Most people don't know what goes on in the intelligence services. Certainly I had very little idea what went on in GCHQ. For me it was a job, a chance to use my languages.

I work for the British people. I do not gather intelligence so the government can lie to the British people.

If my own country is subverting the rule of law and sending its own citizens, its military, into harm's way on the basis of lies and propaganda, I would argue that being a patriot is calling out those lies and saying, ‘No, you don't send our military into harm's way with no legal justification.'"

I grew up in Taiwan, which was a military dictatorship.

For people like me, books are something solid and real, whereas digital stuff is a bit more ethereal. I like the trophy on my shelf, the presence in my home. A nice book is just as valuable as a decoration as a beautiful porcelain urn - and, let's face it, a hell of a lot more useful.

Social media has had a corrosive effect on government and trust, and I think it is a real cause for concern.

I think 99 percent of women's lib comes from technology making different kinds of lives possible, and then the social adjustment follows the technology - it doesn't precede it.

I don't think I ever won't do radio. I feel like, between the radio, the podcast, the books, even social media, you have to be a personality eleven places now, or you're not a personality anywhere.