Overseeing Intelligence: Reform, Review and Management of British Intelligence, 1943-1968

This thesis examines the organisational and bureaucratic evolution of British intelligence
from the end of the Second World War up until 1968. By placing the secret world in the state and putting the British state into the secret world, it demonstrates that British intelligence became a central and vital part of the British official government. Using periodic reviews of the Secret State, this study focusses on the improved oversight of British intelligence during this period by a small group of civil servants, described here as the secret ring.
The year 1957 was pivotal for the organisation of British intelligence. Following the
embarrassments of 1956, the JIC moved from the Chiefs of Staff organisation into the
Cabinet Office. Cemented at the height of civilian government, the transition was symbolic of broader changes to the intelligence establishment. British intelligence had been elevated to new heights. The move of the JIC reflected the growing civilian nature of intelligence, its importance to top-level decision-makers within the civilian government, and its increasing similarity with and proximity to the civil service. By 1968, British intelligence firmly remained at the height of official government with a new Co-ordinator to oversee its future and further its influence.
Each of the first four chapters describes the increase of a different form of oversight: first the secret ring itself, then the role of the Cabinet Secretaries, thirdly its personnel and the
proximity with the broader civil service, and finally the finances of the Secret State. The final two chapters explore the priorities of the new directors of British intelligence: firstly, the lack of attention towards Britain’s colonial struggles and finally the importance of America to intelligence decision-making. Together, these themes show intelligence became a vital function of the British state.