Maxwell Knight

Maxwell Knight was an MI5 agent-runner.

Maxwell Knight was born in 1900. He became a Naval Cadet in 1915. In the final year of the First WEorld War, he served as a midshipman in the Royal Naval Reserve. He subsequently worked as a teacher and freelance journalist for several years.

He became involved with George Makgill's private Industrial Intelligence Bureau (IIB), joining the British Fascisti (BF) as an agent for Makgill in 1924. He became the BF's deputy chief of staff and director of intelligence. In 1925, he married the director of the BF women's units, G.E.A. Poole in 1925.

In the mid-1920s, Knight successfully infiltrated six fascists into the Communist Party on behalf of the IIB.

Christopher Andrew characterises Knight's views at the time as closer to those of the Fascisti than he would later acknowledge, but nevertheless 'those of diehard conservatives rather than the radical right'. He nevertheless had extremely right-wing friends, including Nesta Webster, who recommended him to Desmond Morton of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS).

SIS

Morton recruited Knight and his network for the SIS in December 1929, to investigate links between British communist organisations and the Comintern. SIS did not inform domestic intelligence agencies of the recruitment but Morton was told by J.F.C. Carter of Special Branch that Knight had been put under observation.

MI5

In October 1931, Knight transferred to MI5 which took over responsibility for domestic agent-running. Knight's network known as 'M Section', was initially based in Sloane Street, later at Dolphin Square. It targeted the Communist Party of Great Britain and from 1933, the British Union of Fascists.

In 1937, Knight married his second wife, Lois Coplestone.