Spy Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer

by Peter Wright, Paul Greengrass

Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer is a memoir written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. Wright drew on his own experiences and research into the history of the British intelligence community. Published first in Australia, the book was banned in England (but not Scotland) due to its allegations about government policy and incidents. These efforts ensured the book's notoriety, and it earned considerable profit for Wright.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Espionage, Biography, Memoir, Politics, Autobiography

496 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 31, 1987

About the author

Peter Maurice Wright was the principal scientific officer for MI5, the British counter-intelligence agency. His book Spycatcher, written with Paul Greengrass, became an international bestseller with sales of over two million copies. Spycatcher was part memoir, part exposé of what Wright claimed were serious institutional failings in MI5 and his subsequent investigations into those. He is said to have been influenced in his counterespionage activity by James Jesus Angleton, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) counterintelligence chief from 1954 to 1975

Reviews

[Paul Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoirs of a high-ranking MI5 operative, written in 1987 on his retirement to Tasmania. Motive pecuniary (and partly revengeful?), as the British government had withheld his pension on a technicality and he needed the royalties.

Thatcher’s government tried to suppress the book, but were unsuccessful.

Among other things we learn:

- There were many freemasons in MI5, at least in Wright’s day (Wright disapproved of this).

- MI5 vetted employees of other departments, but their own security checks were lax, so they were easily infiltrated by Communist agents like Blunt etc.

- MI5 frequently broke the law (as most or all such organisations probably do), operating on the ‘eleventh commandment’, Thou Shalt Not Get Caught.

- MI5 and MI6 really hated each other.

- Wright strongly believes (and produces some evidence) that former MI5 head Roger Hollis was a Communist agent.

- Many Soviet ‘defectors’ were actually disinformation plants.

- MI5 once launched a madcap scheme to pickpocket (!) all known KGB operatives in London, in order to make them feel harried.

- MI5 once spied on Khrushchev’s hotel room, only to witness him preening for hours in front of the mirror as he decided which tie to wear.

- The Venona codebreaks revealed massive Soviet espionage in America in the late 1940s, vindicating Senator Joseph McCarthy.

- Wright wanted to plant booby-trapped detonators on the Provisional IRA, but management took fright at this.

- By the 1970s, MI5 was filled with generic data-processors (bug men), and in Wright’s words, “all the fun had gone”. The bug men didn’t honour a gentleman’s agreement regarding his pension, so he published this memoir to fund his retirement.

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the British Government hadn't tried to ban this book, the memoirs of a former counter-intelligence agent, I would never have read it. And the same probably goes for most of the two million odd people who bought it. You'd think they'd have learned by now, wouldn't you?

It's not brilliantly written or anything, but there are some startling anecdotes. I challenge anyone not to feel just a little bit paranoid afterwards. The one I liked best was the suspect who goes away for the weekend. They break into his room, take apart every single object to look for microfilm and other concealed goodies, then put it all back again exactly as it was before. He never suspects a thing. Creepy, and apparently true!

[Mike Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember the reports in the Press about this book when it first came out. Efforts to smear Harold Wilson; the allegation that Sir Roger Hollis the former Director of MI5 was a Soviet agent - to name but a few. Margaret Thatcher trying to ban it.

Peter Wright (former MI5 Intelligence Officer and Assistant Director) comes over in his writing as a pretty disillusioned and at times petty guy. Not helped by the fact that MI5 reneged on honouring a pension agreement. The book is a torrent of names - double agents, Russian, Czech spies and of course our own ‘Apostles.’ The Cambridge spies - Burgess, Maclean, Philby, Blunt et al. Wright details his scientific approach to bugging his way around the diplomatic offices of most countries.

Some of the information beggars belief. Wright recounts his vetting process:

‘We moved onto my personal life. He danced around the subject until finally he asked:
‘Ever been queer by any chance?’
‘Never in my life.’
‘Have you ever been approached by anyone to do clandestine work?’
‘Only by you,’
He tried to laugh, but it was clearly a line he had heard a thousand times before. He unlocked his desk drawer and gave me a form to fill in with details of next of kin. I was vetted. No wonder it was so easy for Philby, Burgess, Maclean and Blunt.

It surprised me that after Blunt was outed as a spy that Wright spent 6 years debriefing him. Of course each name took me to Wikipedia and another spiral down the rat hole look at shady people and times. Also leading me to a free pdf by Nigel West ‘ The A-Z of Sexspionage’ which I will get round to one day.

In the meantime my love of the spy genre has been rekindled by a mate now living in Switzerland. He sent me 6 books by Mick Herron to read. ‘Slow Horses’ I have already ticked off and passed to my wife. As I start on ‘Dead Lions.’ Life is good😉

[Gail Carriger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for research not pleasure. I've various thoughts on it, so please excuse me for being scattered and simply reviewing it with bullet points as opposed to full sentences?

* It's not very good as a page-by-page read. The writing is dense and non-linear in an Odyssey way. I had to take it in bite sized chunks, as if it were a textbook.
* Every time a new character is introduced Mr. Wright sidetracks to tell us background or a story about an incident gone wrong involving that person or some such that often takes pages, by which time I've entirely forgotten why we were meeting this character to begin with.
* What this book is good for is insight into the early British MI5 mindset. The kind of mindset that allowed the Cambridge spies to succeed.
* If you don't know anything about the Cambridge spy ring of WWII, I suggest you learn something BEFORE picking up this book, or most of Spycatcher will make no sense whatsoever. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridg...
* Wright has a wonderful way of describing people's physicality and personality, from a purely authorial point of view he is marvelous. As a writer it's worth checking out his technique as it could be easily applied to fiction. "He was tall and thin, with a pinched goatlike face, and strange affected tiptoed walk." pg. 318
* When he does get on to the details of some operation or another, especially the failed ones (i.e. pg. 89) it's quite fascinating. Particularly if you are interested in espionage before the age of computers and super technology. 007 this is most certainly NOT.
* Some of his descriptions of the internal workings of the establishment are as convoluted as the establishment itself. Visual aids would have been as welcome as they were unlikely.
* What a wonderful movie might be made from the information in this book, Spooks meets Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy meets Mad Men. Fab!
* Furnival Jones be one of the best names ever.
* Ever heard of the brilliant American cryptologist Meredith Gardener? No? Me neither. Ah forgotten female heroes.
* I particularly enjoyed the bit about when one of the very Gay spies was tasked with wooing of Clarissa Churchill, "scarcely better looking then her uncle." (pg. 306)
* His description of the concentric rings of secrecy involving the Cambridge spies and why and how they managed to keep their secrets is possibly the best bits in the book. It's a window not only into spy culture, but into aristocratic and homosexual culture of Britain in the 1930s.

My verdict? I'm glad I read it, but I wish the information had been better organized.

[Mike Winters · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s worth reading, of that I’ve no doubt. It gave me both an insight and cause for reflection.

