Ex-CIA chief says Britain’s national security would NOT be harmed if Britain leaves the EU

General Michael Hayden, pictured, former boss of the CIA, said Britain would not lose out on shared intelligence should it vote to leave the EU 

A former director of the CIA has backed Brexit by saying the UK’s national security will not be harmed if it leaves the European Union.

General Michael Hayden dismissed claims by In campaigners that Britain would lose out from shared intelligence if it voted to leave the Brussels club in June’s referendum and warned the UK should not rely on the poor intelligence services of many EU member states such as Belgium.

He said national security should always be the responsibility of individual states and said being in the EU does not contribute much to Britain’s spying capabilities.

And in a damning assessment of the EU as a whole, he said security across the continent was ‘very uneven,’ suggesting the lack of consistency contributed to the Brussels terror attacks.

General Hayden, who was in charge of the top spying agency in the US from 2006 – 2009 and previously served as director of the National Security Agency, criticised Belgium’s security in the wake of the Brussels attacks, saying it was ‘small, under-resourced [and] legally limited’.

His comments echo former Mi6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove who yesterday backed Britain leaving the EU, insisting it would not damage national security.

Sir Richard said getting out of the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU's free movement could boost security.

The pair have contradicted comments by ex-GCHQ director David Omand, who declared yesterday that Britain would be the ‘loser in security terms’ if it left the EU because it would ‘jeopardise the flows of intelligence between European nations’

National security matters have taken an increasingly important role in the EU debate this week following the deadly attacks in Brussels, where at least 31 people were killed by home-grown Isis terrorists.

Today’s intervention from General Hayden, who was made the highest ranking military intelligence officer in the US armed forces in 2005 after being awarded his fourth star, boosts the argument made by Out campaigners that leaving the EU will protect Britain from the increasing terror threat on the continent.

Speaking to the Today programme, General Hayden said: ‘National security remains a national responsibility and so sadly the grades you have to give to each of the services are frankly individual and it’s very uneven.

Sir Richard Dearlove, pictured, ex-Mi6 chief, has already backed Brexit and said it would not harm national security

‘Very good services, aggressive services in France and Great Britain, good but smaller services to in Scandinavia and then unfortunately across most of the rest of the continent – smaller services and if you’re talking specifically about Belgium – small, under-resourced, legally limited and frankly working for a government that frankly has itself has its own challenges in terms of overall governance.’

Earlier he told Sky News: ‘I don't know if the European Union contributes a great deal to ... espionage.

‘Europe has divided its governance between things done in Brussels, at the Union level, and things done back in national capitals.

‘At the Union level, they talk about commerce and privacy. But to keep citizens safe, that remains a responsibility back in national capitals.

‘And right now, because of some of the positions the Euro institutions have taken on surveillance and privacy, the capitals are finding it more difficult to provide for their own citizens' safety.

‘So to a degree, Brussels, as a Euro institution, keeps pushing these activities at the expense of security - to that degree I can understand why Sir Richard is saying what he's saying.’  

In an article for Prospect Magazine, Sir Richard said national security was served by international cooperation but only with trusted allies and not the entire EU as this leaked information like a 'colander'.

He said: 'Though the UK participates in various European and Brussels-based security bodies, they are of little consequence.

'The Club de Berne, made up of European Security Services; the Club de Madrid, made up of European Intelligence Services; Europol; and the Situation Centre in the European Commission are generally speaking little more than forums for the exchange of analysis and views.

'With the exception of Europol, these bodies have no operational capacity and with 28 members of vastly varying levels of professionalism in intelligence and security, the convoy must accommodate the slowest and leakiest of the ships of state.'

Sir Richard warned: 'The larger powers cannot put their best intelligence material into such colanders.'

Sir Richard said counter terrorism work was usually conducted bilaterally or occasionally trilaterally.

He said: 'Brussels has little or nothing to do with them, in large part due to what is known as the ''Third Party Rule,'' a notion that is little understood outside the intelligence fraternity but which is essential to intelligence liaison worldwide.

'This rule states that the recipient of intelligence from one nation cannot pass it on to a third without the originator's agreement.'

Home Secretary Theresa May, pictured, has warned against Brexit and said the EU was 'of benefit' to Britain

Sir Richard insisted this meant security cooperation with the United States would not be damaged by a Brexit. 1

And he concluded: 'In short, Europe would be the potential losers in national security.

'But if Brexit happened, the UK would almost certainly show the magnanimity not to make its European partners pay the cost.'

His comments goes against the position of Home Secretary Theresa May, who surprised some in Westminster when she backed David Cameron's EU In campaign on the grounds of security.

Earlier this week she repeated her warnings against Brexit.

In an interview with The Times, conducted before Tuesday’s Brussels attacks, Mrs May said EU membership was 'of benefit' to Britain's security.

She said: 'I think this is an issue people should look at more broadly, but on the security front there are good reasons for us to be members of the European Union.

'The UK threat level is at severe, which means a terrorist attack is highly likely. We know that since November 2014 seven terrorist plots have been disrupted in the UK.

'What's important is that we work with others to ensure that we can respond.'