Customer Reviews

The Circus: Mi5 Operations, 1945-1972

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Just like the title implies, Mr. West paints a sometimes comical, sometimes tragic portrayal of the circus-like "intelligence" blunders of the British Mi5 operations of the post-WWII period. There are three most interesting thoughts brought forth. One is the sheer quantity of cases of betrayal. In a practical sense, one may then wonder whether active espionage is worthwhile at all, since it appears to become a means of facilitating espionage against the nation engaged in active espionage in the first place. Secondly, one can picture the agonizing and miserably twisted lives that the individuals involved lead - something that only LeCarre's purported 'fictional' accounts can do justice. Espionage, counter-espionage, secrecy, years of covert operations, etc.; all these are foreign and seem to run counter to the most basic and endemic of human traits. Lastly, perhaps the most contradictory aspects of the whole spying business: the question of "what the real truth is". Is "Agent X" really a double agent, sanctioned by the head of F-branch, but because of the extreme secrecy required, not even the head of Mi5 has knowledge of the operation (or so it is thought). More importantly, does the other side know the real story, and are they feeding "Agent X" useless information and what information is our agent feeding his other side's counterpart ... but on a more important note, is the head of Mi5 a sleeper mole from the other side??!! Superposed on this logical absurdity, is the fact that as soon as the service finds out whether an agent has homosexual proclivities the truth becomes crystal clear ... of course ...

An interesting and eye-opening book - a good survey of the espionage landscape which should prompt the reader to seek out other books on some of the many cases discussed in "The Circus." I am disappointed in Mr. West from the point of view he did not delve deeper in the details and background of the cases. Perhaps he may regale us with more of his insights (if he is still alive!)

This book has a history of MI5 from 1945 to 1973. MI5 is the secret agency that handles counter-espionage in British territories. MI6 handles espionage or "intelligence" in foreign countries. Chapter 1 tells about their operations in the last year of WW II. The Labor government, remembering the Zinoviev Letter, put a regular policeman in charge. Chapter 2 tells how an "autobiography" can be created and published for political purposes. And how decryption of Soviet messages pointed to spies, but this decryption had to be kept secret. New security checks were started for civil servants, and improved. The policy of American anti-imperialism in the 1950s annoyed the British. Chapter 3 tells how the defection of the Petrovs was used for advantage in the national election (p.89). Success came from secret wiretaps on Soviet cables. Pages 106-7 tell how information from Washington got a conviction in Britain! One of the greatest sources of information came from a KGB defector who identified MI6 traitors (Chapter 5). While MI5 had run the successful double-cross system against Germany, it was less successful against the Soviets. Did the KGB have agents there?

Chapter 6 tells how MI5 used Stephen Ward to supply girls, then abandoned him when he outlived his usefulness. This caused the Profumo Scandal and the fall of the MacMillan government. [Was there more to this story than given here?] The effects of other Soviet defectors are explained in Chapter 7. The KGB could reveal a spy when it suited their purposes. The leak about a defector was assumed to come from the KGB; but in fact it came from the CIA (p.189)! The hunt of Soviet moles is continued in Chapter 8. Better background investigations could have eliminated the spies. The unsuccessful search for a Soviet mole caused problems for MI5. In Chapter 9 new officials continued the hunt for a suspected traitor, going back to World War I when there was a large number of new people after the Bolshevik Revolution. One retired MI6 officer sold information to the Abwehr in the 1930s (p.229). Suspicion fell on a retired Deputy Director General, but no proof was found. There is the curious case where the KGB kidnapped a Soviet physicist in Britain (pp.269-270). One example of recruitment through blackmail is on page 271. The defection of Soviet military officers in 1968 was followed by the suicides of West German military officers (pp.273-274). Did Lord Mountbatten plan a coup d'etat against the Wilson government (p.286)?

Chapter 10 ends this story, explaining the decisions in appointing a new Director-General of MI5 (p.297). The 'D' branch found most of its spies from defector's stories, few from their investigations. {How does this compare to other services?] There were two types of spies. Those who were ideologically motivated had researchable connections. Opportunists for money are harder to find. The author contrasts Britain to the United States (pp.306-307). Other Western intelligence agencies had self-destructive mole hunts (p.309), but MI5 was reluctant to admit the possibility of a problem. A bureaucratic institution will hide its problems. The KGB are masters at decoy and deception to protect their valuable agents (pp.310-311). Will we see an updated version?