Peter Wright was an intelligent and perceptive individual. His work with the counter-intelligence branch of the security service did much to help protect our national security and for that he should be continually thanked.
His suspicions over the identity of the top level double-agent within MI5 although unproven are worth consideration and I believe, having read this and the books by Harry Chapman Pincher, to be valid.
What is worth note, and is mentioned by other reviewers, Peter Wright, in this, came across as very sure of himself. I will concede to the fact that during his employ - and it does continue to this day - our national security was/is under threat; does that justify the use of any means available?
We do not resort to the methods used by the opposition: torture and the like.
We do (or at least did), according to Wright - with a good splash of self satisfaction - “burgle our way across London”: without oversight, judicial review and in some cases ‘on-a-hunch’.
I was left a little perturbed.
We are privileged to live in a country where rule of law is a sacrosanct and founding principle of our constitution and central to a free and fair society. It is only free, reasoned and open debate that will defend against tyranny. We must be free to speak out without fear of being silenced.

Without fear of being burgled and bugged.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all the things I will take from this, the ‘burgling your way across London’ is the most memorable.

I’m amazed by the entire account - what ‘they’ did, what ‘they’ failed at, what ‘they’ saw as a success and how ‘they’ managed their day-to-day business.

Appartently, ‘We [the British] are the best in the business when it comes to Secret Intelligence.

Eek !!!

[Meri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this one in two days. I thought espionage movies are interesting, but was blown away by how much more intrigue, deceit, and flashy gadgets there are in the true stories!

Peter Wright was recruited into MI5 following World War II as their first staff scientist. He began in signals technology, designing new methods for detecting and decrypting soviet signals. A rising star, he quickly moved on to counterintelligence, where he spends the remainder of his career trying to ferret out moles in the system. Despite the ultimate futility of his work--every time he finds a mole, evidence of more arises--and what it means for the effectiveness of his organization, Wright passionately pursues his work, though near the end he admits to feeling like he is surrounded by enemies.

The characters in Wright's memoir are larger than life, as spies in the movies never are. There's Pete Harvey, a volatile, alcoholic CIA agent who wears cowboy boots and calls Wright a limey bastard. Anthony Blunt, cultured intellectual with a history for passionate love affairs with fellow spies (mostly men) who lives in quiet luxury after confessing to large scale espionage (Britian has a habit of granting moles immunity if they confess). And Jim Angleton, whose passion for his work and belief that the great game can be won leaves him looking more emaciated each time Wright sees him.

The sheer volume and stature of the moles Wright finds, some of whom are department directors, left me with the initial impression that the entire business of espionage, especially counterespionage, is futile and self defeating. Not only is it impossible to have a large number of people keep a secret, but the work itself damages the people who do it. Few can be in the business of deception and distrust without eventually becoming paranoid, deceitful, or misanthropic.

On the other hand, wiretaps and double agents were the weapons of the Cold War. Though it was, as Wright put it, just a great game, it's a far less destructive way to fight a war than with bombs and guns.

[Gisela · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this, I think, is the most informative book on the life of real spies and real spying I’ve had the pleasure to read. I was especially happy to get my hands on this, as the author decided to hide from Maggie T ‘down under’ and everyone’s mate, ‘Malky Turncoat Turnbull’, represented the ‘fugitive’ in the courts; here in my back yard.

There’s loads in here about the nefarious goings on in MI-5 and other ‘spy camps’.

All the suspicions about Roger Hollis being or not being a Russian spy is really interesting: it happened years ago, so arguing (debating) over it now is just good fun.

What intrigued me (I’m sure this still goes on) is the rivalry that festered in the different camps:

In Britain: ‘The agent-running sections [of MI-5] used [foreign] agents in London to recruit others in their host countries and enabled MI-5 to compete directly with MI-6, much to their [MI-6's] irritation.’

In the USA: ‘Hoover vehemently opposed the establishment of the CIA after the war, and maintained open hostility to it throughout the 1950s. The CIA treated the G-men with arrogant disdain. The only thing that united the two was their shared determination to thwart the NSA wherever possible.’

I do think this is an unvarnished account of what went on (that is arguable). Maybe if Maggie had had a word and got him paid his ‘rightful’ pension, this book would never have made it to the printers.

It’s a good read, and there is lots and lots of little bits in here that do get you thinking,……

The author states: Lenin said to Feliks Dzerzhinsky, [of Cheka and OGPU fame], “The west are wishful thinkers, we will give them what they want to think.” For those of you ‘on here’ who know me; who was it that said that, while wagging a finger at a young man who had tangled with an octopus?

It do give cause for contemplation.

[Alexw · Rating 4 out of 5]

While showing the British Secret Service burglaries and foiled attempt to assassinate the ruler of Egypt, Nassar was eye-opening, these facts failed in comparison to the many exposed Russian double agents in the British Secret Service.
This book was banned in Britain because it showed how inept the Service was for allowing the double agents to spy for Russia for many years and if the author, Wright ever returned to Britain, he would be brought up on charges of violating the British Secret Service Act.
While some paragraphs are lost in bureaucratic abbreviations (you will have to read the book to find out what GKNIIR stands for) overall, this non-fiction book merits a 4-star rating.

[Anaszaidan · Rating 5 out of 5]

سأضع مراجعتي بالإنجليزية، ثم بعدها بالعربية

The book is not like any book .. It is the Wiki leaks of the generation of our ancestors .. The quantity of secrets made by the author can hardly be seen in any book . No wonder that Magritte Thatcher , Prime Minister of Britain at that time , tried to prevent the release of the book under the pretext of protecting National secrets , but no avail .

The book begins with a bit boring biography , until it enters in a statement how he joined the so-called MI5 .

The gate to join is the know-how to develop spying technology excels on the abilities of enemies of Britain .. Peter Wright has developed the technology to spy on individuals and embassies . The work of Wright developed and entered in the field work , of the follow-up of a spy who sends encrypted radio signals to the Russians , to plant microphones inside embassies and inside the houses and the headquarters of the British Communist Party members .

The details contained operations that are abundant . He speaks of a small detail of all the operations .. But more , to talk about the direct narrative of an interview to talk about developments in espionage techniques .

The talk axis was about Russian superiority in the middle of the thirties .. Resulted in recruiting important spies who are originally British of the upper class working in Britain's intelligence agencies .. Whom Burgess and Maclean and Kim Filby .. This latter is the son of Haji Abdullah Philpy who was sent by the British to spy on King Abdul Aziz .. And he announced his conversion to Islam and called himself Abdullah after sitting with Abdul Aziz .. Redundant role as the Egyptians say .

This superiority resulted in a breakthrough for the MI5 of spies since the thirties to mid-fifties ... This superiority pushed the author of the book to struggle in search of what makes him to reach other spies .. Authors talk about how his pursuit of any thread that might solve the case .

I noticed in the book many things which are :
Who wants to think like the devil should read this book .. It is a great deal of savvy who can put the possibilities and suspicion of all that is mysterious to him . But more than this , is what is narrated by the author of the stash arms dealer to sell mined arms with microphones to Cypriots gangs wanting independence from British .. So he gathered between the human element and the technical element of spying .

There is also a continuous and frequent talk about technology and using them since the times . As if the belief that the solution lies in technology was common at the time . While it has been popularized in the media in 1998 after the bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar el Salaam , to talk about wasting human potential , compared to the technical potential . It may be the last speech of media consumption , but it remains an indicator that should be verified for those dating trends of espionage .

