British intelligence agencies
The
.The history of the organisations dates back to the 19th century. The decryption of the Zimmermann Telegram in 1917 was described as the most significant intelligence triumph for Britain during World War I,[1] and one of the earliest occasions on which a piece of signals intelligence influenced world events.[2] During the Second World War and afterwards, many observers regarded Ultra signals intelligence as immensely valuable to the Allies of World War II. In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, GCHQ interceptions of Soviet ship positions were sent directly to the White House.[3] Intelligence cooperation in the post-war period between the United Kingdom and the United States became the cornerstone of Western intelligence gathering and the "Special Relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States.[4]
National security community
Leadership
Coordination, analysis, and advice
The
Oversight
- Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament
- Investigatory Powers Tribunal
- Investigatory Powers Commissioner
- Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation
Agencies
Parent department | Agency | Description of role | Personnel | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Intelligence and security agencies |
Foreign Office | Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6)[8]
|
Covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence | 3,644[9] |
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)[10]
|
Signals intelligence, cryptanalysis and information assurance | 7,181[9] | ||
Home Office | Security Service (MI5)[11] | Counter-intelligence and internal security | 5,259[9] | |
Military intelligence | Ministry of Defence | Defence Intelligence (DI)[12] | All-source military intelligence gathering and analysis | 4,115[9] |
Domestic intelligence and security | Home Office | National Crime Agency (NCA)[13] | Organised crime intelligence gathering and analysis | 5,663[14] |
Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT)
|
Counter terrorism and protecting critical national infrastructure | 1,061[9] | ||
Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) | Modern slavery, trafficking, and organised crime | 120[15] | ||
National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB)[16] | Joint police unit addressing economic crime intelligence gathering and analysis | 90[17] | ||
National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS)[18] | Joint police unit providing illegal firearms intelligence analysis | 40[19] | ||
National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit (NDEDIU)[20] | Joint police unit covering counter extremism and public disorder intelligence gathering and analysis |
National centres of excellence
- HM Government Communications Centre (HMGCC)
- National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a child agency of GCHQ
- National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), a child agency of MI5
- FCDO Services
History
Origins
Organised intelligence collection and planning for the
The Committee of Imperial Defence, established in 1902, was responsible for research, and some co-ordination, on issues of military strategy.
First World War
The Secret Service Bureau was founded in 1909 as a joint initiative of the Admiralty and the War Office to control secret intelligence operations in the UK and overseas, particularly concentrating on the activities of the
The Naval Intelligence Division led the Royal Navy's highly successful cryptographic efforts, Room 40 (later known as NID25). The decryption of the Zimmermann Telegram was described as the most significant intelligence triumph for Britain during World War I,[1] and one of the earliest occasions on which a piece of signals intelligence influenced world events.[2]
The Imperial War Cabinet was the British Empire's wartime coordinating body.
Interwar
In 1919, the Cabinet's Secret Service Committee, recommended that a peacetime codebreaking agency should be created.
The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) was founded in 1936 as a sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence.[26]
Second World War
Following the outbreak of the
During the War, the RAF Intelligence Branch was established, although personnel had been employed in intelligence duties in the RAF since its formation in 1918.
The
The 1943 British–US Communication Intelligence Agreement,
Cold War
The Government Code and Cypher School was renamed the "
Wartime signals intelligence cooperation between the United Kingdom and the United States continued in the post-war period.[35] The two countries signed the bilateral UKUSA Agreement in 1948.[36] Later broadened to include Canada, Australia and New Zealand, known as the Five Eyes, as well as cooperation with several "third-party" nations, this became the cornerstone of Western intelligence gathering and the "Special Relationship" between the UK and the USA.[4] Since World War II, the chief of the London station of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has attended the Joint Intelligence Committee's weekly meetings. One former US intelligence officer has described this as the "highlight of the job" for the London CIA chief.[37] Resident intelligence chiefs from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand may attend when certain issues are discussed.[citation needed]
The Joint Intelligence Committee moved to the Cabinet Office in 1957 with its assessments staff who prepared intelligence assessments for the committee to consider.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, GCHQ Scarborough intercepted radio communications from Soviet ships reporting their positions and used that to establish where they were heading. A copy of the report was sent directly to the White House Situation Room, providing initial indications of Soviet intentions with regards the US naval blockade of Cuba.[3]
When the Ministry of Defence was formed in 1964, the Joint Intelligence Bureau, Naval Intelligence, Military Intelligence and Air Intelligence were combined to form the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS).[38] The DIS focussed initially on Cold War issues.[39]
As well as a mission to gather intelligence, GCHQ has for a long time had a corresponding mission to assist in the protection of the British government's own communications. Building on the work of
The Security Service Act 1989 established the legal basis of the Security Service (MI5) for the first time under the government led by Margaret Thatcher. GCHQ and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) were placed on a statutory footing by the Intelligence Services Act 1994 under the government led by John Major.
The
21st century
The Defence Intelligence Staff changed its name to Defence Intelligence (DI) in 2009.[39] Defence Intelligence has a unique position within the UK intelligence community as an 'all-source' intelligence function. The National Security Council (NSC) was established in 2010, reestablishing the central coordination of national security issues seen in the Committee of Imperial Defence.[42] The Joint Intelligence Organisation was formalised to provide intelligence assessment and advice on development of the UK intelligence community's analytical capability for the Joint Intelligence Committee and NSC.[43]
The National Crime Agency, established in 2013, gathers and analyses intelligence on serious and organised crime.[13] It was preceded by the National Drugs Intelligence Unit (1970s–1992), National Criminal Intelligence Service (1992–2006), and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (2006–2013).
