The legitimacy of deadly force usage from country to country is generally controlled by statute, particular and direct executive orders, the common law, or rules of engagement. Sir Richard Billing Dearlove, former head of the UKSecret Intelligence ServiceMI6, testified in court in 2007–2008's Diana, Princess of Walesinquest that it does grant a licence to kill, subject to a "Clause Seven authorisation" from the Foreign Secretary, but that there were no assassinations conducted under Dearlove's authority. Former MI6 agent Matthew Dunn stated that MI6 agents do not need a licence to kill as a spy's primary job is to violate the law in other countries, and if an agent is compromised, they are at the mercy of the authorities of that country. The idea of a licence to kill is popularly known from the James Bond novels and films, where it is signified by the "00" designation given to the agents in the series who are licensed to kill; Bond himself is famously agent 007. In literary portrayals, the licence is presumed to be a discretionary one, distributed rarely and requiring extensive training to obtain, granted only to a handful of covert agents of a state in the interest of national security. The agent is not necessarily expected to kill enemies as part of a mission, but may receive legal immunity from prosecution if in the agent's opinion, it became necessary to complete it.
Use outside of the Bond series
The concept was parodied as the spy-world equivalent of a driving licence, in The Venture Bros. episode "Mid-Life Chrysalis" in which O.S.I. agent Brock Samson tries to use his licence to identify himself as an agent only to discover it expired six months ago, subsequently forcing him to take an exam in order to get it renewed. In the episode, it is treated as both an agents' ID as well as their official licence to kill. In The Simpsons episode "Little Big Girl", Mayor Quimby offers Bart a licence to kill after he puts out a fire. The related series Futurama, set in the early 31st century, casually mentions licences to kill in the episode "Less Than Hero", suggesting they are readily available, though the applicant must specify bare-hands or with weapons. Hermes Conrad is uncertain which category best fits the use of piano wire. In the 2009 film "Black Dynamite", the titular characterBlack Dynamite, is shown having a licence to kill from the CIA. In Splinter Cell, this concept is called Fifth Freedom, based on the Four Freedoms articulated by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as means to protect them when other means have been exhausted. In practical terms, all methods are acceptable: whether it to be kill any person, torture for information, deploy on U.S. soil, or spy on other government agencies. In some Indian films, there have been protagonists that played the role of Indian Research and Analysis Wing agents who were granted the licence to kill.