Britain's relationship with America in the fifties and sixties was as the relationship between the younger brother and his older brother . When British suspicion of any person of intelligence as a source to Russian , Americans kept informed about it before and after the interrogation of the suspect .

I've caught my eyes transient words of the author , who was said by an employee after he began presiding over the department in the MI5 , " Are you a Freemason? " .. When he answered negatively , the employee told him that he wouldn’t reach the highest positions unless he was a Mason . Frankly .. This is the first time I had seen a man of intelligence talking about Freemasonry as an effective force .. This talk could be heard among the sons of our people who have made the Masons control the destinies of human beings , but to hear it from my intelligence agents , it is rare in my readings .. it is the only one that took place between my hands .

The author also spoke about his relationship with an important man of Rothschild family known by control of the global gold market , Vicor .. He had a high political office , but he was not authorized to know the secrets of the MI5 . This man was reading a lot of secrets of that device , and offers advice and facilities for the author of the book . This refers to something important in monarchies ... Which is the presence of dignitaries and the families of guaranteed loyalty , who are one of the pillars of consolidating the Monarchy.. And they had an audible opinion , and maybe they were men of crisis for the Monarchy . Victor Rothschild it seems that he had been one of the important columns of the solution to the problems of the Royal Family in Britain .

The author also spoke about the genesis of British spies in favor of Russian .. Most of them studied in Oxford .. And their gathering was built on homosexuality , which was an outcast .. This anomaly was overgrow leftist ideology .. As the author says .

Remarkably , that some of the political currents that have rattling and bluster has begun in some areas of the idea or sexual tendencies .. I remember that the Lebanese poet Shawqi Bazi said in Al-Hayat newspaper that he had been registered in the Lebanese Communist Party , because there is beautiful girls , one wants to look at them , a smile , and then a rendezvous .

I thought about how much of ideas that began as sexual inclinations , and ended by an intellectual puny boundless theory for what is under belt .

The Author through investigating in some of the issues .. had read the English translation of the diary of a Russian spy wife . He then decided to read the book in his own language .. French . He discovered an important information that the translation has missed . This illustrates the size of the devotion which investigator should possess .

The book is valuated even among spy books ..Its details don’t resemble the details of any book I read .. But the book of intelligence and the world with its five-volume for Saeed AlJazaery remains the favorite for me , and the most important for those who want to identify the world of espionage .

كتاب لا يشبه اي كتاب..فهو ويكيليس جيل أسلافنا..فكمية الأسرار التي أدلى بها المؤلف لا تكاد تراها في أي كتاب.فلا عجب أن تحاول ماجريت ثاتشر رئيسة وزراء بريطانيا في ذلك العصر، منع صدور الكتاب بحجة حماية أسرار قومية..ولكن دون جدوى.

الكتاب يبدأ بسيرة ذاتية مملة بعض الشيء، حتى يدخل في بيان كيفية انضمامه لما يسمى MI5.

كانت بوابة الانضمام هي الدراية بتطوير تكنولوجيا تجسسة تتفوق على قدرات أعداء بريطانيا..فقد طور بيتر رايت تكنولوجيا للتجسس على الأفراد..وعلى السفارات. تطور عمل رايت فصار يدخل في العمل الميداني، من متابعة جاسوس يرسل إشارات لاسلكية مشفرة إلى الروس، إلى زرع مايكروفونات داخل السفارات وداخل بيوت ومقرات أعضاء الحزب الشيوعي البريطاني.

التفاصيل الواردة عن العمليات كثيرة. فهو يتحدث بتفصيل صغير عن العمليات كلها..بل يزيد في الحديث عن السرد المباشر للحديث إلى الحديث عن تطورات تقنيات التجسس.

محور الحديث كان عن تفوق روسي في منتصف الثلاثينات..أثمر عن تجنيد جواسيس مهمين هم بالأصل بريطانيون من الطبقة العليا يعملون في أجهزة استخبارات بريطانيا.. منهم ماكلين وبيرغس وكيم فيلبي..هذا الأخير هو ابن الحاج عبد الله فيلبي الذي أرسله البريطانيون كي يتجسس على الملك عبد العزيز..وقد أعلن إسلامه وسمى نفسه عبد الله بعدما جالس عبد العزيز..لزوم الدور كما يقول المصريون.

هذا التفوق أثمر عن اختراق للإم آي 6 بجواسيس منذ الثلاثينات وحتى منتصف الخمسينات...وقد دفع هذا التفوق مؤلف الكتاب إلى النضال بحثا عما يجعله يتوصل به إلى جواسيس آخرين..فكان الكتاب يتحدث عن كيفية سعيه وراء أي خيط قد يحل له القضية.

لفت نظري في الكتاب أشياء كثيرة وهي

- من أراد أن يفكر كإبليس فليقرأ هذا الكتاب..فهو على قدر كبير من الدهاء الذي يمكنه وضع الاحتمالات والاشتباه بكل ما هو غامض بالنسبة له. بل أكثر من هذا ما حكاه المؤلف عن دسه تاجر سلاح لبيع السلاح الملغوم بمايكروفونات لعصابات القبارصة الراغبين في استقلالهم عن الإنجليز..فجمع بذلك بين العنصر البشري والعنصر التقني في تجسسه.

- أيضا هناك حديث مستمر ومتكرر عن التكنولوجيا وتوظيفها مذ ذاك العصر. وكأن الإيمان بأن الحل يكمن في التكنولوجيا كان شائعا آنذاك. في حين أنه قد شاع في الإعلام في عام 1998 وبعد تفجير السفارتين الأمريكيتين في نيروبي ودار السلام الحديث عن هزال الإمكانات البشرية مقارنة بالإمكانات التقنية. ربما يكون الكلام الأخير من الاستهلاك الإعلامي، ولكنه يبقى مؤشرا ينبغي التحقق منه لمن يؤرخ لاتجاهات التجسس.

- علاقة بريطانيا بأمريكا في الخمسينات والستينات كانت كعلاقة الأخ الأصغر بأخيه الأكبر.فعند اشتباه البريطانيين بأي شخص من الاستخبارات كمصدر للروس..كان الأمريكان يحاطون علما بالأمر قبل وبعد التحقيق مع المشتبه به.

- لفت نظري كلام عابر للمؤلف الذي قالت له موظفة بعد أن باشر ترؤسه لقسم في الإم آي 5، "هل أنت ماسوني؟"..فلما أجاب بالنفي، قالت له الموظفة بأنه لن يبلغ أعلى المناصب ما لم يكن ماسونيا. بصراحة.. هذه المرة الأولى التي أرى فيها رجل الاستخبارات يتحدث عن الماسونية كقوة فاعلة..فمثل هذا الحديث يمكن أن نسمعه بين بني قومنا ممن جعلوا الماسونية تتحكم في أقدار البشر، أما أن نسمعه صادرا من عميلي استخبارات..فهذا نادر في قراءاتي..بل هو الوحيد الذي وقع بين يدي.

