TRUE SPIES 1. SUBVERSIVE MY ARSE Opening Titles - True SPIES Time-lapse Westminster Commentary 00.31 There's a shadowy body that lies at the heart of government - the Secret State. Its arms are M15 and Special Branch. 00.38 For years it's been spying on its own citizens - even including a member of the Royal Family. Royal Family clip Caption The Royal Family. BBC2. "So what's the name of this band then? Exit. No, listen, it's a marketing thing - wherever we play our name's up in lights. Exit My arse......" Royal Family clip Commentary 01.03 Ricky Tomlinson, who plays the couch potato Jim Royle, was once a member of the National Front. Then he became a militant trades unionist and his politics changed. ASTON RICKY TOMLINSON Tomlinson sync I was moving to the left... ...I know what's right and I know what's wrong and I know when someone is getting a raw deal and someone is exploiting someone. WRP march and banners Commentary 01.22 Special Branch showed a particular interest in Ricky Tomlinson when he became involved with the Workers Revolutionary Party. ASTON TONY ROBINSON Lancashire Police Special Branch, 1965-81 Tony Robinson sync they're not reticent in promoting violence in pursuit of their aims, and for a time Rickie Tomlinson went along with them... and more or less intimated that he would like to join the Workers Revolutionary Party... Tomlinson sync INT Did you ever consider joining the Workers Revolutionary Party? R.T. I did actually. I did actually, and I've done quite a lot of work for them i.e. going round and speaking at meetings and stuff like that... ASTON STELLA RIMINGTON Director general, MI5, 1992-96 What sort of threat did they pose? Stella sync S.R. Well all I can say is that Communist and Trotskyist organisations, by their philosophy, their published aims, would have fallen within the definition of subversion. Commentary 02.07 That's actions intended to 'overthrow or undermine parliamentary democracy by political, industrial or violent means'. Tomlinson sync PT: Were you a subversive? A: My arse. I love England. I love Britain. I'm totally gobsmacked If they can do it to me, then they can do it to anyone. Anyone. They can do it to anyone. Robinson sync You have to draw a line somewhere when it comes to protecting the state. And if at the end of the day civil liberties are infringed then so be it. Subtitle: Subversive My Arse Building workers' strike Actuality: I'm managing a band... laughs... bloody hell its Brian Epstein! Commentary 03.06 Ricky Tomlinson wasn't always the nations' favourite slob or an actor. [PAUSE] 30 years ago he organised flying pickets during a building workers strike in Shrewsbury. Tomlinson INT ...I think the conditions was far more important than the wages because if you wanted to go to the toilet you couldn't. And so the fellas used to go in.. used to go and dig a little bloody hole and crap in a hole or stuff like that. Commentary 03.32 The strike became notorious. [PAUSE]Tomlinson and his mate Dessie Warren were charged with intimidation, fighting and affray. [PAUSE] In court the pickets were described as 'a frenzied horde of Apache Indians'. ASTON TONY ROBINSON Lancashire Police Special Branch , 1965-81 Tony Robinson sync The strike was very very violent and extended over the whole of the country and they used to travel the length and breadth of the country and for want of a better word intimidate building workers who insisted on carrying on working or who wouldn't go on strike. Tomlinson sync INT Did you intimidate them? R.T. No, I don't think I did. I certainly had my say... INT Did you use violence against anybody? R.T. I personally never used violence against anyone. Archive of trades union protests over plight of Shrewsbury 2 Commentary 04.10 Tomlinson and Warren were gaoled and became known as 'the Shrewsbury Two'. Tomlinson got two years. 04.17 Their case became a trades union cause celebre. [PAUSE] To the rank and file, they'd been defending workers' rights against exploitation. Upsound: if you want to do a job of work in the trade union movement this is not the way to do it. Commentary 04.37 When Tomlinson was released from gaol, his request to address the TUC was turned down. But he refused to be silenced. 04.46 By now Tomlinson had a Special Branch file. Tomlinson sync Well you do surprise me. You really do surprise me. INT It’s true. R.T. I take your word for it, yes. INT How does that strike you? R.T. Frightening I suppose. Frightening, but if it's true it's true. Tony Robinson sync the file on Ricky Tomlinson said that he was a left wing agitator and prone to violence and basically speaking was a political thug. Was the word thug used in his file? Yes. Tomlinson sync We’ve interviewed the Special Branch officer who had you on file and he says that your file described you as a 'thug'. R.T. A thug! Well I find that strange.... INT Well that’s what he says the file says about you. R.T. How does he back that up? INT because of your activities during the building workers strike. R.T. Mmm hm. INT How do you feel about being described as a thug on a Special Branch file? R.T. I hate it. I hate it. It's not right. It's untrue and more importantly it's unfair. Actuality: Do you regret your actions? Not at all. Not in any way. No.. INT Not a subversive? R.T. Not a subversive and definitely not a bloody thug. Archive of files in Old Scotland Yard bunker Commentary 06.08 Ricky Tomlinson's file was only one of hundreds of thousands that Special Branch compiled on suspected subversives. 