MI5

21st Century Wire says…

The 1973 ITV documentary The Red Under the Bed helped convict the Shrewsbury 24 by accusing them of being communists for their role in leading the 1972 Building Workers Strike.

21st Century Wire says…
According to London’s counter-terrorism unit, Khalid Masood the man named in the Westminster Bridge and Parliament Square attacks has no ties to terror and “no extremist tendencies.”
QUESTION: If the English teaching Masood didn’t have ties to ISIS or al-Qaeda and wasn’t believed to have extremist tendencies – then why did British security services take a keen interest in him as they had previously declared?

21st Century Wire says…
British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said today on The Andrew Marr Show that technology companies should no longer be able to provide encrypted messaging services that cannot be accessed in emergencies by the security services.

21st Century Wire says…
Earlier today a knife attacker was shot by armed police after a car mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and charged the gates of parliament, in what police are treating as a terrorist incident.
Police have now confirmed that five people have now died as a result of Wednesday’s attack and 40 people have been injured. The lockdown of Westminster is over, police have confirmed.

In 1980 the BBC's documentary series Panorama began developing an episode on British intelligence. This was the first of its kind, at least by such a prominent and respected series, but both the central government and the intelligence agencies were not happy. Over a period of several months they put pressure on the BBC, trying to stop the programme from being broadcast.

In the summer of 1980 the BBC's flagship documentary series Panorama was developing a TV special about British intelligence. This was the first film of its kind, and perhaps unsurprisingly Thatcher's government was not happy about it. Downing Street put pressure on the film-makers via BBC Director-General Ian Threthowan, and an MI5 lawyer previewed the film and provided detailed feedback on what to remove.

Richard Whiteley is best known for presenting the popular afternoon quiz show Countdown, and Ricky Tomlinson is best known for starring in the popular sitcom The Royle Family. Back in the 1970s things were very different. This week we examine Tomlinson's recent allegation that Whiteley was a 'member' of the security services, due to his role presenting an 1973 documentary that influenced the trial of the Shrewsbury 24 - including Tomlinson.

A nation’s intelligent service and secret police is only as good as its mission. Unless its soul mission is to protect public safety, such an organisation has outlived its usefulness.

Spies is the 'new' game show from Channel 4. I say 'new' because it's a blow-for-blow remake of the 2004 BBC series Spy, which also took a small group of members of the public and had three former spooks put them through their paces via a series of tests and training exercises.