أيضا تحدث المؤلف عن علاقته برجل مهم من عائلة روتشيلد المعروفة بسيطرتها على سوق الذهب العالمي، ويدعى فيكور..كان له منصب سياسي رفيع ولكنه لا يخوله الاطلاع على أسرار جهاز الإم آي 5. إلا أن هذا الرجل كان يطالع أسرارا كثيرة من ذاك الجهاز ويقدم النصح والتسهيلات لمؤلف الكتاب. وهذا يشير إلى شيء مهم في الأنظمة الملكية...وهي وجود شخصيات وعائلات مضمونة الولاء، تعتبر من أركان توطيد الحكم الملكي..ولهم رأي مسموع وربما كانوا رجال حل الأزمات للنظام الملكي..وفيكتور روتشيلد على ما يبدو كان أحد أعمدة حل المشكلات للعائلة المالكة ببريطانيا.

- أيضا تحدث المؤلف عن نشأة الجواسيس البريطانيين لصالح الروس..فقد درس أغلبهم في أكسفورد..وكان تجمعهم مبني على الشذوذ الجنسي الذي كان أمرا منبوذا آنذاك..ثم اكتسى هذا الشذوذ فكرا يساريا..كما يقول المؤلف!

اللافت في الأمر بأن بعض التيارات السياسية التي لها قعقعة وجعجعة قد بدأت في بعض المناطق من فكرة أو ميول جنسية..أتذكر بأن الشاعر اللبناني شوقي بزيع قد قال في صحيفة الحياة بأنه قد سجل في الحزب الشيوعي اللبناني لأن فيه فتيات جميلات يرغب المرء في النظر إليهن..فابتسامة فموعد فلقاء!

فكرت كم من فكرة بدأت كميول جنسية وانتهت بتنظير فكري سقيم لا حد له من أجل ما تحت الحزام!

- الكاتب وفي أثناء تحقيقه في بعض القضايا..كان قد قرأ ترجمة انجليزية لمذكرات زوجة جاسوس روسي. ثم قرر قراءة الكتاب بلغته الأصلية..الفرنسية.فاكتشف معلومة مهمة كانت الترجمة قد أضاعتها. هذا يوضح حجم التفاني الذي ينبغي على المحقق أن يتحلى به.

الكتاب قيم حتى بين كتب التجسس..فتفاصيله لا تشبه تفاصيل أي كتاب قرأته..إلا أن كتاب المخابرات والعالم بأجزائه الخمسة لسعيد الجزائري يبقى الأثير عندي والأهم لمن يريد التعرف على عالم التجسس.

[Jimp · Rating 3 out of 5]

A terrific insight into how MI5 went about their business.

[John Farebrother · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone interested in how government really works. Compared to Le Carré, some of it is surprisingly mundane, while some incidents defy belief. But a common thread running through the book, and through Le Carré's work, is the contempt the government has, not only for members of the public, but for its own employees. Anyone who's worked for the civil service in an operational role can relate to that. A fascinating glimpse into the old boys club that is the secret service and the upper echelons of the civil service in general. Whether the end results of the Spycatcher's diligent and obsessive work actually made any of us safer, or were merely points scored in the shadowy great game, to be notched up in code in exclusive club rooms, is anyone's guess.

[Stratos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ακρως ενδιαφέρον γι αυτούς που αρέσουν τα βιβλία κατασκοπίας του Τζον Λε Καρρέ. Ο συγγραφέας αναπλάθει την μεταπολεμική ατμόσφαιρα της Αγγλίας μέσα από τα μάτια της Μ15 και Μ16.

[John Dalton]

I picked up this book in our last trip to our favourite second hand book store. I don t read as much non-fiction as I should, but this instantly appealed to me so I decided to take it home.[return][return]Spycatcher is the story of the author s career as an agent for MI5, Britain s secret intelligence service. He was an electrical engineer whose work had proven useful to the intelligence services during the second World War, and by the end of the 1940 s he d been recruited by them to continue his work from the inside.[return][return]Peter Wright was the first person employed by MI5 as a scientist. Military research encouraged innovative uses of technology in an environment of scarce resources, and this was an environment in which people (invariably men) like Peter excelled.[return][return]As well as detailing the invention and deployment of various covert surveillance and counter-surveillance devices, the book discusses the climate of international espionage as the Cold War began to warm up, so to speak. It s fascinating to read an insider s perspective on the tensions between the various allies, as well as the superiority in both technology and manpower of the Soviet intelligence services at that time.[return][return]This was a time of double agents and defectors, and much of the book deals with the controversy of highly placed moles within MI5. As well as discussing some defections which were highly publicised at the time, the author also reveals his part in these affairs as an agent conducting internal investigations of co-workers suspected of spying for the Soviets. A central theme of the book is the author s allegation that Roger Hollis (Director of MI5 from 1956 - 1972) was a Soviet spy. This was a controversial allegation because it was not publicly known that Hollis had even been suspected of spying at the time that the book was published, and also because Wright remained convinced of Hollis guilt despite the fact that a lack of concrete evidence had resulted in Hollis being cleared by an internal investigation.[return][return]The author s case is convincing, because the interrogations as he describes them seem to have been very genial occasions, with suspects sometimes having been interrogated by officers who were not only colleagues but close personal friends! In addition to this, suspected moles were of course quite familiar with the techniques employed in interrogation, and it seems likely that they would have been able to avoid any admission of guilt unless confronted with solid evidence.[return][return]Many of the events spoken of in this book were well known at the time of its publication. However there was some controversy over the publication because of the events revealed by the book which were previously unknown to the public, or even to parts of the British government.[return][return]I had been looking forward to catching up on developments in the saga post-publication, but there doesn t seem to be a great deal of information online. The dust jacket discusses a trial which took place here in Australia, with quotes from numerous well known figures such as Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Turnbull (Peter Wright s defence attorney!), but it all took place when I was in primary school and I have to admit that it escaped my attention at the time.[return][return]I postponed any attempt to find out what had happened until after I had finished the book, but when I happened to mention to a work colleague that I was reading it he said Peter Wright? Oh, he died here in Tasmania a few years ago. . Further research revealed a little bit more of the puzzle, and I have some links at the end of this review.[return][return]Despite leaving me with unanswered questions, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If I was to make any criticism it would be that it was sometimes hard for me to keep track of who was who and what was going on, as general chronological progression of the story was frequently disturbed by excursions into the future or past in order to deal with the theme at hand. This is only a minor criticism though, and one which really didn t detract much from the experience.[return][return]One thing I d like to have read more about was the details of the various discoveries and ingenious uses of technology. It seemed to be very much a geeky kind of hands-on experimentation that they employed, but the author lamented that this later gave way to much more pedestrian, expensive and sometimes less fruitful research. In my opinion there are parallels within the computing industry today, although the open source movement currently seems to have injected some of that hacker-style enthusiasm back into things.[return][return]In short, if you have any interest in the subject matter and can track down a copy of this book, it s a recommended read.[return][return]Further Reading:[return]The BBC's On This Day archive shows stories related to the British governments attempts to ban the book. Those stories ran on July 31st 1987, and October 13th, 1988. There are also a few articles in the Wikipedia, on Spycatcher (detailing the controversy over the book itself), as well as the author Peter Wright, and also Roger Hollis.[return][return][return][return](Originally posted at http://varrqnuht.net/archives/2005/04... )

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

He's a bloke and that I think explains lots... Yeah, okay, he worked as an intelligence officer. That aside, he was dedicated to doing the best he could. He wanted to expose the dastardly traitors within the nest and because of that he gets a big kiss and another big kiss for putting it all on paper. He's definitely someone I would consider letting take me to dinner. I doubt I'd let it go much further...
He's a bit full of himself. And, and this is important, he's one of those with flexible morals. He was so determined to prove he was able to identify the double-agent and so adamant he was in the right and so convinced he was right, and quite happy to break the rules if it was in his interests: his interests were queen and country, but even so...
If he burgled my place and went through my knicker drawer because he thought I 'might just be' a wrong-un, I'd want his pants down and him get a good spanking.
He's loyal to the country and I like that. Could he be trusted? Hmmmm...

