With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

MI5 secret file on Harold Wilson: KGB contacts made him a suspect

The Security Service, MI5, kept a secret file on Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson throughout his time in office because of his friendships with eastern European businessmen and contacts with the KGB.

The first official history to be written about the organisation reveals that a "permanent file" was created on the politician when he entered the Commons in 1945 and remained in use throughout both his premierships from 1964-1970 and 1974-76.

Baroness Manningham-Buller, the former MI5 director general, said the existence of such a file did not necessarily mean a person was under suspicion, adding: "There was no plot, no conspiracy."

Wilson, who died in 1995, claimed that he had been subjected to several plots involving MI5 officers to overthrow his government, and became increasingly concerned that his activities and conversations were being monitored by the security services.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)