MI5 F Branch

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History

In its earliest incarnation, F Branch was responsible for preventive intelligence in the MI5 organisation of 1916.[1]

A new F Division covering counter-subversion was established by Director General Sir David Petrie in 1941.[2]

In Dick White's 1953 re-organisation, F Branch had responsibility for counter-subversion at home, while E Branch was responsible for counter-subversion in the British Empire and Commonwealth.[3]

In the spring of 1969, an internal MI5 newsletter stated: "The total effort deployed by F. Branch in matters Irish was until recently confined to one part-time desk officer in F.1.C.[4]

In 1976, Director General Michael Hanley established a separate FX branch to deal with Irish terrorism. Its director continued to report to the director of F Branch.

Structure

F1

F1B

A full-time desk on Irish security issues, with a particular focus on the North, was set up in F1B in the spring of 1969. by the autumn of that year, F1B consisted of a female assistant officer supported by the young Stella Rimington.[5]

=F1C

In the spring of 1969, an internal MI5 newsletter stated: "The total effort deployed by F. Branch in matters Irish was until recently confined to one part-time desk officer in F.1.C.[6]

People

Officers

Notes

  1. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.84.
  2. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.236.
  3. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.327.
  4. Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.602.
  5. Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.604.
  6. Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.602.
  7. Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.558.