06.16 Each file was copied to M15 - the Security Service. Tony Robinson sync When I first joined Special Branch I went on a preliminary course down at the headquarters of MI5, and we were briefly taken down to what was called 'the Registry', which was where the files were kept, just these thousands and thousands of thousands of files in the racks there must have been upwards, if not more, than a million Commentary 06.48 Those MI5's files ranged from trade unionists to the then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. [PAUSE] 06.57 We've also established that they included members of Friends of the Earth, Amnesty International, and even the anti- Asbestos campaign. ASTON STELLA RIMINGTON Director General, MI5, 1992-96 Stella sync the rules under which the opening of files are governed was less formalised than it became later on and files might have been opened on people who would not now be regarded as falling firmly within a recording category... looked at from, you know, the point of view of the 21st century, we could say that in some cases it might have been over-zealous. Tony Robinson sync Are you proud of what you did? T.R. [19:11:44] Very proud. I can't make any apologies for it, in fact I wont. I did the job I was paid for and we did it well. Archive Grosvenor Square Beatles: Revolution Caption Grosevenor Square March 1968 Commentary 07.48 1968 was a watershed year for the Secret State. Ken Day sync we had no training at all for demonstrations. We were just bussed in a coach, didn't know what we were going to do, No preparation for it whatsoever. Actuality Tariq We are here to express our solidarity with the guerrillas of the National Liberation Front...... Commentary 08.14 So-called 'Subversion' and public disorder now seemed ideological allies. [PAUSE] 100,000 young demonstrators marched to Grosvenor Square in protest against the Vietnam War they laid siege to the American Embassy. ASTON WILF Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1962-77 Wilf sync We underestimated how many were coming. We were ill-equipped at the time and couldn't bring enough men in to control it consequently when the violence erupted We were amateurs then, link arms and hold them back. They just kicked fertiliser out of you. NEWS: Also there were troublemakers, a hardcore with intentions to drag the majority of well intentioned demonstrators down to their sickening level. ASTON TARIQ ALI Tariq Ali sync When the Cossacks came in, as we called them, there were punch ups. a big fracas took place and it became one of those events which were very, very symbolic for British politics and British culture at the time. Grosvenor Square Commentary 09.17 The Secret State was alarmed not just because of the violence but because it believed new subversive forces on the Left lay behind it - determined to assault parliamentary democracy. Tony Robinson sync I got a very, very good insight into how they worked I think they're inherently violent, like most Trotskyist groups are,.. I think the philosophy is one of violent revolution without any doubt whatsoever. Still at G. Square Commentary 09.48 Grosvenor Square shook the Secret State because of the global context of the time. 09.54 Ever since the onset of the Cold War, MI5 had been worried about Soviet penetration of British political life. ASTON DAN Metropolitan police Special Branch, 1964-89 Dan sync a quite senior officer warned that in his view it was quite likely that in ten years Britain could become a Communist State. Tony Robinson sync INT Is that what you believed, it wasn't just 'Reds under the bed', the scare? T.R. No, it was a very, very serious threat. Stella sync you have to remember that one of the objectives of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was to spread communism world-wide and the way they tried to do that was by what are known as subversive means, by undermining democratic systems of government in other countries. More G. Square Commentary 10.54 Grosvenor Square was a wake-up call for the Secret State. MI5 was the lead agency and with Special Branches around the country in support. [PAUSE] 1968 showed its spies were not up to scratch. Wilf sync The recognition was that we were totally inept at both the information we gathered and the way we dealt with that information. Sting Graveyard in northern English town......... Commentary 11.20 So the Met. Special Branch devises an extraordinary plan. It's never been revealed before. In a Northern town, one of its officers searches the headstones for a new identity. Richard sync I just read the Frederick Forsyth novel 'Day of the Jackal' and used a similar technique to that. I found a young boy who'd died at a fairly young age, and as it were resurrected him.' Commentary 11.46 Traditional methods of gathering intelligence were now inadequate. Special Branch needed to get closer to its targets. [PAUSE] A new top secret unit was set up - the Special Demonstration Squad . ASTON WILF Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1962-77 Wilf sync a group of very, very brave, dedicated officers had personae created for them and went out to work in the field undercover totally divorced from their friends, their family, and they literally worked their way into organisations the nearest analogy I can put to it is in the military terms the SAS. Commentary 12.24 The officer researches the boy's family history and assumes the identity of the adult he would have become, had he lived. 12.32 To avoid blowing his cover, he has to be word perfect on every detail of the person he's now become. ASTON RICHARD Former Metropolitan Police Special Branch Richard INT And what sort of things did you absorb from that town? [00:29:45] Oh the streets, the parks, one thing about towns in England is that you always describe the whereabouts by pubs and corners don't you, you know, "Turn left at Red Lion and you're in so and so", that sort of thing sod's law says that you go into an organisation, you find someone who's also from that background - that's the great dread of it, you get asked the question out of the blue that you're not going to have the right answer to - you sweat on the inside. Archive Red Lion Square Commentary Sieg Hiel, Sieg Hiel nat sync. 13.15 The secret squad's prime function was to combat the street violence that was proving increasingly difficult to control. Richard sync I allowed the Metropolitan Police to prevent blood on the streets as it were. things could have been very, very nasty, but with pre-emptive intelligence that was prevented. Roof-tops Bedsit pix Commentary 13.36 This elite group of undercover officers lived their new lives, out there in the wilds, for up to five years. Wilf sync They had a complete new personality created for them, new names, new addresses, new apartments, new driving licenses, new social security numbers. They just were wiped off the face of the earth as far as police identification went. They were true spies, true spies. ASTON BRIAN Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1968-92 Brian sync I adopted the identity of a Londoner who worked in the engineering field. I lived in a small flat and changed my lifestyle to be that person. Archive Fugs - Police State Commentary 14.20 Their mission was to penetrate what was, to most police officers, an alien world. 