MI5 F Branch
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
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.84.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.236.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.327.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.602.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.604.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.602.
- ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.558.
