Britain’s spies are being urged to consider their “white privilege” and declare their pronouns as Europe descends into war.

A leaked guide to improving diversity and inclusion in the security services suggests the agents should avoid gendered terms such as “manpower”.

Spies are also advised against such words as “strong” and “grip” which can “reinforce dominant cultural patterns”. And they are encouraged not to speak on all-male panels…

In the document – entitled “Mission Critical” – the chiefs of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ extol the virtues of diversity and inclusion, saying both are vital in keeping the country safe.

But the paper has caused disquiet in other areas of government, with critics saying security officials should have been less focused on inclusion and more alert to events in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

“Mission Critical” was written by Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the national security adviser, in October and published internally on December 6 – days after Ukraine warned of large-scale escalation by Russia.

In his foreword, Sir Stephen said: “This toolkit is called ‘Mission Critical’ because a diverse and inclusive culture is critical to succeeding in our national security missions”.

But a government source said: “There will be times where our security services have to kill the enemies who wish us ill.

“A culture where ‘manpower’ is offensive and where pronouns and ‘privilege’ are promulgated is far removed from the deadly decisions spooks often need to take”.

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