14.29 This was the alternative society, its enemy - the police state. Caption: ITV's THIS WEEK and Date actuality voice-over The audience doesn't find the song implausible, they’re apparently unaware of how a real police state - Nazi Germany, Russia, Spain - compares with theirs. Commentary 15.00 For Special Branch officers to blend into the alternative society required a complete makeover job. Brian sync INT What did you all look like? Brian Grew a beard. Long hair. Outrageous. ASTON GEOFF Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1974- 2002 Geoff sync Big hair. That particular time long hair was in. One of the requirements was to grow your hair long, and also to have a beard. But my hair was very fine, so unfortunately it was decided that I’d have a perm. INT. A perm? Geoff A perm. Yes, a permanent wave. And so I ended up a bit Mark Bolan-y, it was easier to handle, and of course it was completely different. Wilf sync We called them the 'hairies' because they all grew their hair long down to their shoulders. A policeman wasn't short back and sides like the marines anymore. These guys wore hair down to their shoulders, looked like Jesus Christ incarnate and changed dramatically. Singing of Internazionale Brian sync I wouldn't say I became a revolutionary - but certainly there were times when I became very close to being native... Actuality: Ho Ho Ho Chi Min I seemed to develop, take on board the aims and objectives of the people I was infiltrating, INT So you became a Marxist revolutionary? Brian Yeah. INT Take part in debates? Brian Take part in debates, chair meetings. INT You became an expert on dialectical materialism? Brian Almost. Difficult subject to master. [But you had to. Brian Yeah, the theory. INT You had to read the books, know the language. Brian Know, the ideology, know the language. Archive LSE sit-in Actuality It seems to me that the best way we can attack imperialism is to build a revolutionary movement in this country. ASTON JACK DROMEY Trade Unionist Jack Dromey sync Q. This was not just infiltration it was long term penetration of organisations of the hard left. A. I find that amazing. I try to conjure up this image of someone with flat feet learning to sing the Internationale and call for the end of capitalism must have been a rather interesting experience for them, but that they felt that they had to do that I find extraordinary. The Who - Don't Get Fooled Again plus Black Dwarf archive Tariq studio speech ASTON TARIQ ALI Students in Revolt, BBC2, 1968 Actuality: "we believe in all power to the Soviets, we believe in the abolition of money, we believe in the appropriation of all private property and we believe in a large mass of people in their respective jobs This is a very big programme indeed. Well ... it’s just that these are the bare essentials." The Who - Don't Get Fooled Again plus Black Dwarf archive Commentary 18.05 Tariq Ali edited the paper of the International Marxists Group - the IMG. 18.15 The Black Dwarf was required reading for every M15 and Special Branch officer in the land. [PAUSE] So was his post. ASTON TARIQ ALI Editor, Black Dwarf, 1968-70 Tariq sync often in those days where surveillance was much cruder than it is now our letters would arrive badly, you know, stuck together. And there were two or three occasions when letters to me came with the wrong letters in them, so you obviously realised that something was going on. Commentary 18.46 But Tariq Ali was also a top target for the Hairies. One of them had infiltrated the IMG and managed to get hold of the keys to its headquarters. ASTON DAN Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1964-89 Dan sync I was aware that some of the keys that I was holding when I was babysitting those offices gave access to offices that we, or the Security Service, might be interested in, so I was able to take pressings of all the keys. INT Pressings? Dan Yes, pressing into plasticine for the copies to be made. INT And you just happened to have the plasticine handy did you? Dan I had an idea that I might have an opportunity so I took some with me. INT And then? Dan And then the offices were subsequently visited on another occasion. Archive of Tariq office building Commentary 19.37 The keys were passed on to the 'visitors' and the 'visitors' - presumably MI5 - turned them and got in. [PAUSE] The purpose of such intrusions was to spy on what the organisation was up to. Tariq Ali sync INT He made the impression of the key in a block of plasticine that he just happened to have in his pocket. T.A. It's quite amazing, it's quite amazing. INT Why is it amazing? T.A. Well it's always a bit awful when someone who you trust completely, and he must have been trusted to have had a key to that office and to have been allowed access to it, and the person is completely betraying you all the time, it is.. it is a bit distressing, especially as.. obviously he must have been liked, he must have made friends, so it's.. I'm just wondering now who it was, because one's memory fades about who the people were Brian sync they would probably feel that I abused the friendship. The fact of the matter is it was a friendship which I valued at the time, and I enjoyed, but the objective was to provide a service. INT But you betrayed those friendships. Brian I don't regard it as a betrayal. Tariq sync T.A. Well I mean that's.. yeah, a form of fundamentalism for you. You know, basically you're prepared to subordinate everything else to what is your political aim or your.. or work aim, and I guess that's what spies are. archive Scotland Yard tape machines Commentary 21.17 It was a dangerous world out there and the Hairies lived with the abiding fear of being compromised. 21.32 On one occasion, a telephone tap revealed that a Hairy was suspected by the group he'd infiltrated. [PAUSE] He was warned to expect a grilling. Dan sync after the meeting I was invited to a pub - and I remember drinking something in the region of 9 or 10 pints of beer. I was very concerned that I was getting the point where my guard would slip, that I would reveal something which would give something away or expose a colleague and I remember my mind seeming to stay ice cold. The rest of me felt like jelly but they had drunk along with me so they were showing considerable signs of wear as well, and I don't know if I satisfied them or not but I was allowed to go and then I was met shortly afterwards by a colleague, then I just collapsed. I was absolutely drunk as a skunk, but I'd held it together until then. Commentary 22.28 Many of the Hairies relished the adrenalin rush that came with the job. Their years undercover were the best of their police careers. 