Avoid facial disguises, carry loose change and be ready to make split-second decisions: just some of the advice Britain’s domestic spy agency gave recruits tailing subjects nearly a century ago.

Though many apply, only a few have the skills and patience to make it as a “watcher”, an MI5 training manual published for the first time by the National Archives reveals. Despite the rise in ...

He also retained his job and knighthood for cooperation. In 1972, the Queen’s private secretary, Martin Charteris, told MI5 “the queen did not know and he saw no advantage in telling her about ...

these were some of the tips given to rookie MI5 "watchers". Their job was to covertly tail and report on suspected enemy agents. The guidance is contained in a booklet that was issued to all new ...

MI5’s top interrogator was baffled by Kim Philby, admitting he could not determine whether he was a Soviet spy, according to newly declassified intelligence files. Jim Skardon, a former ...

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our ... New recruits to MI5’s “watchers” division during the Second World War received some highly ...

A 17-page official MI5 guide on ‘observation’ declassified today reveals that bosses considered the ideal spy was ‘born and not made’, with many candidates lacking the patience required ...

The files about royal art historian Anthony Blunt are among a trove from the intelligence agency MI5 released Tuesday by Britain’s National Archives. They shed new light on a spy ring linked to ...

The Labour leader also backed MI5’s blacklisting of a human rights lawyer from being appointed solicitor general over his marriage to an Italian anti-fascist activist, secret files obtained by the ...

However, a Second World War guide produced by MI5 for prospective agents concluded that the ideal “watcher” was “born and not made”. The 17-page guide, which was compiled for “officers ...

Confessions of double agents and tips for new spies have been released as part of a tranche of recently-declassified documents from MI5. The documents are part of a new exhibition on display at ...

Historian Christopher Andrew says in the official history of MI5 that the queen had previously been told about Blunt in "general terms."Blunt was publicly unmasked as a spy by Prime Minister ...