UPDATE 1-BP names former UK MI6 spy chief as director

(Updates with UK government statement, details)

By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron Bousso

LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - BP has appointed Britain'sformer MI6 spy chief and veteran diplomat John Sawers as anon-executive board member in a development highlighting longrunning links between the British establishment and the oilmajor.

The appointment comes only weeks after the cabinet issued awarning saying it would oppose any potential takeover of BP asit wants the company to remain a national champion.

Britain's foreign office said it had accepted theapplication from Sawers to join BP on condition that "he shouldnot draw on privileged information available to him from histime in the secret service".

It also added that "Sawers should not become personallyinvolved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his newemployers, their parent companies or their clients" for twoyears from his last day of service, which was Nov 1, 2014.

The standard cooling off period is designed to address the "revolving-door" policy concerns when former spies embark on toproles at companies which can then exploit their knowledge.

Sawers was the head of Britain's MI6 secret intelligenceservice from 2009 to 2014. He had previously served as Britain'sambassador to the United Nations and has held a number of seniorgovernment roles in the Middle East, including in Egypt andIraq, where BP has large and growing operations.

MI6, cast by novelists as the employer of some of the mostmemorable fictional spies from John le Carre's George Smiley toIan Fleming's James Bond, operates overseas and is tasked withdefending Britain and its interests.

Sawers strongly resisted attempts by some politicians andjournalists to lift some of the secrecy surrounding MI6, whoseexistence Britain only publicly admitted in 1994.

Sawers is not the first top spy to move to BP -- Mark Allen,who was director of counter-terrorism at MI6, joined the majorsoon after retiring in 2004.

Other examples of top spies moving to the energy industryinclude Sawers' predecessor John Scarlett who was appointed as astrategic adviser to Norwegian energy company Statoil in May 2011.

In the United States, former top spies have often been hired by the oil services industry including CIA chiefs JohnDeutch who was a director with oil services giant Schlumberger and Robert Gates with Parker Drilling.

Russia's state oil giant Rosneft, in which BPholds around 20 percent, is run by Igor Sechin, a former spy anda close ally of President Vladimir Putin. (Reporting by Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing byJason Neely and Keith Weir)