Five other organisations which collect and analyse domestic intelligence within specific fields were formed under the authority of the
The
Budget
Single Intelligence Account
The Single Intelligence Account (SIA) is the funding vehicle for the three main security and intelligence agencies: the
Defence Intelligence
Defence Intelligence is integral part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is funded within the UK's defence budget.
Other agencies
The domestic intelligence and security organisations, including joint police units, described in the sections above are funded by the Home Office.
See also
- Club de Berne
- Information Research Department
- Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)
- List of intelligence agencies global list sorted by country
- Mass surveillance in the United Kingdom
- UK cyber security community
References
Citations
- ^ a b "Why was the Zimmerman Telegram so important?". BBC. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ a b "The telegram that brought America into the First World War". BBC History Magazine. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ a b Corera, Gordon (2019-10-21). "Scarborough's Cuban missile crisis role revealed". Retrieved 2019-10-21.
- ^ a b Adam White (29 June 2010). "How a Secret Spy Pact Helped Win the Cold War". Time.
- ^ "Sir Tim Barrow appointed as National Security Adviser". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ "National security and intelligence: About us". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ^ "National security and intelligence". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ^ "SIS (MI6)". SIS. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament "Annual Report 2021–2022"
- ^ "GCHQ Home page". GCHQ.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ^ "The Security Service". MI5. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ^ "Defence Intelligence - Detailed guidance - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ^ a b "Intelligence". National Crime Agency. Archived from the original on 2017-01-22. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
- ^ National Crime Agency "Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22"
- ^ "| GANGMASTERS LABOUR ABUSE AUTHORITY – MEMBERS". Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- ^ a b "General guide to the NFIB" (PDF). City of London Police. July 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
- ^ "NABIS - National Ballistics Intelligence Service". nabis.police.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ^ "Tracking firearms". The Economist. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ "National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit". National Police Chief's Council. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ Allen. The Foreign Intelligence Committee. p. 68.
- ^ "Obituary". Obituaries. The Times. No. 34523. London. 13 March 1895. col F, p. 10.
- ^ Johnson, 1997, p. 44
- ^ Johnson, 1997, p. 45 and Kahn, 1991, p. 82
- ISBN 978-0-304-36545-6.
- ISBN 9780748678570.
- ^ "How the British and Americans started listening in". BBC News. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ISBN 978-1-84354-331-2.
- ^ The original source for this quote is Gustave Bertrand, Enigma, p. 256, at the end of a short passage asserting the importance of Enigma-derived intelligence for Allied victory.
- ^ Winterbotham 1974, pp. 154, 191.
- ^ Hinsley 1996.
- ISBN 978-0-330-41929-1.
- ^ Dylan, p. xiii
- ^ Dylan, p. 31
- ^ "How the British and Americans started listening in". BBC. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Diary reveals birth of secret UK-US spy pact that grew into Five Eyes". BBC News. 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ "Why no questions about the CIA?". New Statesman. September 2003. Archived from the original on 2013-07-06.
- ^ Dylan, p. 184
- ^ a b "Defence Intelligence: Roles". Ministry of Defence. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ "British Document Outlines Early Encryption Discovery". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
The set of algorithms, equations and arcane mathematics that make up public key cryptography are a crucial technology for preserving computer privacy in and making commerce possible on the Internet. Some hail its discovery as one of the most important accomplishments of 20th-century mathematics because it allows two people to set up a secure phone call without meeting beforehand. Without it, there would be no privacy in cyberspace.
- ^ "Past Events: Aligning and Sustaining IT Infrastructure for Business Benefit". British Computer Society. 9 June 2005. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "The National Security Council". Institute for Government. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ "Joint Intelligence Organisation - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ^ "Launch of The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI)". Security Service. 1 February 2007. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ Margaret Rouse (February 2008). "Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI)". SearchSecurity.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ HM Government (1 November 2016). "National Cyber Security Strategy 2016-2021" (PDF). gov.uk. p. 29. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "About NPSA". www.npsa.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ SIS: Funding and financial controls Archived 2014-11-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2 March 2014.
- ^ GCHQ funding & financial controls Archived 2014-03-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2 March 2014.
- ^ "Funding | MI5 - The Security Service (2014)". Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ "Financial Statement 2017-18" (PDF). Security and Intelligence Agencies. p. 13. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
Bibliography
- Dylan, Huw (2014). Defence Intelligence and the Cold War: Britain's Joint Intelligence Bureau 1945-1964. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199657025.
- Hinsley, Sir Harry (1996) [1993], The Influence of ULTRA in the Second World War (PDF), retrieved 23 July 2012 Transcript of a lecture given on Tuesday 19 October 1993 at Cambridge University
- Johnson, John (1997). The Evolution of British Sigint: 1653–1939. HMSO. ASIN B002ALSXTC.
- ISBN 978-0-06-014678-8The first published account of the previously secret wartime operation, concentrating mainly on distribution of intelligence. It was written from memory and has been shown by subsequent authors, who had access to official records, to contain some inaccuracies.
External links
- The Secret History of GCHQ BBC documentary