Mum's the word for future of spying

Mumsnet offered a light-hearted welcome to the proposal, with one contributor arguing "everyone knows parents have eyes in the backs of their heads". Photo / Thinkstock

Britain's spy chiefs should recruit from the website Mumsnet to break through the "permafrost" of middle-aged men hampering the work of the intelligence services, a watchdog has said.

MI5, MI6 and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) should target middle-aged women and mothers because they are "more emotionally intelligent and intuitive", the report found.

Mumsnet, the online women's forum, offered a light-hearted welcome to the proposal, with one contributor arguing "everyone knows parents have eyes in the backs of their heads".

Another said she was experienced at sitting in cafes and watching people, while a third suggested arming a "set of stern but nimble grandmothers" with megaphones to stare down suspects and shout, "What do you think you are doing?"

Others were less optimistic. One mother said she couldn't even hold water, let alone international secrets.

Women make up just over a third of Britain's spies and fewer than one in five are among the senior ranks, according to the parliamentary intelligence and security committee (ISC).

It warned that the agencies are not helped by a middle-management "permafrost" of men with a traditional male outlook and all of similar backgrounds. It means they all look at threats and problems in the same way and reward "those who speak the loudest or are aggressive in pursuing their career".

MP Hazel Blears, who led the review, said: "Diversity will result in better intelligence analysis and a better response to the range of threats that we face to our national security."

Sir Iain Lobban, the former director of the GCHQ, told the committee that having two women at board level made discussions "radically different". "I think [women] are more emotionally intelligent and, if you like, I think there is more intuition in the room," he said.

The report recommended agencies "target specific groups of women to recruit. Women or mothers in middle-age or mid-career have valuable life experience and may offer an untapped recruitment pool.

"The agencies should therefore use a broad range of mediums and include those specifically aimed at women and mothers - such as Mumsnet."