Annie and David each came to MI5 by different routes in the early 90s. She successfully sat the FO entrance exam after graduation and working for a small publishing house, and he entered, after graduation and a spell at The Sunday Times as a trainee reporter.
Annie received a letter on MOD-headed notepaper, which suggested mysteriously: "There may be other jobs you would find more interesting". It added no further information, but included a number to call. Annie’s first reaction was: "Oh, Christ! It's MI5”.
She rang the number and was invited to an interview in an anonymous building in Tottenham Court Road in London. Her recruiting officer, "Daphne Green" was a
30-somethingish woman with hair down to her waist and a layered, hippy skirt. Annie found this image reassuring, but later found that she was something of a maverick and not at all representative of women officers.
David was attracted by an advert in The Independent that said, simply: “Godot isn't coming”, and asked if he was interested in current affairs, had common sense and an ability to write. Later, when he too had been invited for an interview, (it must have been in the same anonymous building, but when he arrived it was disused), about a year later in 1991, in which David met his recruiter, who was "the epitome of the patrician, intelligence officer, tall, thin, swept-back silver hair and dressed in a chalk striped suit.” It's obviously advisable after interviews in places like this, not to leave anything behind. An umbrella, say, or even a laptop and have to go back for it - a tentative knock at the door, only to be told by a helpful passer-by: "It's an empty building, mate!". "Yes, but. . ."
Annie says:
"Even during our first year in MI5, it was becoming obvious to David and me, that MI5 was not like its portrayal in books or the media. Nor was it the scrupulously law-abiding service it told us it was.”
Soon they were to learn of the abuses of power which were widespread within the service. Since the 1990s, MI5 had been put on a legal footing, and its staff were expected to work within the confines of the law.
In Spycatcher, Peter Wright was able to boast that the service was "bugging and burgling its way around London" in the Sixties. Annie and David found that when they joined, little had changed. Even the former head of MI5, Dame Stella Rimington, in publicity interviews for her book, Open Secret, showed that she was insensitive to the illegalities of the service:
"I still thought the essence of the Cold War and spies and stuff was fun", she said. "You know, going around listening to people's phones and opening their mail and stuff"
The Human Rights Act (HRA) provides a number of reasons why a security service is allowed to invade the privacy of an individual. The standard is "necessary in a democracy." It does not include 'fun'.
Dame Stella admitted that files were opened on individuals who posed no threat to the state,
undermining previous assurances that files were opened only on members of subversive organisations. One could conclude that this was an example of petty state paranoia, well, either that or alternatively on the part of the individual who opened the file on, for example, former Prime Minister Edward Heath, Mark Thomas (comedian) or Gary Bushell (journalist).
What became of real concern to both Annie and David were the serious abuses of power and examples of such violations are given detailed coverage in the book. A Guardian journalist was wrongly identified as laundering money on behalf of the Libyan government, and helping to fund terrorism in the UK. MI6 was caught red-handed supplying an Indian terrorist organisation with weapons and ammunition. An MI6-backed Al Qaeda cell in Libya had attempted to assassinate Col Gaddafy, but targeted the wrong man, and killed innocent civilians. MI5 wanted to lock up innocent people on trumped up charges. All are clearly examples of services failing to do their job.
After five years of living and working with this growing number of examples of abuses of power hidden by government citing national security, Annie and David decide to go public and take on the services. On 27 September, 1996, they both resigned, and took up new jobs in separate management consultancies. But here is where one story ends and another begins. David went public in the Mail on Sunday with a list of disclosures in August 1997. The Met police special branch shortly after the piece appeared announced that it was investigating possible breaches of the OSA (Official Secrets Act) perhaps because of the story David had recounted about the endemic drinking culture within MI5, which saw one officer almost blow the cover of an operation against a suspected Czech intelligence officer, and another falling asleep regularly at his desk, after lunchtime drinking sessions.
Annie and David's story is told from their deciding to flee the country to avoid immediate arrest, to Annie's arrest for the absurd charge of money laundering (having a shared bank account with David) to David's arrest and trial. This is clearly a security service whose motto Regnum Defende, Defence of the Realm (sometimes amended by insiders to Rectum Defende -Protect your Backside) is clearly in need of some changes.
This is an important book, calling for major reforms to be made within the agencies in the secret world of the British state. It is also a brave book, written by two courageous people. May it, and they, do well.
In February 2004 Dr John Reid stated there were 'rogue elements' within our intelligence services, even the Queen talked about 'dark forces'. It is clear, say the authors, that there are officers from MI5 and MI6 who are working to their own agenda rather than the protection of this country, its people and its democracy. Annie ends, chillingly, "What you have read in this book is only the tip of the iceberg."
Review by Michael Harries of the 9/11 Truth Movement