Open secret

Author: (British) Stella Rimington
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Features: This is a book about my life experiences so far, straightforward and entirely based on memory, without any exaggeration. My life includes my work at a national security agency for about 27 years. However, I do not intend to write about the history of British counterintelligence or anti-terrorism activities during that period. I simply want to look back and write a memoir, recording what I now personally consider to be the most remarkable part of my life. I remember in May 1982, during the Falklands War, sitting in a hotel room in Huddersfield with my African friend, teaching him how to write in secret. During my time in the Counter-Terrorism Department, the principle was to focus on organizations or individuals with disruptive intentions. The 1984 miners' strike was investigated by MI5, but only those who used the strike to undermine the government were targeted. In 1983, I was transferred to the Counter-Terrorism Department as a section head, leading a team of about 40 people—a position with significant authority. Before me, only one woman had reached this rank. During my time in the Counter-Terrorism Department, the political situation was extremely turbulent: the miners' strike lasted for a long time with continuous demonstrations; the Militant Movement in Liverpool was growing increasingly active; the Socialist Workers Party was highly active on university campuses. The foundation of MI5's counter-terrorism work in the 1980s was the definition of "subversion" given by Parliament in the 1970s: "activities aimed at overthrowing or undermining parliamentary democracy through political, industrial, or violent means." Therefore, the concept of "subversion" did not include political dissent. Our principle was to focus on organizations or individuals with disruptive intentions. The 1984 miners' strike was strongly supported by the miners' union, but it was directed by three people who had publicly announced beforehand that they would use the strike to overthrow Thatcher's elected government. We quickly decided not to concern ourselves with the miners' support groups, as that was the police's job. MI5's investigation was limited to those who used the strike to undermine the government. Among the operatives, there was widespread anxiety and hysteria caused by stress. In 1983, we had all the materials ready to be submitted to the Cabinet Office at any time. Although disk storage was available then, the Director General explicitly banned its use out of fear of losing the data. Before submitting reports to the government leader, we were extremely cautious in reviewing them repeatedly to ensure that everything mentioned fell within our authority. Despite this, we still treated these reports as sensitive documents and destroyed them immediately after reading. I remember a State Minister from the Department of Energy lost an important report. Among the operatives, there was widespread anxiety and hysteria caused by stress. The operatives were tasked with finding this lost file in his office at the Thames House. They turned the place upside down but couldn't find the file, and everyone was about to go crazy. Seeing these dedicated operatives unable to find the file and unable to deliver it to the minister, he reportedly said he remembered it being blown away from his garden while he was reading. The operatives returned empty-handed, and the matter was left unresolved. For such important incidents, MI5 also had to turn a blind eye. MI5 was also responsible for "" (election work). During this time, the Director General would provide the new Prime Minister with significant security intelligence on party MPs for reference when forming the government. A primary principle of this work was that intelligence on one party's members could not be disclosed to another party. Although the number of MPs involved in major security intelligence was very small, the work was highly complex and sensitive. Another issue was defining what constituted intelligence, which involved investigating the individuals involved, putting immense mental pressure on those who handled the work. I clearly remember in 1983, we worked day and night to prepare all the materials, ready to submit them to the Cabinet Office at any time. All documents were first submitted to the Section Head, then to the Director General. Although we could use disk storage then, the Director General explicitly banned it, fearing that we might lose these disks and cause a major disaster. In this male-dominated environment, everyone endured immense mental pressure, as this profession was not only about national interests but also had to be extremely cautious due to oversight from multiple parties in a multi-party system. As a woman, I went through many trials and tribulations in this unique environment and, in the end, along with my colleagues, became a witness and participant in many historical events at MI5.