Telegraph: Until 1983, the existence of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) as an intelligence agency was not officially acknowledged, let alone its director publicly named. Nowadays, the huge doughnut-shaped listening base in Cheltenham is one of the country’s most identifiable buildings. The surveillance organisation even has its own website and recruits via the internet.
But if GCHQ is no longer a state secret it still remains highly secretive, perhaps too closed-up for a world of social media and instant data access. Robert Hannigan, who was named yesterday as the next director of the agency, has the task not only of charting a course for it over the next few years but of addressing the demands for greater transparency.