The event will include a Q&A with Lord Evans, where the audience will have the opportunity to ask Lord Evans their questions directly.

Lord Jonathan Evans was Director-General of the British Security Service (MI5) from 2007-13.

Dubbed by The Independent as ‘the spy who came out from the cold’, Lord Evans was Britain’s top domestic spy. His main focus was counter-terrorism, both international and domestic, including initiatives against cyber threats.

In the course of a long career in MI5, Lord Evans worked as both an investigator and an operational officer on a variety of national security threats, specialising in counterterrorism and counterespionage. He became the Director responsible for MI5’s International Counterterrorism work on 1 September 2001, just ten days before 9/11.

He became Head of MI5 in 2007, when he ushered in a new era for the agency, leading it through a period of rapid change and giving the first ever public interview by a sitting MI5 leader. Lord Evans stated: “I will continue to make MI5 as visible as possible. It is right that the public should understand the way we work, and the thinking behind the wider counter-terrorist strategy.”

As Head of MI5, Evans was one of the British government’s principal advisors on national security threats including terrorism, cyber security and espionage, and was a member of the Prime Minister’s National Security Council. He also led MI5’s work to ensure the security of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.

In 2014, it was announced that he was to become a Crossbench Life Peer, having been nominated personally by the Prime Minister. He was created Baron Evans of Weardale, of Toys Hill in the County of Kent, on 3 December 2014. In January 2015, he was also appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent.

Canterbury Christ Church University’s Public Lecture series is designed to open knowledge and expertise up to the community, with free, public talks on a hugely diverse range of topics. Recent speakers have included Jo Brand, who discussed attitudes to and experiences of ageing, Robin Ince, who argued that reading enhances our empathy and understanding of one another, and most recently, Sarah Porter, who explored humanity’s future with Artificial Intelligence.

Lord Evan’s Public Lecture will be on Wednesday 20 March, 6pm, on the University’s Canterbury Campus. The event is free, but booking is essential.

Find out more and book free tickets at canterbury.ac.uk/public lectures