstances in Pimlico, London, on 23 August 2010, at a flat used to house Security Service's staff. The inquest found that his death was "unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated." A subsequent Metropolitan Police re-investigation concluded that Williams's death was "probably an accident".
Paul Knapman DL was Her Majesty's coroner for Westminster, from 1980 to 2011. His responsibility for investigating sudden deaths as an independent judicial officer saw him preside over numerous notable cases.
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6, is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence on foreign nationals in support of its Five Eyes partners. SIS is one of the British intelligence agencies and the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service ("C") is directly accountable to the Foreign Secretary.
The fifth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix on 9 November 2022. It was the first season of the series to be released following both the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 9 April 2021 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022; filming took place between the former and the latter's death.
Kelly Movshina, previously known as Kelly Fisher, is an American property developer and former model. Throughout her modeling career, she appeared in advertisement campaigns for fashion brands including Calvin Klein, Victoria's Secret, Armani, and La Perla. She was featured on the covers of Vogue, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, W and Elle.
'It is inconceivable that, in ordinary circumstances, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State or any of his successors – or for that matter, predecessors – would authorise the use of lethal force. No force likely to cause injury, far less lethal force, could be used and be lawful unless it was authorised, because of the impact of the 1948 Act. the only lawful force that could be used abroad is that authorised through an authorisation issued by the Secretary of State.' [...] 'I do not want to exclude the ability to do so in those circumstances, but I can say that assassination is no part of the policy of Her Majesty's Government.'
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) the statement consists of quotes from multiple sources, which Dearlove is asked whether or not they agree to (see 21.9)Q. During the whole of your time, Sir Richard, with SIS, 1966 through to 2004, were you ever aware of the service assassinating anyone? A. No, I was not.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) (see 26.22)| Literature | |
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