APPROVED IMAGE: BICKFORD, DAVID / PRESS USE
> PRESS OFFICE / MEDIA ACCESS
INTERVIEWS. COMMENTARY. CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER.
David Bickford CB is the former Legal Director of MI5 and MI6, an espionage novelist and the “D” at the heart of GrandpaSpy.
He is available for selected interviews, podcasts, broadcast appearances and speaking engagements covering intelligence, national security, leadership, ethics, the Cold War and the realities behind espionage fiction.
Selected apppearances include: The Guardian, Times Radio, JOE, James English, Cold War Conversations, The CEO Magazine
subject /
David bickford CB
status /
available for selected media
access /
press / podcasts / broadcast / events
> APPROVED COPY / BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
DAVID BICKFORD CB
The following biographies are approved for use in press coverage, event programmes, podcast notes and broadcast introductions.
01 / SHORT BIOGRAPHY
David Bickford CB is the former Legal Director of MI5 and MI6, an author of espionage thrillers and the “D” at the heart of GrandpaSpy. His career has spanned intelligence, national security, government service and international consultancy, giving his fiction and public commentary a rare understanding of how power, judgement and consequence operate behind closed doors.
approved length / 67 words
02 / FULL BIOGRAPHY
David Bickford CB is a former Under Secretary of State and Legal Director of MI5 and MI6. Previously he served in the Foreign Office and, during the Cold War, as Legal Adviser to the British Military Government in Berlin.
He spent years working at the intersection of intelligence, national security and the law. He was made Companion of the Order of the Bath and, after leaving government service, David undertook international consultancy work, advising on governance, security, financial crime and the prevention of money laundering.
David now draws upon that experience in his espionage novels. He is also known to a growing international audience as “D” from GrandpaSpy, where his grandson Beau asks him direct questions about intelligence, history, leadership and life.
approved length / 129 words
position /
legal director
organisations/
mi5 & mi6
civil service rank /
under secretary of state
document: david bickford / location: undisclosed
> APPROVED COPY / BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
CREDENTIALS AND COMMENTARY.
David’s professional background and areas available for informed public discussion.
01 / VERIFIED CREDENTIALS
FORMER LEGAL DIRECTOR / MI5 & MI6
FORMER UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE
LEGAL ADVISER / BRITISH MILITARY GOVERNMENT, WEST BERLIN
COMPANION OF THE ORDER OF THE BATH / CB
INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT / GOVERNANCE & FINANCIAL CRIME
AUTHOR / ESPIONAGE FICTION
02 / AVAILABLE SUBJECTS
INTELLIGENCE & NATIONAL SECURITY
LAW, ETHICS & STATE POWER
THE COLD WAR & DIVIDED BERLIN
LEADERSHIP & JUDGEMENT UNDER PRESSURE
FINANCIAL CRIME & MONEY LAUNDERING
ESPIONAGE FICTION: FACT VERSUS MYTH
GRANDPASPY & INTERGENERATIONAL CONVERSATION
position /
legal director
organisations/
mi5 & mi6
civil service rank /
under secretary of state
document: david bickford / location: undisclosed
> APPROVED ASSETS / PRESS USE
PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARTWORK.
The following approved images may be used in editorial coverage relating to David Bickford, his books and GrandpaSpy. Please retain the supplied captions and credits.
@grandpaspy: the grandfluencer
> MEDIA PROFILE / GRANDPASPY
EXPERIENCE. CURIOSITY. A GLOBAL NETWORK.
GrandpaSpy brings David together with his grandson Beau for candid conversations about intelligence, national security, history, leadership and life.
Launched in April 2026, the project has built an international audience drawn as much to their relationship as to David’s professional experience. Beau asks the direct questions. David answers with authority, restraint and dry humour.
GrandpaSpy is supported by the creative and production expertise of Pretzel Films, an award-winning production company whose work has received recognition including BAFTA nominations and Cannes Lions.