Surrounded by auxiliaries, spy chief's kept time (6)

I believe the answer is:

amidst

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'surrounded by' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for amidst that I've seen before include "It's mad (anag.)" , "In the centre of" , "contained" , "Surrounded by" , "In the middle of the morning I would have a piece of crust" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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