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be super-interesting: the devices and the tricks. I'm sure, Mr Wright was in the right job. I'm sure, Mr Wright was most accomplished at what he did, most dedicated and a true patriot. I'm glad I've finally read his book.

I must ask, 'Did he go down a rabbit-hole that he really needn't have?'

[Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a solid 5 stars to me.

The author worked for a private company, Marconi Company, during WW II and, also worked with military intelligence services during the war to further develop technology for the military. One of the projects was development of a submarine detection system.

Though he worked for Marconi Company, he was contacted by MI5, domestic British Intelligence, to help develop surveillance equipment and techniques for detecting foreign intelligence services’ spying practices and operations. From 1949 to 1955 he worked with MI5 but had limited information at times to properly develop and aid in fully developing devices. In 1955 he was employed as MI5’s first principal scientist. This allowed him access to procedures and activities information that enabled him to develop detection and surveillance equipment to suit the needs of MI5 in their efforts to locate and monitor foreign spy activities, primarily the Russians and their allies. Reading about the development of technology and the spies that were identified was enlightening and interesting.

While MI5 moved forward to embrace and utilize developing technology, it was interesting to note that MI6, the foreign British Intelligence Service resisted the offers to utilize these in many cases. It seems that their attitude was twofold: 1) MI6 had spying techniques they used in the past that worked at the time, so there was no need to change operation and techniques, and 2) they didn’t seem to want any help from MI5. For many years, there was some degree of contention between the two agencies.

MI5 had a division called Watchers that would be posted outside of the Russian embassy in London and would follow diplomats and suspected KGB agents to track their movements. These Watchers used open radio channels that were not encoded, so the Russians could monitor their communications. The author developed a system called RAFTER that was mounted in a van that could be driven around and would detect when the Russian embassy had a receiver on to listen in on communications. He also worked on many types of surveillance and listening devices to spy on the Russians and other foreign spies within Britain.

He provided expertise and equipment as requested to help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in their efforts to locate and perform surveillance on Russian spies. He provided services later to MI6 when requested to help with some of their foreign operations. The exposure of Kim Philby, a Russian counterspy working inside MI6 at a high level, was also discussed in this book.

There are so many interesting accounts of catching and interrogating spies in these pages. The accounts of the different surveillance equipment developments, placement of equipment, searching for intelligence leaks, deciphering encrypted messages, exposing internal agents, and successful and failed missions are fascinating to read.

This reads better than a spy novel, and it is non-fiction!

I would highly recommend this book.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may well still be banned in the UK, although why it would remain to be so now is somewhat of a mystery, what with the supposed opening up of the secret world. At the time of its initial publication this rather tame memoir got a great deal of publicity due to Thatcher's government slapping a ban on it. This naturally led to a surge of interest that probably would otherwise not have been there and it sold in its thousands.

Not having read it before, I approached it with something of a fresh view and had no real idea what it contained, excepting a vague notion that it was explosive and blew the lid off the British intelligence services. Nothing could really have been further from the truth. There is certainly interest in Wright's story, however he was probably not the man to tell it (and nor was his ghost for this book). The style is rather dry and dull, which is a shame as the story of the Cambridge spies is an extremely interesting one, as is the cut and thrust of British intelligence a la James Bond.

Still worth reading for all that.

[zed · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A difficult read that seemed to have been made deliberately dull." Thanks Kate.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The present Prime Minster of Australia Malcolm Turnbull ".......calls the Britishers' conduct in the affair "quite disgraceful" and adds that the experience "galvanized my determination to see Australia rid herself of its remaining constitutional links with England."

I wonder what Turnbull would make of this today.

[Mohamad Dahrouj · Rating 3 out of 5]

يبين الكتاب دور المخابرات البريطانية في كثير من الاحداث ويتحدث عن التعاون والتنافس مع المخابرات الامريكية . وكذلك عن قدرة المخابرات السوفيتية على اختراق الغرب

[Smahdi Moosavi]

