Gov. Mitt Romney angered British press during his tour of London when he revealed his meeting with MI6 head Sir John Sawers, CBS reports.
In a scathing review of Romney’s time in London, Tom McCarthy of The Guardian opined that many in Great Britain were angered by Romney’s admission, as there has always been a great deal of mystery surrounding the famed intelligence agency.
“I can only say that I appreciated the insights and perspectives of the leaders of the government here and opposition here as well as the head of MI6 as we discussed Syria and the hope for a more peaceful future for that country,” Romney said during a press conference Thursday.
When asked for comment, MI6 did not specifically acknowledge a meeting between Romney and Sawyers, but rather stated, “Sir John Sawers meets many people, but we don’t give a running commentary on any of these private meetings.”
MI6 has gained fame through the fictional depiction of the agency in James Bond movies, but, as McCarthy points out, there was no public acknowledgement of the UK’s version of the CIA until 1994.
“For our American readership, this isn’t like bragging you just met David Petraeus. The British take on the national secret intelligence service comes with an extra-heavy dollop of the whole secret thing,” McCarthy wrote.
Romney is in London to help promote the 2012 Olympics, an event the former Massachusetts governor helped oversee when the games were in Salt Lake City in 2002.