22.37 But for a few, the pressure was unbearable. Dan INT Did you decide that after that experience enough was enough? Dan. Yes I did. Yes. Yes I had a family to consider and it was taking its toll on those relationships. It was time to stop. Bradford terrace Commentary 22.58 Other Special Branch officers in forces around the country also needed to live on their wits. [PAUSE] They too spied on suspected subversives. [PAUSE] One of them, Tony, was renowned for his guile. ASTON TONY ROBINSON Lancashire Police Special Branch, 1965-81 Tony Robinson sync one thing you could not do was to make that person, the subject, aware that he was the subject of an investigation. This meant using all sorts of subterfuges. Tony Robinson sync I once went as a Church of England vicar. INT A vicar? T.R. A vicar, complete with dog collar, and got away with it. New to the parish etc, etc. INT Did you find out as a vicar what you wanted to know? T.R. Indeed so. But I've got to say that it's a rather tense situation and you've got to be a good actor at the same time. INT But you're telling lies, you're misleading the public. T.R. I suppose so. The whole business of.. I would think in many instances of being a Special Branch officer is based on lies. INT And deception? T.R. And deception, otherwise you can't do your job. Commentary 24.06 Tony also infiltrated a local Vietnam Peace Committee - opposing a nearby American base. To do so, he exchanged his dog collar for a woolly hat. Tony Robinson sync T.R. In those days... it was fashionable to have a rather hippy experience.. I used to wander around with no socks on in my shoes, and sandals sometimes...the beard sort of gave me an appearance of left wing respectability for want of a better word. archive of Pilkingtons Commentary 24.34 Under the guise of the Peace Committee, Tony spied on militants running a strike at the Pilkington glass works. [PAUSE] He thought he had the perfect cover...until it was blown by a Special Branch colleague, apparently jealous of his success. Tony Robinson sync I was stood at the back monitoring the proceedings and the vote went up to go back to work and the crowd just disappeared. I turned round and.. ready to make.. go off myself, and all of a sudden I was surrounded by members of the strike committee, most of them CP members sort of ringed me. I said.. "Anything wrong fellas?", "You bastard, you're a Special Branch.. you're a Special Branch aren't you?". I didn't make any reply, there was only one way to tackle it and that was to walk towards the largest, which I did do, and he stood to one side and there was no confrontation. SA national anthem South Africa rugby team arriving in England Actuality Heathrow Airport. Demonstrators faced a cordon of security staff as they prepared to greet the incoming Springbok rugby touring team from South Africa..... Commentary 25.50 The visit shows how the 'Hairies' pre- emptive intelligence was translated into action. 26.06 There was huge opposition from radical groups to the planned visits of the South African rugby and cricket teams whom they viewed as ambassadors for Apartheid. [PAUSE] Their plan was to disrupt the Springboks' tour. To the protestors, they were apologists in rugby shorts. ASTON PETER HAIN Stop the ’70 Tour campaign Peter Hain Actuality this is a campaign against the cricket tour and the rugby tour and apartheid in sport in general - our organising tactic will be one of non- violent direct action - that is run on to the pitch and disrupt matches Dan sync I remember meeting with a senior officer at Scotland Yard and I said there would be an awful lot of blood spilled on the streets of London, and that wasn't the view that was held in some circles at that time within the police service.' Peter Hain being carried out of ground by police Commentary 26.53 With potential violence in the offing, the 'Hairies' were tasked to infiltrate the 'Stop the Tour' campaign and to get as close as possible to its controversial organiser, the young Peter Hain. Panorama discussion featuring row between Hain and Wilfred Wooller, Member of Cricket Council (and Secretary of Glamorgan C.C.) PANORAM BBC1, 1970 Caption: Wilfred Wooler. Member of Cricket Council [and Sec. Of Glamorgan CC. Also Panorama plus year. Actuality "The issue is one of racialism and we’re prepared to take a fundamental stand… What evidence have you got in this world that a boycott or isolation has ever done any good. Has it done any good in Rhodesia? Is the demonstrations doing any good in Northern Ireland, two typical current events. These are irrelevant. They are not irrelevant. You're suggesting that we should isolate South Africa. Now this is the vital question. Twickenham Commentary 27.29 The verbal battle in the Panorama studio became a war of cushions on the terraces - between the toffs in the stands and the protestors below. Commentary 27.41 In general, the Hairies aim was to rise within an organisation but not to end up running it. 27.49 In the case of the Stop The Seventy Tour, the 'Hairy' who got very close to the top was called Mike. [PAUSE] Hairies had handlers and Mike's handler was Wilf. ASTON WILF Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1962-77 Wilf sync Mike worked his way into the organisation by his.. shall I say his enthusiasm, his dedication, his skill, his intelligence, worked his way up to being Peter Hain's number two. I don't think Peter Hain ever, ever realised that he had a police officer as his number two ASTON PETER HAIN Foreign Office Minister, 2002 Peter Hain sync Were you aware of the attentions of Special Branch and MI5? P.H. I was not directly aware in the sense that somebody tapped me on the shoulder and said "Hey, we're keeping a watch on you", but we had good reason to believe that this was happening and a number of events occurred during the Stop the Tour campaign which confirmed that. Commentary 28.41 The Hairies' finest hour came at the climax of the tour - during the match between the Springboks and the Barbarians at Twickenham. Wilf sync the intention was for the demonstrators, just prior to half time, to throw flare bombs, smoke bombs