MI6

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.

In this twenty-seventh edition of the Russian Newspapers Monitor, Professor Filip Kovacevic discusses the articles from four Russian newspapers: Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Izvestia, and Pravda. He discusses the U.S-NATO ad for the Russian language speakers to participate in NATO exercises in Germany, the U.S.-German public row over military spending increases, the potential motives for the terrorist attack in St.

Beginning a new series on the history of Al Qaeda, this week I provide the basis for what's coming in the next several episodes. What is or was Al Qaeda? Four distinct models have been proposed to try to answer this question so I outline each, drawing on the works of Rohan Gunaratna, Jason Burke/Adam Curtis, Nafeez Ahmed and Daniele Ganser.

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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.

From the Donald Trump school of naming things came The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World, a 1965 spoof of the James Bond movies. Like many 1960s spy thrillers The Second Best Secret Agent was on the radar of the CIA.(Read more...)

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.

Bush-loving liberals, 1930's-style gangsters and the Rockefellers’ barn + this day in history w/the Zapruder Film on TV and our song of the day by Spoon on your Morning Monarchy for March 6, 2017.

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