Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5. Christopher Andrew

Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5



Download Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5



Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 Christopher Andrew ebook pdf
Publisher:
Language: English
Page: 828
ISBN: 0307275817, 9780307272911

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A Q&A with Christopher Andrew

Question: Where does "MI5" come from?

Christopher Andrew: MI5 originally stood for "Military Intelligence [Department] 5." The Secret Service Bureau (SSB) was formed in 1909 to counter the danger to Britain from German espionage, and the division of the SSB responsible for counter-espionage within the British Isles became Department 5, or "MI5." MI5 was renamed the Security Service in 1931, but is still commonly known as MI5 today.

Question: Where is MI5 based?

Christopher Andrew: MI5's staff, headed by Director General Jonathan Evans, is largely based in their headquarters at Thames House in London. They also have eight regional offices around Great Britain plus a Northern Ireland headquarters. The Service is organized into seven branches, each with specific areas of responsibility, which work to counter a range of threats including terrorism, espionage and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Question: What happened to MI1-MI4?

Christopher Andrew: There were a number of departments within the Directorate of Military Intelligence (MI1 through MI19) which dealt with a range of issues. For example, MI1 was responsible for code-breaking, and MI2 handled Russian and Scandinavian intelligence. The responsibilities of these departments were either discontinued or absorbed into The War Office, MI5 and MI6 and, later, the Government Communications Headquarters.

Question:What is the difference between MI5 and MI6?

The Security Service (MI5) is the UK’s security intelligence agency, responsible for protecting the UK, its citizens and interests, at home and overseas, against the major threats to national security. The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) is primarily responsible for gathering intelligence outside the UK in support of the government's security, defence, foreign and economic policies.

Question: How realistic is the depiction of MI5 in the television series Spooks ( here in the United States)?

Christopher Andrew: The BBC's Spooks is a slickly-produced and entertaining drama, but, like other works of spy fiction, it glamorizes the world of intelligence. The nature of MI5's work can be stimulating and highly rewarding (as the show's strapline declares, it is not "9 to 5"), but the program does not portray the full range of their activities, nor the routine, but vitally important, aspects of their operations which would not make such exciting viewing. Particularly unrealistic is the way in which the characters in Spooks regularly act outside the law in pursuit of their investigations!

(Photo © Michael Jones)

--This text refers to the

edition.

From

Commissioned by Britain’s Security Service, the formal name of MI5, this history unrolls under the reputable authorship of a veteran scholar on intelligence. Two motifs dominate Andrew’s work: specific domestic security investigations and MI5’s organizational evolution in terms of personnel and leadership. Headed for its first three decades by its founder, Vernon Kell, MI5 earned its spurs in World War I by detecting German spies. The interwar years, Andrew recounts, were not MI5’s best; failing to identify Soviet agents who penetrated MI5 itself, it suffered disruptive internal investigations until the 1970s. However, its successes against Nazi spies in World War II raised its reputation, which has generally remained high ever since with British prime ministers, except for the two Harolds, Macmillan and Wilson, who suspected MI5 of connivance against their administrations. Acquitting MI5 from accusations of domestic political interference, Andrew concludes with accounts of recent decades’ cases of countersubversion, counterespionage, and counterterrorism. An important publication, this history will become part of the foundation of any collection on the history of intelligence agencies. --Gilbert Taylor
--This text refers to the

edition.



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