Stephen Lander - Revision history

Tom Griffin: /* Labour Government and the Shayler Affair */

2013-06-28T00:45:54Z

Labour Government and the Shayler Affair

Tom Griffin: /* Director-General */

2013-06-28T00:07:35Z

Director-General

Tom Griffin: /* Director-General */

2013-06-27T22:46:29Z

Director-General

Tom Griffin: /* Director H Branch */

2013-06-27T21:48:44Z

Director H Branch

Tom Griffin: /* Director-General */

2013-06-27T21:42:02Z

Director-General

Tom Griffin: /* Director T Branch */

2013-06-27T21:29:11Z

Director T Branch

Tom Griffin: /* Director H Branch */

2013-06-27T21:18:02Z

Director H Branch

Tom Griffin: /* Director H Branch */

2013-06-27T21:07:58Z

Director H Branch

Tom Griffin: /* Director T Branch */

2013-06-27T21:07:30Z

Director T Branch

Tom Griffin: /* Serves under Rimington */

2013-06-27T19:46:36Z

Serves under Rimington

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 ====Labour Government and the Shayler Affair====
-When Labour came to power in 1997, Lander gave Blair a list of potential security risks which included [[Harriet Harman]], [[Joan Ruddock]] and [[Ken Livingstone]]. MI5's interest in Livingstone focused on his links with [[Sinn Fein]] and Lander gave Blair a summary of his file.<ref>Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding, Defending the Realm: Inside MI5 and The War on Terrorism, André Deutsch, 2003, pp.105-106.
+When Labour came to power in 1997, Lander gave Blair a list of potential security risks which included [[Harriet Harman]], [[Joan Ruddock]] and [[Ken Livingstone]]. MI5's interest in Livingstone focused on his links with [[Sinn Fein]] and Lander gave Blair a summary of his file.<ref>Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding, Defending the Realm: Inside MI5 and The War on Terrorism, André Deutsch, 2003, pp.105-106.</ref>
 Following revelations by former [[MI5]] officer [[David Shayler]] in 1997, the Attorney-General obtained an injunction, which Lander felt "stopped the media feeding frenzy in its tracks."<ref name="Andrew793">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.793.</ref>

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 Lander's experience in Northern Ireland was a key factor in his appointment. He was the first MI5 Director-General not to have been a Deputy Director General (DDG), and one of the two DDGs had been a rival candidate.<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref>
 ====Peace Process====
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 At a meeting on 30 October 1997, Lander told Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], "some key figures... probably see the ceasefire as a genuine opportunity to reach a settlement. Both intelligence and overt reporting indicate that they are prepared to consider a settlement which stops short of a united Ireland."<ref name="Andrew7978">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, pp.797-798.</ref>
-====Shayler Affair====
+====Labour Government and the Shayler Affair====
 Following revelations by former [[MI5]] officer [[David Shayler]] in 1997, the Attorney-General obtained an injunction, which Lander felt "stopped the media feeding frenzy in its tracks."<ref name="Andrew793">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.793.</ref>
 ====9/11====

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 Lander's experience in Northern Ireland was a key factor in his appointment. He was the first MI5 Director-General not to have been a Deputy Director General (DDG), and one of the two DDGs had been a rival candidate.<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref>
 On 17 June 1996, two days after the IRA bombing of Manchester, Lander recommended to [[John Major]] that "the Government should continue with its current strategy", and provide "reassurance to the Provisional leadership about the nature of the talks process which is on offer.<ref name="Andrew795">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.795.</ref>
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 At a meeting on 30 October 1997, Lander told Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], "some key figures... probably see the ceasefire as a genuine opportunity to reach a settlement. Both intelligence and overt reporting indicate that they are prepared to consider a settlement which stops short of a united Ireland."<ref name="Andrew7978">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, pp.797-798.</ref>
 ==SOCA==