and metal tacks onto the pitch. Mike passed that information on, it was passed on to the uniform, and at the appointed time officers were there with sand buckets and metal magnets and although they threw as many as they could onto the pitch they were snuffed out, taken away and and the players didn't know that it had taken place and when they came out after half time the game carried on. Wilf sync later on at a meeting Peter Hain felt that there quite rightly was a spy in their midst and there was one poor devil that Mike Ferguson looked down the room and said I think it's him, and he got thrown out, and Ferguson survived - bless him. Peter Hain sync Do you recall that? P.H. I do recall that, yes. INT Just tell us about that, what did you do? Did you suspect the spy? P.H. There was lots of suspicions at the time, but I just took the view that what we were doing was correct, and I wasn't going to be deflected by fringe sort of pressures of that kind. INT But you got the wrong spy. P.H. Well quite possibly. Sting Commentary 30.07 The Secret State adopted a range of techniques to spy on the lives of its citizens. 30.15 Telephones were tapped and private conversations recorded. 30.20 This is the first time that those directly involved have spoken openly about these sensitive operations. Wilf sync There was a government building, not far from the House of Commons. It was called the bunker. It was the most miserable place on earth. It was the nearest thing to a subterranean underground car park building you've ever seen, and that's where we sat with just taps and banks and banks of tape recorders running all the time, and that's all you did. Wilf sync you just tapped those kind of people, people high up who were the organisers, the organisers, the brains I mean I suppose you could call them. Q: Tariq Ali? Tariq Ali was tapped for a long time but then you see Tariq Ali was never afraid of either the publicity or the notoriety which he obtained. ASTON TARIQ ALI Editor, Black Dwarf, 1968-70 Tariq Ali sync T.A. One didn't have too many illusions about how the state functioned in those times - it was well known that the state regarded anyone who was opposed to it as an enemy. Commentary 31.22 Telephone tapping was done with government authority. Permission had to be sought and given. [PAUSE] 'Bugging' was different. [PAUSE] There were no rules. Drill cut-aways - Wilf sync sometimes you simply drilled a hole through the wall, and stuck a probe through and tried to listen to what they were saying I remember drilling with the connivance of the hotel, drilling a hole through a wall in a hotel in West London where a meeting was going to take place, and we drilled through 15 inches taking four days working at night to get into this meeting room and we finally struck a girder which was supporting the whole of the hotel ... We.. sometimes I wasn't very professional. (laughs) Matthews finds bug in King street archive Commentary 32.04 Occasionally the Secret State was rumbled. One of its prime targets was Communist Party Headquarters in Covent Garden. ASTON GEORGE MATTHEWS Head of Press, Communist Party of Graham Bradley, 1974-79 George Matthews sync Well the builders who were reconstructing the conference room, found embedded in the wood of the platform a quite large bug. and it was still functioning, that was when we first got absolute proof that there had been bugging Matthews press conference actuality: "we assume that it was one of the intelligence services - our own opinion is a British intelligence service who put it in Matthews sync If the State wants to fight us, let it fight us in the political field but not by using the forces of the state to interfere with our legitimate democratic rights. That's what we objected to. Commentary 32.53 Over the years, the Secret State bugged and burgled as it saw fit - to keep so- called subversion at bay. Wilf sync you were outside of the law, let's understand that. You were working outside of the law. You just did it because you happen to believe that this is a wonderful country worth living in and you were trying to keep it clean and democratic, and maybe we were dirty ourselves. Cold War archive Music - Eve of Destruction Commentary 33.44 At the height of the Cold War, the Secret State was anxious to stop those it saw as subversives from getting sensitive jobs - especially in the defence industries. 33.55 It was called vetting. But first it had to be established who the so-called subversives were. ASTON TONY ROBINSON Lancashire Police Special Branch, 1965-81 Tony Robinson sync proof of membership was the ultimate in the intelligence field in respect of recording of subversives. INT And it was known as? T.R. It was known as 'still life'. It was prima-facie evidence of membership. Commentary 34.17 One of Tony's agents had access to Communist Party Headquarters in a Northern city. On a routine basis he borrowed its its membership cards. Tony Robinson sync twice a year, we had a specially adapted observation van, he would have the legitimate access into the premises, and he would come out with the.. the new registration cards at the start of the year, and we would photograph them, just put them four at a time in front, click, click and on it went. Cards back in the same position and off we drove. Commentary 34.54 But it wasn't just the defence industry that the Secret State vetted. The BBC was also targeted because of its key role in times of national crisis. ASTON ALAN Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1965-83 Alan sync Did you have informers, sources within the media? Alan Yes. INT Journalists talking to special? Alan Yes. I did have a source within the BBC to which I could go for information if I wanted it. INT And what kind of information would you be seeking from within the BBC? Alan We'll be looking at trade union activity bordering on the militancy and stuff like that. BBC board-room Rostrum: Christmas tree Commentary 35.32 The BBC as an organisation was ready to cooperate with the Secret State. 