A former spy chief who has held the most secret role in Britain’s intelligence community has provided a unique insight into life as the director of GCHQ.

Sir David Pepper, 60, who retired after five years running the Government’s signals intelligence centre, took the unusual step of describing GCHQ to a local newspaper, admitting that it was a “pretty mysterious” place for people who had never worked there. Its staff are responsible for gathering intelligence from intercepted telecommunications to help in the fight against terrorism and to assist British troops overseas.

Musing about his experiences, Sir David recalled how he had to rush to London, “blue lights flashing”, on July 7, 2005, to attend an emergency meeting called by Tony Blair after the London suicide bombings.

He told the Gloucestershire Media Group of local newspapers of “flying over Afghanistan in an RAF helicopter that had once belonged to the Soviet Air Force, ducking for cover in Basra and Baghdad as rockets landed not far away”.

Sir David said that one of his most vivid memories was being summoned to Robin Cook’s office when he was Foreign Secretary, the day after Labour took office in 1997, “to be given instructions to negotiate the return of the national trade unions to GCHQ”.

Trade union membership had been banned at GCHQ by Margaret Thatcher’s Government in 1984.

Sir David revealed that GCHQ staff worked alongside the military in Iraq and Afghanistan “in conditions that are always very uncomfortable and often dangerous”, and said he was proud that so many had volunteered for these assignments.

Iain Lobban, formerly head of operations at GCHQ, succeeded Sir David last month.

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