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 Lander became [[MI5 H Branch |Director H]] in 1994.This came at a time of significant job losses within MI5, and he later acknowledged that "our success at handling this painful episode was mixed".<ref name="Andrew781">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.781.</ref>
 In the wake of the [[IRA]] ceasefire, Lander and Rimington were agreed that MI5 must seek new work, either incrementally or overtly, or accept a significant reduction in size. The latter option was considered undesirable, but Lander argued that "history shows that the service can expand effectively from [a] reduced base to meet new threats."<ref name="Andrew786">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.786.</ref>
 Rimington did not initially think of Lander as her natural successor, although by 1995, the Permanent Secretary at the [[Home Office]], Sir [[Richard Wilson]], had concluded that he was her first choice from his attendance in meetings.<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:42, 27 June 2013
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	Lander's experience in Northern Ireland was a key factor in his appointment. He was the first MI5 Director-General not to have been a Deputy Director General (DDG), and one of the two DDGs had been a rival candidate.<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref>		Lander's experience in Northern Ireland was a key factor in his appointment. He was the first MI5 Director-General not to have been a Deputy Director General (DDG), and one of the two DDGs had been a rival candidate.<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref>
		+
		+	On 17 June 1996, two days after the IRA bombing of Manchester, Lander recommended to [[John Major]] that "the Government should continue with its current strategy", and provide "reassurance to the Provisional leadership about the nature of the talks process which is on offer.<ref name="Andrew795">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.795.</ref>
		+
		+	In the aftermath of the anti-IRA operations AIRLINES and TINNITUS, Lander told a lecture at Camberley in October 1996, "Even terrorists regard the UK a hostile and risky environment."<ref name="Andrew797">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.797.</ref>
		+
		+	At a meeting on 30 October 1997, Lander told Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], "some key figures... probably see the ceasefire as a genuine opportunity to reach a settlement. Both intelligence and overt reporting indicate that they are prepared to consider a settlement which stops short of a united Ireland."<ref name="Andrew7978">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, pp.797-798.</ref>

	==SOCA==		==SOCA==

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 ===Director T Branch===
 Christopher Andrew states that Lander became [[MI5 T Branch|Director T]] in February 1992, which would be the same month that [[Stella Rimington]] became Director-General.<ref name="Andrew775">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.775.</ref> Elsewhere, Andrew contradicts this by stating that Lander had been [[MI5 T Branch|Director T]] for two years when [[Stella Rimington]] became Director General.<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref> Given that he also describes him as T5 in 1991, this would appear to be a mistake.
 MI5 took the lead role against the IRA from the Metropolitan Police on 1 October 1992. According to Andrew, Lander, who was "not known for being a shrinking violet" among his fellow directors, found the negotations with the police, "Just awful, awful, awful" and urged MI5 personnel to be conciliatory towards Special Branch.<ref name="Andrew7756">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, pp.775-776.</ref>

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 ===Director H Branch===
-Lander became [[H Branch MI5|Director H]] in 1994.This came at a time of significant job losses within MI5, and he later acknowledged that "our success at handling this painful episode was mixed".<ref name="Andrew781">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.781.</ref>
+Lander became [[MI5 H Branch |Director H]] in 1994.This came at a time of significant job losses within MI5, and he later acknowledged that "our success at handling this painful episode was mixed".<ref name="Andrew781">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.781.</ref>
 Rimington did not initially think of Lander as her natural successor, although by 1995, the Permanent Secretary at the [[Home Office]], Sir [[Richard Wilson]], had concluded that he was her first choice from his attendance in meetings.<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref>

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 Lander was serving as Deputy head of the [[MI5 B Branch|B2 section]] in autumn 1985, when he proposed ending the traditional practice of placing new MI5 officers in F2 Section to learn the basics of counter-subversion work. This was strongly opposed by [[MI5 F Branch|Director F]].<ref name="Andrew789">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.789.</ref>
-==Serves under Rimington==
+===Serves under Rimington===
 At some point during the mid-1980s, Lander served under [[Stella Rimington]], who he described as "far and away" the best assistant director, he ever had.<ref name="Andrew774">Christopher Andrew, ''Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5'', Allen Lane, 2009, p.774.</ref>