نکات بسیاری از این کتاب آموختم ، امّا در مجموع ، کمتر از چیزی بود که فکر می کردم

[Hamilton Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

The British government sued to prevent publication of this book in the mid 1980s. The spectacular failure of their case in an Australian court ensured that Spycatcher became a bestseller and made its author, Peter Wright, a wealthy man. Over two million copies sold, according to Wikipedia.
What caused Whitehall such alarm? The allegations that the former head of MI5, Roger Hollis, and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson had been Soviet spies. While the case against Hollis has been supported by the journalist Chapman Pincher, the consensus view appears to be that Wright was wrong, or at least has not proven his case.
What most interested me, though, were not the headline-grabbing allegations, nor even the trials they occasioned, but the self-portrait that emerges from these pages. One of the author's primary motivations, both in his career as a self-styled spycatcher and as a writer, seems to be resentment. When just a teenager, he had to leave school after his father lost his job and "slipped into the abyss of alcoholism." These traumatic years left the son with "a chronic stammer," rendering him "at times virtually speechless." (pg. 13) His subsequent career as a scientist and an intelligence officer came about entirely as the product of his own commitment and hard work.
His background was thus quite unlike that of Philby, Burgess and Maclean, all of whom were born just a few years earlier, but who "enjoyed to the full the privileged background and education" that was denied to him. (pg. 13) The ones who betrayed their country were the ones who had been given every advantage and gone to the best public schools (in the British sense), while the one who had had to struggle and sacrifice remained loyal. Philby himself would explain his success with reference to his background: British investigators "stubbornly resisted the belief that respected members of the Establishment could do such things." (My Silent War, Chapter XI, paragraph 16)
The traitors tended to congregate in MI6, while hard-working drudges like Wright opted for the domestic branch, MI5. Those who remember the long-standing hostility between the FBI and CIA will not be surprised to find similar sentiments expressed here. "MI6, in the mid-1950s, never settled for a disaster if calamity could be found instead." (pg. 71)
One of the high points of the book is Wright's debriefing of Anthony Blunt, another member of the posh set, who tried to perform a balancing act: Appear to cooperate, while implicating only those already known or safely dead. In trying to break him down, Wright had the insight that Blunt would be more relaxed if the sessions, which stretched over six years, were held on his premises at London's Courtauld Institute. Wright never told him, naturally, that he had had the place bugged. At one point, when Blunt tried to pull the argument that 'You had to have lived through those times to fully understand,' Wright would have none of it. "I know more about the thirties probably than you will ever know. I remember my father driving himself mad with drink, because he couldn't get a job. I remember losing my education, my world, everything. I know all about the thirties…" (pg. 264)
The most important of the traitors, at least in Wright's mind, was also its most famous member. Kim Philby rarely mentioned Blunt (he rates only a single passing reference in his memoir, My Silent War), but Wright shows that it was Blunt who kept him informed of the case being developed against him, thus enabling Philby to say one step ahead and delay his escape until the last possible moment. "Philby … lived his life from bed to bed; he had an Arabian attitude to women, needing only the thrill of espionage to sustain him." (pg. 229)
He even sees Philby's escape from Beirut through the lens of class resentment: The man who was sent to confront Philby with evidence of his treachery was his old friend Nicholas Elliott, who bungled the interview. First, in "typical MI6 style" he left the windows open (it was hot in Beirut), and the street noises were so loud that much of what was said proved inaudible when the tape was played back later. "I thought back to my first meeting with Philby, the boyish charm, the stutter, how I sympathized with him; and the second time I heard that voice, in 1955, as he ducked and weaved around his MI6 interrogators, finessing a victory from a steadily losing hand. And now there was Elliott, trying his manful best to corner a man for whom deception had been a second skin for thirty years. It was no contest. By the end they sounded like two rather tipsy radio announcers, their warm, classical public-school accents discussing the greatest treachery of the twentieth century." (pg. 194)
The reference to accents is no mere detail. Elliott's mistake – assuming it was a mistake – was to allow Philby so much leeway that he was able to escape rather than be brought back to London. The reason? Elliott, like Philby, came from the same upper-class background. "He was the son of the former headmaster of Eton and had a languid upper-class manner." (pg. 174) Chums look out for chums.
In this gallery of famous rogues, the only one Wright has any sympathy with is John Cairncross. And what makes him different? "He came from a humble working-class background but, possessed of a brilliant intellect, he made his way to Cambridge in the 1930s…" (pg. 222)
Though he retired to Australia to devote himself to raising horses, in long his career with MI5 he prized technical expertise. He seemed happiest when he could rig up listening devices or fiddle with gadgets, and called himself "a problem-solving scientist." (pg. 25) Indeed, one of the notable achievements in his career was to become the first professional scientist ever appointed to MI5. He liked to solve difficult challenges, such as how to install a listening device surreptitiously, and ensure that once in place it would remain undetected. He was, in short, more an experimenter than espionage agent, more a lab rat than James Bond. A better title for this book, at least the first part, would have been: "The Device Maker."
His resentment over the British class consciousness predisposed him to like Americans. Moreover, when he visited the U.S. in the 1950s, he was impressed by the technical resources at the disposal of the FBI – though this was mixed with some disapproval. "They relied almost entirely on commercially available equipment, rather than developing their own." (pg. 99) Still, Wright generally got on well with the other self-made men he found in the FBI, though it seemed the only way to get on with their boss was to act subservient: "everyone knew Hoover suffered from God disease." (pg. 101) While he was on better terms with the CIA's Angleton, one senses that Wright, rather than spend time socializing with him, would have preferred to track down another elusive electronic signal.
While being aware of the danger of being drawn into the wilderness of mirrors, in the end the allure proved too strong, and he started seeing double agents everywhere. Just as Angleton became consumed by his paranoia after the defection of his friend Philby, so too Wright became obsessed with the idea that Hollis and P.M. Wilson were spies. In the end, it seems to have dawned on even Wright himself that his mole-hunting went too far: "… like actors in a Greek tragedy, we had no real choice but to continue widening our investigations, spreading the poison ever further through the corridors." (pg.320)
Surely many of those named in this book, who came under suspicion and spent years trying to clear their names, would whole-heartedly agree.

[أحمد الحمدان · Rating 4 out of 5]

قديمًا أثناء متابعتي لمواد الشيخ الفاضل عمر بن محمود أبو قَتادة رأيته غير مرة يمدح ويُثني على هذا الكتاب، فيقول في تغريدة له: «هناك كتاب لا يفوتك اسمه: (صائد الجواسيس) لبيتر رايت، لتعلم الفرق بيننا وبينهم، ومقدار سذاجتنا في التعامل مع هذه القضايا، وخلافهم لنا في هذا».

وبعد قراءتي له أقول: أن هذا الكتاب من أفضل ما قرأت في هذا الباب، وهذا الكتاب يصلح معيارًا لقياس الكتب المعاصرة التي كتبها ضباط متقاعدون؛ فهي منزوعة الدسم، مجردة من كل التفاصيل المهمة إلا ما ندر، أما هذا الكتاب فهو كثير الدسم من أوله إلى آخره.

واستخدم عنوان (صائد الجواسيس) ربما لمسكه بغير جاسوس في الجرم المشهود، وتحقيقه في قضايا الاختراق المضاد، وإسهامه في أكبر قضية اختراق «خماسي كامبريدج»، وغيرهم الكثير ممن مضى على انتهاء عملاتهم عقود وأصبحوا على حافة الموت.

تستطيع أن تقول أن الكتاب آرخ صاحبه لعقود من تاريخ الاستخبارات البريطانية الداخلية بشكل مفصل ودقيق للغاية. وهذه الدقة والتفصيل لا تعجب الساسة والمسؤولين ولا كذلك كبار رجال الاستخبارات، ومن ذلك منع الكتاب من التداول وأصبح محظورًا وبناءً على قاعدة كل ممنوع مرغوب، ازداد الطلب عليه وزادت مبيعاته إلى مبالغ كبيرة ولعلها كانت تعويضًا له، فهذا الكتاب أشبه بضربة مؤجلة الدفع قد سددها بيتر رايت إلى الحكومة البريطانية؛ لأنها حرمته من راتبه التقاعدي الكامل، بعد أن أُعطي وعدًا شفهيًا بضم سنوات عمله السابقة إلى سنوات عمله في الاستخبارات، ولكن فجأة قبيل التعاقد أصبح هذا الوعد الشفهي عديم القيمة.

وهذا التاريخ تكتشف من خلاله أن أجهزة الاستخبارات لم تكن لتصل إلى ما وصلت إليه حاليًا إلا من خلال عثرات وأخطاء عظيمة أُسيلت بسببها دماء وأُزهقت لأجلها أرواح، وأنها أجهزة اخترقت حتى العظم، وتجد مثلًا أن من التخبطات أن الكثير من الجواسيس دخلوا الاستخبارات ووصلوا إلى مناصب حساسة دون التدقيق في خلفيتهم والبحث في ماضيهم.

وقد أكلت بريطانيا «خازوق محترم» من جهتين:
الأول: من قبل خماسي كامبريدج؛ وهم خماسي كانوا يدرسون في جامعة كامبريدج في الثلاثينات وكانت لهم ميول يسارية، وأصبحوا يعملون لصالح الاتحاد السوفيتي، كان أبرزهم كيم فليبي، الذي عمل في الاستخبارات البريطانية الداخلية والخارجية ومسك مناصب كبيرة ومن أهمها مركز مكافحة التجسس السوفيتي، فكان الذي يحاول أن يصطاد الخونة هو الخائن.