35.39 In Room 105 - it employed a personnel officer to liaise with MI5 - the aim being to keep troublemakers out of sensitive jobs. 35.46 Suspects had a Christmas Tree stamped on their files. Extract from Play for Today: Leeds United Commentary 35.57 And it wasn't just BBC trades unionists who were watched. Its creative talents were monitored too. In 1974 a play called 'Leeds United' caused a storm because of its supposedly subversive bias. Actuality What’s up with you? Michael says he’s a communist. So bloody what? It’s what you're paid for ?? not your politics. Anyone what gets this lot off their arses I don’t care if he’s Mau Tsi bloody Tung. Commentary 36.27 Its director was Roy Battersby, a member of the Workers Revolutionary Party. ASTON ROY BATTERSBY Television Director Battersby sync R. B. Leeds United was a film written by Colin Welland about a strike amongst the Leeds clothing workers, and they were striking for a shilling an hour increase. And again it was an explosive strike. Actuality And we’re supposed to swallow miserable bloody pittance they give us last month. They give us it three months ago and we got it three weeks back. More archive BBC Commentary 36.55 The BBC's head of Drama was ordered in plain terms not to employ Battersby. Battersby sync nevertheless your name's on the credits. Yes, it’s true, and I know that only happened however, like Christopher Morahan for example who was head of drama at the time, refused to accept instructions that I couldn't be hired. Actuality Hey, come on, it’s five to. Put your fag out Mollie. Don’t bleedin’ tempt me. Another extract from Leeds United Commentary 37.27 Though he eventually went on to direct 'Inspector Morse' for ITV, Roy Battersby was not able to make another film for the BBC for a decade. Battersby sync I think it's meant that I haven't had the opportunity to do the kind of work that I would like to have done, and the cost has been.. I feel the cost has been high. Certainly the cost has been high to me. Montage archive industrial disruption from early 1970s John Lennon Working Class Hero sound- track Commentary 38.06 The Secret State's greatest concern in this period was with what it saw as Communist subversion within industry. 38.15 Through the late 60s and early 70s industrial unrest gripped the country - from the coalfields to the docks. MI5 and Special Branch had no doubt the hand of the communists lay behind it. ASTON DAN Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1964-89 Dan sync We were going through a lot of unrest in the docks, in the print, in Ford and other motor works. A lot of big threats to the stability of our society. So at some stages, it felt as if you were paddling in a pool of subversion Clip from Til Death Do Us Part Caption BBC1, 1974 "Look the reason your car workers......... cos of Bolshie bastards like him... ......................on a soldier's wages - see how they like that..." Liverpool promo film/Halewoods archive Commentary 39.24 The Secret State was determined to put an end to the onward march of the militants - - in particular in hotbeds of industrial unrest like Liverpool, where jobs were as scarce as salmon in the Mersey. John Lennon actuality from Working Class Hero - so full of fear.... ASTON TOM Tom sync Well it was very frustrating, You had to walk everywhere then, to go and get a job no matter how far it were, you had to walk. You could walk 7, 8 miles, 10 miles, wherever a job was, you went there. You just running up blind alleys all the time. Commentary 40.09 We understand that Ford, whose giant plant at Halewood employed 12,000 workers, only agreed to invest there because of a secret agreement. Robinson sync It was very, very important that the unions were monitored, and I as a Special Branch officer make no apologies for doing it as efficiently as I could. Actuality Before making this investment the Ford Motor company investigated other sites in Britain in great depth, but finally chose Liverpool with its excellent communications and available labour force. Halewood archive Commentary 40.45 It also chose Liverpool because of a secret assurance. Robinson sync My senior officer, said "One of your responsibilities, Tony, is to make certain that the Fords factory is kept clean of subversives, Commentary 41.03 Ford struck a deal involving MI5 and Special Branch. Robinson sync Part of the plan drawn up was to make certain that working would carry on smoothly at Fords without the expected Merseyside disease of strikes and layoffs and God knows what, that the workforce would be vetted. The arrangement was thus drawn up, unofficially of course, that the Special Branch would do this Commentary 41.31 Every week, Ford would submit the names of the latest job applicants to the local Special Branch. Robinson sync we were expected to check these lists against our known subversives, and if any were seen on the list then strike a line through it, go and see our contact and say "So and so, so and so has been.. is a member of the CP or has been a member of the CP, didn't renew his membership last year" or something like that. INT It's called blacklisting isn't it? T.R. Well, there's no other term for it, but it was done obviously with.. to my way of thinking, the right reasons. INT Did you cross many people off? T.R. From time to time, yes. Tom sync I apply for a job in Fords, filled the form in, sent it in, went along, passed the medical, And did you think you'd get the job? Tom Well I thought I will get a job there, because at the time they were looking for people. But then he sent me a letter saying there was no vacancies. INT No vacancies! Tom No vacancies, How the hell can he turn around and say to me that there's no job there and they're still taking people on. Robinson sync Why did you cross Tom's name off? Tom, was according to the records, was a well known industrial militant, he was a member of the Communist Party on Merseyside. He had a record of, for want of a better word, disruption. Tom sync How long were you out of work for after Fords had said there was no job? Tom It was about 2 ½ - 3 years. Robinson sync I don't feel a personal responsibility for that. No. I’m sorry for him, I'm sorry for his family, but in any sort of war there are always going to be casualties and it’s just one of those unfortunate things that Tom was one of the casualties. Tom sync your name was on a list and you were blacklisted, that's why you didn't get the job. Did you know that? Tom I didn't know I was blacklisted, no. INT Well you were. Tom Black listed for fight... no, for fighting for your rights - I was a member of a trade union, I was a member of the Communist Party. But my political view should have nothing to do with that. And MI5, how they come to get involved in a thing like this I don't know. ASTON