UK domestic spy agency names new director, a bird-watcher with anti-terror experience

LONDON – Britain's domestic spy agency has chosen a new director, a 50-year-old ornithologist with counter-terrorism experience in the Middle East and Northern Ireland.

Andrew Parker, one of the youngest MI5 directors in recent history, has worked for the service for 30 years and led the agency's response to the July 7 London transit bombings in 2005.

Parker said Thursday that he's "extremely proud of the extraordinary work the men and women of MI5 do to keep the country safe in challenging circumstances," and that he looks "forward to leading the service through its next chapter."

Parker has been the deputy director general since 2007.

He succeeds Jonathan Evans, who is leaving MI5 after 33 years of service. He starts his job on April 22.