ثم استطاع فليبي بعد انكشاف أمره الهروب إلى الاتحاد السوفيتي والعيش فيها إلى أن هلك، وله مذكرات مطبوعة ومترجمة بالعربي بعنوان (الحرب الصامتة) من ترجمة عبد الله كحيل. وتكلم ستيفن غراي بشكل موجز عن فليبي وخماسي كامبريدج في فصوله الأولى من كتابه (أسياد الجاسوسية الجدد). ولكن لا شك أن هذا الكتاب يعتبر من المصادر الرئيسية لتناول خلية خماسي كامبريدج وأثرها على الداخل البريطاني.

أما الخازوق الثاني الذي أكله البريطانيين، ولم يتكلم بيتر رايت عنه كثيرًا في كتابه هذا فهو جورج بليك الذي سرّب للروس أمر نفق برلين، والذي وشى بالكثير من الجواسيس البريطانيين داخل الاتحاد السوڤيتي.

أما الأطروحة الكبرى التي قام عليها الكتاب وهي احتمالية أن يكون رئيس المخابرات الداخلية وجر هوليس عميلًا سوڤيتيًا؛ ونشأ هذا الاعتقاد من فشل بعض العمليات بشكل متتابع؛ وكأنَّ أحدهم تدخل ليفشلها، وكما أن هذه العمليات المتنوعة لم يكن ليطلع عليها إلا الرئيس ونائبه، فأصبحا داخل دائرة الشك، فخاض بيتر رايت حربًا ضروسًا لإثبات هذا الزعم.

وكذا في خاتمة الكتاب تكلم عن عمالة رئيس الوزراء البريطاني هارولد ويلسون، وتقاطع السياسة مع الاستخبارات، وكيف أن الاستخبارات حاولت بكل قوتها أن تتدخل في السياسة من أجل إسقاط ويلسون التي ترى خيوط عمالته للاتحاد السوفيتي، والذي بوصوله إلى هذا المنصب سوف يكون هنالك ضرر نفسي، فلذلك ليس صحيح أن المؤسسات الاستخباراتية حيادية تمامًا، وأنها لا تتدخل في شأن السياسة الداخلية.

حسنًا، في هذا الكتاب لن ترى أن الواقع البيروقراطي في المؤسسات الغربية واقع مثالي، بل تكتنفه الفوضى والتخبط؛ وأحيانًا يضيع حق أحدهم من الراتب التقاعدي بسبب هذا التخبط، وقد ينقص التمويل لهذه المؤسسات مما يجعل قدراتها محدودة حتى وهي في ذروة الحرب الباردة وفي مقدمة الجبهة ضد الاتحاد السوفيتي! وقد تحصل الحروب بين الأقسام الاستخباراتية البريطانية وقد تحصل نوع من النزاعات بين الأقسام الداخلية داخل هذه المؤسسات، وسياسة الأقسام قد تتغير جذريًا بتغير الرئيس، فقد تمشي خمس سنوات وفق خطة معينة ويتغير الرئيس ويُلغى المشروع أو تطرأ عليه تعديلات، فليست تلك مؤسسات ديمقراطية مطلقة بل للرئيس فيها صلاحيات تنفيذية مُلزمة. وإن لم تلتزم بهذه التعليمات (كما حصل مع آرثر) فسوف تطرد وإن طردت فقد يضيع حقك في الراتب التقاعدي.

المؤسسات الاستخباراتية أو العسكرية تميل إلى أن يترأسها شخص من داخل المؤسسة، يعرف كيف تدار المؤسسة، بخلاف لو أتى شخص خارجها لا يعرف كيف تدار فقد يُفسد أكثر مما يصلح، فلذلك ترى مثلًا أن الاستخبارات البريطانية الداخلية عندما حاولت الجهات العليا فرض مرشح من خارج المؤسسة نزلت بكل قوتها سواء عن طريق الوسطاء أو من خلال الاستعداد من أجل العصيان الجماعي. وتجد أن المؤلف لا يألوا جهدًا في إثبات هذا التخبط وتقاطع السياسة والجاسوسية في الكثير من الأحداث، كأحداث قبرص وإيرلندا الشمالية.

وركّز هذا الكتاب بشدة حول الأساليب التقنية الموجودة في الخمسينيات والستينيات في التجسس، ولفت انتباهي أن الحاسوب كان متاحًا في تلك الحقبة، رغم أني كنت أظن أنه لم يُتح إلا في الثمانينات. ويبدو أنه أصبح متاحًا للعامة في ذلك الوقت وإلا فالمؤسسات قد تستخدمة قبل ذلك الوقت بعقود.

وتكلم باستفاضة عن اختراقه للسفارة المصرية في بريطانيا، على إثر ما يسمى بأحداث قناة السويس، فبعدما عرفوا أن نظام التشفير المستخدم من قِبَل المصرين هو هاجلين وضعوا خطة من أجل كسر هذه الشفرة، بزر أجهزة تنصت في الغرفة التابعة للسفارة المصرية في لندن، فكانت الطريفة المفضلة لزرع الأجهزة هو في تعطيل هواتف السفارات، فتقوم تلك السفارات بتبليغ مكتب البريد، والذي يقوم بدورة بإرسال المصلحين والذين هم في الأصل جواسيس، فكان بيتر رايت قد دخل السفارة المصرية على أنه مهندس سوف يُصلح الخلل.

عمومًا الكتاب فيه الكثير من التفاصيل، وأظن أنها مدخل مهم لمجال الاستخبارات في الحقبة الباردة، ولكن يعيب الكتاب كثرة ذكر الأسماء، بشكل تحتاج معه إلى ورقة خارجية لتعريف كل اسم وما دوره؛ فالمؤلف كما هو واضح وجه الخطاب إلى الداخل البريطاني وربما لم يكن مهتمًا بمن هم خارجها، فمن هم في الداخل في تلك الحقبة يعرفون تلك الأسماء ودورها في الحياة العامة، فلذلك ربما لم يكن مهتمًا في شرح أبعاد كل اسم يذكره، وهذا قد يُشتت القارئ الذي من خارج بريطانيا أو لم يعش تلك الحقبة ويعرف شخصياتها.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Others have mentioned how at times this comes across as the author being a little arrogant. I'll not argue. It does give a most candid account of the spying game and the world of surveillance: it's riveting.
I could feel his frustrations with the organisation when he pushed an agenda (with the protection of national security his only concern) that left him feeling as if he was talking to a stream. All my life I've worked on a family farm (we're a big family and we all love each other)- I have no experience of inter-organisational politics and can't comment. I found the idea of having to cope with 'the politics' when you are responsible for the safety of a nation concerning to say the least.
I am glad I read this. It has helped me understand 'the dark arts' a little more.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the rating system were more nuanced on Goodreads, probably a 3.75.

When this book was published in mid 1987 it became a sensation, causing a huge uproar. Peter Wright was a long-serving scientist attached to MI5's counter-intelligence unit with connections as well in MI6, the UK's internal and external intelligence services (more or less the FBI and CIA respectively). He'd served from the early 50s till he retired and moved to Australia in 1976. And essentially, with this book, he blew the lid off the lackadaisical way the British intelligence services had been run since the end of WWII.

