The spies who came in from the union bar

I had decided to see if I could become a spy after hearing they were desperate for new recruits. As I approached the information desk I was thrilled at the prospect of an encounter with a real-life spook in a scene worthy of the finest John Le Carre novel.

I had my reasons ready. I wanted some glamour in the clandestine world of the secret services, where I imagined a day at the office would be anything but dull. And, of course, most importantly, I was itching to demonstrate my loyalty to Queen and country in the fight against the enemy within.

Unfortunately the reality was much more mundane. It was a careers assistant rather than Miss Moneypenny who greeted me at Edinburgh University’s careers service. "How do I become a spy?" I asked. She blinked for a moment and smiled. "Oh yes, MI5," she said. "Please follow me."

Maybe all was not lost, I thought. Was this the moment I would be whisked away to a secret location by a veteran agent? Alas no. I was led to a nondescript desk to join all the other students who were busy poring over brochures for such run-of-the-mill jobs as management consultants and bankers.

But this is what MI5 recruitment policy has become. Due to a chronic shortage of suitable spooks, the service has joined every other walk of life in the annual milk round to attract graduates, abandoning the far more infamous tactic of discreetly tapping an upper-class politics graduate on the shoulder and asking if he fancies joining the ultimate establishment club.

Scotland on Sunday’s investigation has also revealed that Scottish universities have become particularly rich hunting grounds for intelligence chiefs who are especially desperate for foreign-language speakers to help in the war against terror.

We discovered careers officers from north of the Border are even being invited into the inner sanctum of the organisation - which did not even officially exist less than 10 years ago, to find out first-hand what skills it is looking for.

The secret service has also taken another step out of the shadows by making its first appearance at a Scottish careers fair at Glasgow’s SECC last month, and also running a poster campaign around the country’s universities.

Even the ultra-secret MI6 agency, which deals with overseas threats and international security, has this year begun posting recruitment information on the civil service website under its official title of the Secret Intelligence Service.

Back at the careers office, the assistant explains apologetically that all the glossy brochures sent by MI5 have been snapped up, but I am welcome to study or photocopy their reference version.

Studying it, I discover that I must be able to account for the last 10 years of my life, be prepared for a gruelling six-month application process and - at last a bit of clandestine activity - not tell anyone that I am applying.

Included with the file is a revealing report written by a University of Edinburgh careers adviser who has visited MI5’s Millbank headquarters in London.

It is not exactly 007 stuff. "Much of the work is desk-based with trips abroad in some areas," the adviser comments. "Consider the average police officer to have a much more dangerous job."

The document goes on to describe that, due to the sensitive nature of the work, as well as passing a six-stage recruitment process, candidates need the highest level of security clearance, which includes a home visit from a security officer.

During recruitment, candidates - who can expect a starting salary of around 20,100 - are also profiled for their suitability as operational or ‘running’ agents, who would carry out active duties such as surveillance and espionage.

Bartlett Scott Edgar, an employment specialist hired by MI5 to lead its recruitment drive, said the priorities of the service changed dramatically after September 11, 2001.

A spokeswoman said: "There was a massive increase in the number of people it was employing. It is really desperate for linguists.

"It was in Glasgow quite recently but it didn’t tell people it was going to be there ahead of the event. It would have had a stall and been standing around normally just like everyone else."

But the open policy has not extended to all UK universities, and not all of Scotland’s 13 are targeted, although the agency delicately refused to say which were excluded.

"We pick and choose a bit. Our research is across the board and we are aiming for diversity, but we don’t target all universities. We will usually go where we have managed to get people from before."

Those universities in Scotland that offer Arabic and Middle Eastern studies are particularly attractive to the agency. Edinburgh, which counts former MI5 director general Stella Rimington among its alumni, along with Glasgow and St Andrews, offer these courses.

Professor Yasir Suleiman, from Edinburgh’s Islamic and Middle Eastern studies department, said he was aware his students - who can choose to learn Arabic, Turkish or Persian - were being targeted. "I do know that it happens, but it is difficult to know how many people on our course go towards it," he said.

"The intelligence service has found itself wanting more people than are available on the job market, but at the same time it is branching out in languages that are not taught widely in the UK, so it is under a lot of pressure just now."

At St Andrews, careers advisers and academics told Scotland on Sunday increasing numbers of students were being recruited as intelligence agencies broaden their search beyond the traditional Oxford and Cambridge colleges.

Dr Richard Kimber, head of St Andrews’ Middle Eastern studies department, said: "Informally we hear about students who are working for the security services. There is a small flow of students of Arabic to GCHQ, the security services or the Foreign Office.

"From time to time I know people are applying, but I don’t know what the outcome is because they are not supposed to tell anyone."

Steven Scott, from the University of Glasgow careers service, said he was also aware of graduates who had entered the secret service. "It is a major graduate recruiter like any other and there is increasing communication between it and ourselves," he said.

"I definitely know that some of our graduates have been employed by MI5 and it is definitely recruiting more people because of the present climate."

Adverts for MI5 linguists have also appeared at Stirling University and the University of Abertay in Dundee.

Despite all this openness, old habits die hard in the service. A former security expert said behind-the-scenes recommendations still took place.

"It would be fair to say that talent spotting still goes on at university," he said. "I know of one or two people that have suggested they would like to be recommended.

"It works both ways - students will sometimes ask someone connected with the service to give them a recommendation.

"The services themselves still continue to lay great importance on individuals within universities who promote the idea to students. Sometimes a lecturer or careers adviser can suggest a career in the service to someone who is particularly promising, but this is not terribly different from what happens with big management consultancy firms."

One infamous graduate recruit was David Shayler, who joined MI5 as part of a post-Cold War recruitment drive to attract a new breed of non-public school, non-Oxbridge students.

At Dundee University, Shayler entered the service after replying to a national newspaper advert in 1991. But five years later he was jailed for seven weeks after breaking the conditions of the Official Secrets Act by condemning many of the service’s practices as illegal.

"I suppose it is being fair when it tries to play down the James Bond element in all its publicity," he said, commenting on the new openness. "It is quite a desk-based job and often not all that exciting.

"But there is a lot of stuff that still takes place behind the scenes, and I’m sure there is still regular contact with staff at universities."