Autistic MI5 officer: ‘Keeping secrets is never an issue’

Liam was chairing a top-level nationalist information gathering erstwhile helium abruptly realised thing was wrong.

An aggravated symptom developed successful his caput and helium began to suffer focus. He tried to support talking and wage attraction to the papers his colleagues were discussing, arsenic his telephone lit up with caller enactment messages. But with the symptom intensifying, Liam rushed from the room.

“I had a sensory overload and started losing the quality to see,” Liam told the BBC's Access All podcast. “My colleagues had to travel and rescue me.”

Liam - not his existent sanction - has worked for MI5 for galore years. He's travelled overseas and worked connected analyzable investigations - immoderate progressive disrupting threats that could harm British citizens.

He had ever prided himself connected his reliability to get the occupation done, an indispensable trait for an quality officer. But completing tasks came with immense amounts of stress.

“I would beryllium listening successful to a meeting, and astatine the aforesaid clip I’d beryllium speechmaking emails, astatine the aforesaid clip I’d besides beryllium reasoning astir what I would privation to constitute successful a report,” helium says.

Liam recovered it hard to cognize what to prioritise and often didn't consciousness crossed the item successful a mode that helium would person liked.

After the meeting, Liam took immoderate clip disconnected from his occupation and spoke to respective specialists. He learned he'd experienced autistic burnout, a authorities of carnal and intelligence fatigue and heightened accent which had built up implicit years.

Some days helium was relieved to recognize what had happened - different days helium was anxious astir whether helium would person to find a caller job.

“I struggled being disconnected work,” helium says. “I was truthful tired, determination were tons of thoughts moving done my mind. I was disquieted however I would beryllium viewed.”

Despite the anxieties, Liam was supported by colleagues erstwhile helium returned to work. He was offered sessions with occupational wellness and well-being teams, and neurodiversity coaches helped him larn however to enactment with his autism.

He learned astir the value of doing 1 task astatine a time, having routines, and having conversations astir what to prioritise.

Over clip things got easier. Liam joined a neurodiverse unit web and was encouraged to stock that helium is autistic.

He says helium tin present spot the spot successful the mode helium approaches tasks and describes quality enactment arsenic similar solving a analyzable jigsaw puzzle, wherever neurodivergent radical whitethorn beryllium capable to connection alternate perspectives, and assistance plug cognition gaps.

He says his hyperfocus, attraction to detail, and bully representation person besides proved fruitful successful the field.

Keeping secrets is simply a large portion of moving for MI5 and lone Liam's adjacent household cognize what helium does for a living, but helium says his burnout was ne'er linked to this facet of the job.

“I support a batch of accusation inside," helium says. "Keeping secrets is ne'er an contented for me.”

MI5 is simply a Disability Confident employer, which means it has taken steps to supply adjacent opportunities to disabled people. It employs astir 5,000 people, astir 4% of whom are disabled, according to figures released successful 2022. The deliberation tank, the Institute for Government, says this is beneath mean for civilian servants which successful 2022 was 14% and 15.5% for the UK moving population.

Historically, information services person recovered recruiting disabled radical and different groups specified arsenic achromatic and number taste difficult, but MI5 says it has worked hard to alteration this. Its latest wage spread study shows a 4th of each caller joiners successful 2022/23 were from an taste number background, and astir 48% were women.

MI5 did not supply accusation connected however galore of its neurodiverse unit extremity up successful elder positions, but Liam says being autistic has not held him back. His promotion to elder manager came aft his burnout acquisition and helium says helium knows others who person besides succeeded successful the organisation.

“Some radical are connected the ADHD side, immoderate autistic and immoderate are highly sensitive," helium says. “Being neurodiverse brings spot to MI5.”

Gordon Corera, the BBC’s Security Correspondent, says determination is simply a existent accent connected diversifying unit successful the UK’s information agencies.

“It’s partially to bespeak the population, to beryllium unfastened to the champion people, and besides to debar the 'groupthink' which comes from lone having 1 benignant of inheritance oregon 1 mode of knowing the world.”

He says of the 3 main agencies – MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – the second appeared to person much visibly disabled unit “and it’s often looking for radical with neurodiversity”.

But adds: “MI5 ever looked much divers successful presumption of taste inheritance and has much women successful elder positions.”

Kamran Mallick from Disability Rights UK says UK enactment civilization is evolving with respect to neurodivergent people.

“Organisations similar MI5 play a important relation successful starring the mode to much inclusive and supportive environments for radical with conditions similar autism,” helium says.

But according to the Office for National Statistics, successful 2022/23 lone 30% of autistic radical were successful work.

“Often a deficiency of consciousness and knowing astir neurodivergent conditions among employers, leads to misconceptions and insufficient support,” says Mr Mallick.

Liam says helium has everything helium needs to bash his occupation good and is keen to stock his story. But erstwhile pressed for accusation astir the societal spaces wherever his colleagues mightiness conscionable to stock their experiences, Liam gives thing away.

“ I tin neither corroborate oregon contradict whether determination is an MI5 pub.”