Sir John Sawers is due to take over as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in November, putting him in charge of all Britain's spying operations abroad.

But another side of the spy chief was revealed on his wife's Facebook account - including details about where they live and work, and who their friends are.

The page also included a pictures of Sawers in his swimming costume.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper printed pictures and family information it had obtained from Facebook pages attributed to his wife, Lady Shelley Sawers.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said the information had been removed from Facebook, while British foreign secretary David Miliband played down the information leak.

Speaking on BBC television, Mr Miliband described Sawers as an "outstanding professional'' and brushed off the story.

"He was appointed 10 days ago to be the head of MI6; he's an outstanding professional who will do a really good job in an outstanding organisation that does a huge amount for this country,'' Miliband said.

"The fact that there's a picture (showing) that the head of the MI6 goes swimming. Wow, that really is exciting.

"It is not a state secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks. For goodness' sake, let's grow up.''

Sawers was named last month as the new head of its MI6 foreign intelligence service, who is traditionally known by his James Bond-style moniker, C.