Special Branch

A History: 1883-2006

Ray Wilson

• Publisher: Biteback Publishing
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781849549103
• eBook ISBN:
  9781849549639
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Freedom
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Initially tasked with combatting the threat of Irish republican terrorists in the reign of Queen Victoria, the Metropolitan Police Special Branch went on to play a major role in the defence of the realm for over 120 years. Over time, 'the Branch', as it came to be known, assumed a much wider role, and was held responsible for monitoring the activities of anarchists, Bolsheviks and even the suffragettes. Later, it became the executive arm of MI5 in dealing with espionage cases, as (much to their frustration) the Security Service had no power to arrest potential spies. As the war against terrorism became more intense in the latter half of the twentieth century, Special Branch worked closely with the Anti- Terrorist Branch in tackling this new threat. Packed with accounts of extraordinary missions, life-saving acts of bravery and high-risk intelligence-gathering, Special Branch offers the first complete history of this unique, but now defunct, service, which was subsumed into the Counter-Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police in 2006. Special Branch veterans Ray Wilson and Ian Adams have brought this long and distinguished history to life with the help of recollections from former colleagues, as well as their own experiences of life in the Branch. In doing so, they have also illuminated the underlying friction marring its relations with the Security Service - without doubt a factor in its eventual demise.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface by Lord Peter Imbert CVO QPM DL
• Heads of Special Branch from 1883 to 2006
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Fenian Terrorism
• Chapter Two: Anarchists and Bolsheviks
• Chapter Three: The Suffragette Movement
• Chapter Four: Establishment
• Chapter Five: Protection
• Chapter Six: Naturalisation and Port Controls
• Chapter Seven: German Espionage and Subversive Pacifism in Great Britain
• Chapter Eight: The Rise and Fall of the Directorate of Intelligence
• Chapter Nine: The Secret Service Committee 1925
• Chapter Ten: The Irish Troubles 1919–23
• Chapter Eleven: The Communist Threat
• Chapter Twelve: The Reds in the Special Branch Bed
• Chapter Thirteen: Sedition, the Invergordon Mutiny and Elias versus Passmore
• Chapter Fourteen: The Business of Informing: Henri Le Caron, William Foster Watson and the Morning Post
• Chapter Fifteen: Fascism
• Chapter Sixteen: The 1939–40 IRA Bombing Campaign
• Chapter Seventeen: Soviet Espionage in the 1930s
• Chapter Eighteen: The War Years
• Chapter Nineteen: The Return of Peace
• Chapter Twenty: The Spying Season
• Chapter Twenty-One: Demonstrations and Public Order
• Chapter Twenty-Two: New Challenges
• Chapter Twenty-Three: A New Wave of IRA Terror in England
• Chapter Twenty-Four: The Diversity of Special Branch Work
• Chapter Twenty-Five: A Very Stressful Period
• Chapter Twenty-Six: Non-Irish Activities
• Chapter Twenty-Seven: Protection
• Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Perennial Irish Problem and Transfer of the Lead Role against the IRA to the Security Service
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright