The government launched legal proceedings to stop the book being published in Australia, but lost the action in 1987. A review in 1974 by Lord Trend, a former cabinet secretary, found there was no evidence to show that Hollis had been a Soviet agent. One of his most sensational claims was that Sir Roger Hollis, the former head of MI5, was a Soviet agent. He also alleged agents burgled and bugged the embassies of hostile countries and allies. Peter Wright’s 1987 memoir Spycatcher lifted the lid on the British intelligence services. Wright claimed that he was a member of a small group of MI5 officers who plotted to try to force the resignation of the Labour prime minister Harold Wilson because of their suspicions he was a communist spy. After retiring to Australia, he wrote his memoirs, which alleged illegal activities by the security services. Wright was a senior MI5 officer from 1955 to 1976. It has been accused of wasting public funds in a legal battle over the personal diaries of Lord and Lady Mountbatten in which costs are expected to exceed £600,000. It is the latest controversy involving the Cabinet Office and freedom of information laws. They initially said the request was “vexatious” because of the amount of work involved in collating the files and redacting any sensitive material. ![]() Most government documents are released after 30 years, but officials have cited various exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act to block publication of the Spycatcher files. “It is a waste of public money over documents which should be in the public domain.” “They have behaved appallingly, as if the law does not apply to them,” he said. Tim Tate, an award-winning documentary-maker and author who is seeking access to the files, accuses officials of withholding documents that may cause political embarrassment. ![]() ![]() Details of Wright’s disclosures and the mostly futile attempts by Margaret Thatcher’s government to quash publicity of Wright’s revelations are detailed in 32 files containing government documents from 19.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |