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 ...

Some MI5 material relating to its involvement with a teenager who was charged with terrorism before taking her own life is being "withheld" from her inquest but is "not a cause for concern", a ...

Sir Ken McCallum, who was knighted in the latest New Year Honours, gave a speech at the leaving event for FBI director Christopher Wray on Friday. MI5’s director general has said every terrorist ...

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 ...