During the time Wright was involved with MI5, the service was embroiled in an array of issues stemming from rumors and signs that it, as well as MI6, had a host of Russian moles embedded in their organizations. That ultimately turned out to be true given the later defections to Moscow of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, then Kim Philby, plus years later the 'outing' of Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross--the Cambridge Five--all of whom had been recruited as university students in the 30s by the Soviets, each later serving in some capacity within the British government or intelligence service.

But official stodginess within the UK services, plus the government's short-sighted policy focus coupled with institutional and governmental penny-pinching allowed for infiltration. Combined with a rampant old-boy network sensibility within both MI5 and MI6--which enabled new hires to be plucked from the Oxbridge sphere and never vetted, just recommended by a current employee or 'trusted' friend--the penetration and subsequent mess continued accelerating for decades.

Wright's book describes the legal and extra-legal methods he and other MI5 operatives used to try and uncover who the moles and sleeper agents might be. Too many of their efforts ended up being thwarted or blocked from within the organization by officials who may have simply been callow or credulous, or could have been Soviet plants themselves. Or the initiatives might have simply been stopped cold before the efforts were barely started when it became clear that the Soviets were aware of the Brits' every move and had already maneuvered around the detection efforts.

During Wright's years with MI5 it was even believed by many that Roger Hollis, a long-time intelligence officer who became the Director General, serving in that position from 1956-1965, was a Soviet plant. But the suspicions could never be fully proven despite a number of attempts.

Denied a full pension on a technicality at the time of his retirement, many believed that Wright, who knew a lot, was getting his own back with the publication of this book. It was first published in 1985 in Australia but banned entirely in the UK, which also sought to suppress its publication in the Australian commonwealth. However, it became a bestseller in the US and was ultimately published worldwide. And eventually Wright became a millionaire many times over from the proceeds of this book.

There's no question this book is an interesting read with lots of surprising information. But it's also a bit bloated and certainly dated at this point, particularly now that the Soviet Union no longer exists. Still, I'm certain the essential nature of the espionage being fielded by the US/UK allies vs Russia (and vice versa) continues in some form to this day.

Perhaps most interesting to me on some level is how much Wright's real life MI5/MI6 world resembles the claustrophobic, grim, plodding and paranoid world populated by John Le Carre's myriad spies, most especially Smiley's milieu which so frequently is echoed in this real-life expose. And of course the parallels between Wright's experience and the hunt for a highly placed mole within Le Carre's fictional Circus (but not really so fictional after all it would seem), that's described in his brilliant 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is likely no accident.

One final quote, simply because I liked it. When Wright died in 1995, the obituary in the UK's Independent said:

″No British intelligence officer other than Kim Philby caused more mayhem within Britain's secret services and more trouble for British politicians than Peter Wright.″

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most revealing and well worth the time. It has its critics and maybe some of the scrutiny is valid.
A clever man and undoubtedly devoted to his chosen profession; should he want for the very best from his profession?
There are little things that irked me; I felt an arrogance from him, at times: “We bugged and burgled our way across London.”
Ouch. Especially when we know from other works that a good amount of that burglary and decades-long bugging was hard to justify.
It exposes the soft underbelly of the beast and makes one wonder if much has, or ever will, change.
I have always been a supporter of our security services, and remain so. We are all human and we all have strengths and weaknesses (frailties, insecurities, jealousies).
It’s candid and he’s not shy of taking blame for certain events and outcomes.
The frustration he must have felt comes out in his retelling and I can see how difficult it must have been and how easy it was to become angry. When things don’t go as you hope and you can see no reason why, then it must eat at you.
If we accept this to be as truthful as I believe it is, than I can understand why his suspicions feel on the DG.
This is a good insight into how things were. One hopes having read this and ‘Defending the Realm’ that things have improved somewhat.
I do believe we are better at it than most: intelligence gathering.
However, I will say this and with it, fully expect a slagging: “Need Britain Tremble?”

[Si · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read that describes the life of Peter Wright, from his early days, his move into MI5 as a techie (particularly developing bugging techniques and detection of foreign transmissions), then concentrates on his work in counter intelligence. It's also fascinating to learn how the organisation worked.

He gives frank opinions of the people with whom he worked, both positive and negative, and similarly on how MI5 was run, giving both praise and criticism, and showing how he tried to improve it.

When this story broke in the eighties, I recall him being made out to be a bumbling old man with much bitterness over how he had been treated in the past. However, I'm not sure I agree with that. The book is his story, and his point of view. If I wrote a book about my life, and about the last decade at my old company, I'd have some pretty cutting things to say about the way it's been run too, and indeed about some of the people I've worked with, both the imbeciles and the inspirations.

One of the main themes, and I think the one that caused the most hoo-haa, was his belief that the ex-Director General of MI5 Roger Hollis was a KGB spy. This is what Wright honestly admitted at the end of the book:

"He [Lord Trend who reviewed the case for the government] had faith in a man's innocence, as I had faith in his treachery; as another man might have faith in God, or Mammon. One man's view, as I now realize, is in the end worthless. Only facts will ever clear up the eternal mystery.

[Bob Woodley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this was an exciting read back in 1987 if you lived in the UK. But now it is very dated.

The author worked in MI5 (counter-intelligence), and it sure seems like nasty work. Basically you spend your whole time investigating your colleagues behind their backs. Or at least that was what was required after the Philby/Maclean scandal. It went on for like 30 years though. So tedious and unpleasant.

The portrait of Angleton, the long-time head of the CIA counter-intelligence, was well drawn and detailed his descent into unhinged conspiracy theorist.

There are echoes of modern times. MI5 rank and file undertook a vast leak campaign to undermine PM Wilson because they found him too left wing. Reminds one of Reality Winner.

One takeaway is just how totally dominant the KGB has been over the years. Their operations dwarfed any other country in both scale and sophistication. The author is clearly in awe of them.

One quote stands out: "the KGB will stop at nothing to entrap or frame visitors". Makes one wonder what really happened at the 2013 Miss Universe event in Moscow with DJT.

[Dan Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book surprisingly engrossing. I did not read it at the time it came out and the negative publicity that has attached itself to Peter Wright in the intervening years perhaps influenced me unduly to ignore it. But I found it a fascinating read and extremely revealing. The descriptions of the operations mounted by MI5 and of the technological developments were really interesting, as was the picture conveyed of the old-boys-club nature of British intelligence services during the war and in the 2-3 decades afterwards. It did feel from reading the book that Wright overstated his own importance and the extent to which he was proved right about things - I would love to read balancing views from some of Wright's protagonists within the services to hear some different points of view, but I'm not sure that these exist. Essential reading if you have an interest in the secret world of espionage.

[David Charnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read - I can see why the government fought its publication over here. He's very forthright with his criticisms of the intelligence services and their refusal to accept the changes in the post-War climate. He's also frank about the amount of penetration there was, and that he suspects had gone unfollowed (especially Roger Hollis). But there's more to this book than that. There's a load of technical stuff (Wright was after all MI5's first appointed scientist), but it's intelligible and absorbing. Also we get a sense of Wright as a real person, and the characters are well drawn. There's a conversational style which no doubt comes from conveying the details to Paul Greengrass. The ending is a little abrupt, but then it matches the collapse of the Cold War world in which Wright had his being.