Spy staff defecting to Google - The Sun
SPY chiefs have warned that cash cuts will hit Britain's war on terror - and revealed that staff are quitting GCHQ to earn more at Google.
Budget-hit bosses said they would have to "divert resources" from crucial areas to cover the massive security operation for next year's London Olympics.
Electronic spy agency GCHQ also warned it was struggling to retain internet "whizzes" to keep up the nation's cyber defences.
Director Iain Lobban told MPs: "They will be working for Microsoft or Google or Amazon or whoever.
"Month-on-month, we are losing whizzes who will basically say, 'I'm sorry, I am going to take three times the salary and the car'."
Details of the warnings emerged in the annual report of the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee.
It said the combined budget of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ will drop 11 per cent to 1.96billion by 2014. Britain's foreign aid budget then will be 12.6billion - over six times more.
The MPs cast doubt on whether MI5 would be able to manage the re-emerging terror threat in Northern Ireland without losing cover elsewhere. They urged the National Security Council to release resources for the security service, adding: "This is a matter of very serious concern."
MI5 director-general Jonathan Evans said the Olympics would have "really big security implications" for the service. Sir John Sawers, chief of MI6, the secret intelligence service, said it faced a "surge" in pre-Games counter-terrorism work.
He forecast "an impact on our intelligence operations and intelligence coverage of other targets" in the six to nine months beforehand.
The committee feared budget cuts would hit the agencies' ability "to maintain current levels of coverage".
It added: "This may worsen if inflation remains at its current levels."
Just two days ago, Home Secretary Theresa May was able to reduce the terror threat level from "severe" to "substantial" due to the services' work.
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