Dame Buller: Our Country Is Significantly Less Safe with a Brexit

By Money Morning Staff Reports, Money Morning • June 21, 2016

Nearly 24 hours ahead of the Brexit vote on June 23 and it's still too close to call.

As of Monday (yesterday), a YouGov poll of 1,652 voters found that 44% were in favor of leaving the European Union, while 42% were in favor of remaining.

Both stances have strong points of view to support their position:

• Pro-EU groups believe Britain has greater bargaining power if it remains in the EU than it would solo. In April 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that the UK would be put at the "back of the queue" in trade deals with the United States should it Brexit. And right now, the EU and U.S. are in negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
• Pro-Brexit groups are worried about the large influx of non-EU-born workers that operate under what they feel are lax labor laws, compliments of the EU. They worry that middle-class workers are losing jobs because of cheaper labor. They also feel that the EU acts in the best interest of the euro -- which is problematic for Britain because it uses the pound.

Economists to political leaders have weighed in, but there is one definitive voice for pro-EU groups: Elizabeth Manningham-Buller.

Known as Dame Buller, she believes that leaving the EU will make Britain "significantly less safe."

Who Is Elizabeth Manningham-Buller?

Manningham-Buller was the director general of Britain's domestic spy agency, MI5, from 2002 to 2007.

She started off specializing in counterterrorism, but her role developed with increasing responsibility and import to UK national security:

• Dame Buller served as the senior liaison to Washington, D.C., during the first Gulf War.
• She ran an Irish counterterrorism unit in 1992.
• She is reportedly only one of five people who knew Oleg Gordievsky, head of the KGB at the Soviet embassy in London, was a double agent.
• In 1997, Buller was appointed deputy director general of MI5.
• And in 2002, her role was upgraded to director general.

Because Manningham-Buller has decades of experience working in security and assessing threats, she has a lot of clout in matters that involve the safety of a country...

Why Elizabeth Manningham-Buller Doesn't Want a Brexit

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Manningham-Buller wants to stay in the EU because of the intelligence information shared between the members of the EU. According to BreitBart, Manningham-Buller told a think tank on an unspecified date in London that Britain currently receives "life-saving intelligence from our European friends."

In the speech, she reportedly referenced threats from Islamic State extremists and plans of nuclear tests by North Korea as information shared between the EU group members.

The former MI5 leader believes that Britain and EU nations would still cooperate in regards to sharing information if the Brexit vote passes...

But she worries Britain will lose its influence within the EU.

Supporters of a Brexit counter that Britain provides the EU with more information than it receives, and former head of MI6 (an agency responsible for gathering intelligence outside of the UK), Richard Dearlove, is in support of a Brexit.

Brexit supporters feel Britain can rely on its own intelligence information, as well as the information from its close relationship with America.

Manningham-Buller believes that Britain should focus on working with the United States and EU members. She feels that Britain helps raise the standards of weaker intelligence agencies within the EU.

Do you agree with Dame Buller? Let us know on Twitter @moneymorning and Facebook.

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Related Articles:

• Breitbart News Network: Ex-MI5 Chief Speaks Out Against Brexit
• The Guardian: Barack Obama: Brexit Would Put UL 'Back of the Queue' for Trade Talks
• Financial Times: MI6 Ex-Chief Says Brexit Could Boost Security
• Bloomberg: Brexit Vote in Balance in Polls as Soros Warns of Pound Plunge