JACK DROMEY Trade Unionist Jack Dromey sync I am dismayed at what it was, an antidemocratic disgrace. I know Liverpool well. There are people who were confined to decades of misery as a consequence of having been black listed with the support of the police. It's outrageous. ASTON TONY ROBINSON Lancashire Police Special Branch, 1965-81 Robinson sync you call it blacklisting and that's what it is, but one has to look at the fact that if you have a factory like Fords - a tremendously large employer, we're talking about thousands of families depend on continued employment, you have a small group of subversives who can bring that factory to a stop, then I think the ends justify the means. Jack Dromey sync J.D. The manufacture of Ford Capris is a wee bit different from the production of nuclear warheads. The idea that you black list somebody because of their politics from going in to make cars is crazy. Tom sync I think it's disgusting - How can you proud of Britain when there's things like that going on? And I didn't know nothing at all about it until you told me. I never knew nothing whatsoever about it. I'm very surprised and I'm very bitter Tony Robinson sync What right have Special Branch or MI5 got to vet me for my job? T.R. Unfortunately in the real world this has to be so, there's no other explanation for it. INT And I don't get the job because I have certain political views. T.R. Tough. Commentary 45.43 Despite the Secret State's efforts to keep suspected subversives out of key industrial jobs, some inevitably slipped through the net. 45.52 But there was a second line of defence against industrial troublemakers - manned by another secret unit within Special Branch. [PAUSE] It was called the Industrial Section. ASTON ALAN Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1965-83 Alan sync Our main position was to obtain the intelligence and information as to what these militants would be up to, so that we could inform the government of the day just exactly what was going to take place or what we thought was going to take place so they could combat it in the ways they thought possible. Commentary 46.18 The Industrial Section had a highly sensitive role - to cultivate sources around the trade union movement's top table. Alan sync INT And what sort of relationship did you establish with these trade union leaders? Alan A very close working relationship. You could pick up the telephone and hopefully you could talk to them. We would meet them. Archive Joe Gormley and Arthur Scargill pix Commentary 46.42 Joe Gormley was President of the National Union of Mineworkers. The Labour Party was as deep within him as the coal in the ground. Nat Sync with miners Nat Sync VO 46.55 Gormley's great rival was Arthur Scargill, a former Young Communist who was a then rising star within the Union. Scargill nat sync Why then start to put a lot of complicated facts and figures on in the form of a package deal which can only tend to lead to confusion. I know your point of view Arthur, you've expressed it hear. Don’t expect it to be my point of view at the moment until…. 47.11 Joe was invariably up for a deal. Arthur decidedly not. … and if you keep winking me I shall not wink back… (laughter) ASTON KEN DAY Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1969-98 Ken Day sync The extreme left were getting the upper hand and were dictating the policy of the unions to some great extent, then we found ourselves actually going to unions and talking to top union officials about what was actually going on. INT Top union officials? K.D. People at the very top. Alan sync One of them would be Joe Gormley in the National Union of Mine Workers. Certainly he was in a position of power and was in a position to furnish us with what we were looking for. INT Would Joe Gormley's trade union colleagues have known that he was talking to Special Branch? A. I doubt it, very much. Dromey sync Would you be surprised to hear that Joe Gormley was speaking to Special Branch very privately and giving them vital intelligence? J.D. I would be stunned. Stunned. INT Well he was. J.D. Shameful! It should never have happened. INT But it did. J.D. Any self-respecting trade unionist should not cooperate in that way with those regarding their members to be a threat to the state. outrageous. ASTON ARTHUR SCARGILL National Executive, N.U.M. 1972-2002 Arthur Scargill sync Are you surprised that Joe Gormley was talking secretly to Special Branch? A.S. Not at all, because the history of our movement is littered with people in leadership positions who were either connected with Special Branch or connected with the state. Alan sync Q. But why would Joe Gormley, the President of the Miner's Union be talking to the Metropolitan Police Special Branch? A. he loved his country. He was a patriot and he was very wary and worried about the growth of militancy within his own union TU leaders en masse Working Class Hero refrain Commentary 49.15 Joe Gormley was by no means the only trade union leader to have such secret friends. Alan sync I think we had 22 or 23 different characters there that we were discussing with. INT What, 22 or 23 senior trade unionists? Alan Yes. INT What, talking to Special Branch ? Alan Yes. INT That's almost unbelievable isn't it? Trade unionists aren’t supposed to talk to Special Branch. Alan It would be unbelievable if I… You're the bogey man. It would be unbelievable if I didn’t know it had happened, but having been there in that period of time I know it did happen. Arthur Scargill sync Does that surprise you, over 20 trade unionists, senior members of the trade union movement talking to Special Branch? A.S. Yes it does surprise me, I thought it would be many more than that. Saltley Gate Strawbs Commentary 50.15 Scargill first became a working class hero during the Miners' Strike of 1972 when he led an army of trades unionists to lay siege to Saltley coke depot. 50.28 His strategy was to starve the power stations of fuel and bring the country to a halt - thus forcing the government to give in to the miners's wage claim. 50.38 First the drivers had to be persuaded not to take the coke out of the depot. Nat sync Scargill and driver You can ask the police and I’m quite sure they will confirm what I’m saying, there was no lorry gone through here today. I’m not telling any lies at all…… Commentary 51.08 The police, unprepared for the confrontation, were swamped by sea of flying pickets from all over the country. 