When a journalist, author, politician and the former head of MI5 gather for a talk, there is only one person everyone wants to hear from – and so was the case with this talk, billed as a chance for the four guests to speak about their new books and whether the spies of fiction would cut it in the real world.

But after 20 minutes of pleasantries, the audience got stuck into what they had really come for: quizzing former spy master Dame Stella Rimington on the Cold War and more.

In a fascinating Q&A session, the originally M spoke of her elaborate cover stories, phone hacking and if torture was ever appropriate. Christmas parties at the neighbours, she said, were the most challenging and lying to a partner made relationships nigh on impossible for MI5 staff.

Phone hacking, meanwhile, she said was essential to keep the country safe and torture never acceptable.

Dressed rather un-spy like in a jumper with a kingfisher design, she went on to say how 9/11 was of little surprise and how when she retired from the service in 1996, the name Osama Bin Laden was barely known. The biggest threat that kept her awake at night was the IRA.

Touching briefly on her literary influences, the 79-year-old cited Le Carre, adding that following a stressful day at the office keeping the Russians at bay she would get home and “relax” with his latest release.

On less hectic days at the headquarters of British intelligence she even admitted to slipping the book into her case files for a few covert chapters.

While I could take or leave journalist and author James Naughtie, novelist Tom Rob Smith and politician and writer Liam Fox, Dame Rimington was the real star. And she didn’t disappoint.