The man at the centre of a political storm over his appointment as Britain's top spymaster is the former president of a society for gifted boys at Epsom College.

By naming John McLeod Scarlett as the next chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, last Thursday night, prime minister Tony Blair opened the door to charges of cronyism.

The present headteacher of Epsom College, however, has no doubts over Mr Scarlett's suitability to take over as "C". Stephen Borthwick met the current chairman of the government's Joint Intelligence Committee when he took an interest in future projects at the College Road site.

He said: "We are very proud of John Scarlett's achievements as the new head of MI6. It is always good news when someone reaches the pinnacle of their career and the fact that he has become involved with the school's development trust suggests he feels Epsom College helped him in his early days as a pupil at the college."

Evidence given by Mr Scarlett before the Hutton commission countered charges that Downing Street had "sexed up" the dossier on Iraq to bolster the case for going to war. It raised concerns that Mr Scarlett, 55, had become too close to Number 10.

The son of a doctor, Mr Scarlett attended Epsom College in the 1960s and was appointed president of an organisation called the XVI society which was for "particularly gifted boys". He won a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, before joining MI6 in 1973 and serving in Nairobi, Moscow and Paris.

He will take charge of MI6 on August 1 when Sir Richard Dearlove retires. In his new post in which he will reputedly earn £165,000 a year, Mr Scarlett will have to retreat to the shadows, giving neither interviews nor making public appearances.