51.17 After a tumultuous and historic week, Arthur's army won. [PAUSE] The gates of Saltley closed. Scargill sync The miners were taking really united strike action for the first time really since 1926. And we were doing it in a way which had never been done before with the use of flying pickets from all over Britain. They not only closed Saltley Gates, but more important they did something fundamental, they changed in my view the whole of British politics. Archive Gormley Commentary 52.02 But the tantalising mystery remains. [PAUSE] Because Joe Gormley was talking to Special Branch before 1972 and telling them of the miners' plans for a strike, why didn't the Secret State head it off? Alan sync INT Did you foresee the 1972 miners strike? Alan Yes we did. INT How did you foresee it? Alan Because we were told by Joe Gormley that it would happen. INT And what did you do with that information.? Alan That information was passed on to MI5. INT So MI5 would know what was happening at the very top of the Miners Union. Alan Yes. I'm given to understand that MI5 reported to the government that such a strike would not take place. INT Would not take place? Alan Would not take place. Bowler hat archive Commentary 52.50 We can only speculate why MI5 might have been sensitive to the Industrial Section's extraordinary activities. Was it Jealousy? A Turf War? Or a class thing? ASTON WILF Metropolitan Police Special Branch, 1962-77 Wilf sync It was a very, very strained relationship They were public school, we were grammar school or maybe below, and therefore there was a certain amount of antagonism. I think they regarded us as wooden tops, as plods Commentary 53.17 Not only were the Industrial Section's warnings ignored - worse was to follow. Its activities were wound down. Opt cut??? Alan sync we were informed that the Squad has been disbanded, that we've been investigating probably too much, and that was the end of it, and we all went off to the four corners of the earth, into other squads. Whitehall and Parliament Commentary 53.40 Ironically, no sooner was the Section disbanded than its prophecy of future industrial unrest came true. 53.47 In 1974 the Conservative Prime Minister, Ted Heath, took on the miners in another strike - and lost. 53.54 The government fell - toppled by mass trades union action. Archive Grunwick check words against pix Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK Upsound: Commentary 54.08 The Labour government that followed fared no better as militant trade unionists grew stronger. 54.21 The climax was a violent clash at a photo lab in London called Grunwick. ASTON CHARLES POLLARD Metropolitan Police, 1964-79 Charles Pollard sync This is beyond peaceful picketing which is about trying to persuade people peacefully. This was just about naked violence to stop it and stuff everybody else. Stuff the police, stuff the government, we're going to stop it. Now that’s not right ?? Wilf sync we became spotters, and you would literally go along to some of the more violent demonstrations... at Grunwick it was our job to go and see who was associating and organising small bands of anarchists and leftwing people to be attacking the police. you went up looking as scruffy and dirty and as unkempt as they were. We weren't hairies, but we certainly didn't go out in pinstripe suits with our club ties on.. Commentary 55.14 Workers, largely Asian, were in dispute over union recognition. The management sacked the activists and refused to reinstate them. 55.24 Staff who wanted to carry on working were bussed in through the picket lines. [PAUSE] The Secret State watched with growing alarm. Dan sync It was the first indication of a move down the road of disorder and it needed careful monitoring. Wilf sync So you'd do a couple of days up there and then you'd come away and you'd write up all your notes on who you saw, who they were with, what cars they were with, where they were coming from Commentary 56.00 The Secret State's prime target was Jack Dromey. actuality............................ 56.14 But Special Branch suspected that Dromey had his own subversive agenda. Dan sync Jack Dromey, in my view, had a capacity to excite people and his audience were sufficiently impassioned to become excited with a little stimulus from Jack, whether it was a loudhailer outside Grunwick or at Ealing Town Hall. ASTON JACK DROMEY Chairman, Grunwick Strike Committee, 1976-78 Jack Dromey sync Over the years I have met several policemen who were at Grunwick, including Special Branch men, and they've told me that I, who was simply standing up for workers rights, that my phone was bugged at home, that they had a listening device in the strike headquarters, and that I was periodically followed. Anyone would think that I was a member of the IRA or a Soviet spy. All I was, was a good trade unionist. Charles Pollard sync C.P. [00:14:20] Well he may say that. At the time the perception was that he was a very extreme person with agendas way beyond that. Jack Dromey sync It was madness. It frankly reflects upon the appalling paranoia that characterised the Special Branch and the Security Services at the time. Archive of Scargill and miners arriving at Grunwick Commentary 57.30 To the Secret State, the sight of Arthur Scargill at Grunwick confirmed his growing status as subversive enemy number one. Brass band Geoff sync I was present when Arthur turned up with the miners to show solidarity with the workers. There he was neatly coiffured at the head of the brass band, it was like a scene out of a Ken Loach movie. Arthur Scargill sync there was the possibility here in Britain that the trade union movement could use direct action, not merely to improve their wages or better their conditions, but also to bring about fundamental changes in the political system itself. Grunwick and Scargill Commentary 58.07 Despite the Secret State's intrusion into the lives of its citizens, it had proved unable to stem the tide of apparent industrial anarchy. 58.16 By the end of the decade, governments of both Right and Left had been swept away by militant trade union power. 58.22 But as Scargill marched on, Mrs. Thatcher was already gathering her forces to halt the red tide. A final showdown loomed. Commentary For more information on tonight's programme, visit our website at www.bbc.co.uk/true spies In next week's programme....