New MI5 Files Reveal Surveillance on Nye Bevan and Anti-Nazi Activities

The National Archives in Kew has unveiled a new collection of MI5 records, comprising over 100 files that span various historical events and figures, including Cold War spies and Communist Party activities during the early months of World War II. Among the notable files is a two-volume record on Aneurin "Nye" Bevan, a significant British politician and founder of the National Health Service in 1948. MI5 monitored Bevan from the early 1930s until his death in 1960, primarily due to his connections with Communist leaders.

During World War II, MI5 documented Bevan's speeches in his South Wales constituency, where he was critical of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's war efforts. At a meeting in 1942, Bevan referred to Churchill as "an old man, 68 years of age" who was "too old for the job." In 1949, while serving as Minister of Health, MI5's director personally warned Prime Minister Clement Attlee about a friend of Bevan's who had previously been jailed for espionage. Attlee dismissed the warning as unfounded.

Bevan was aware of MI5's scrutiny, as evidenced by a 1956 speech where he remarked, "They were not spying on Hitler, they were spying on me." The files also include two records concerning MI5's monitoring of leftist activities surrounding the coronation of George VI in 1937. MI5 tracked various left-wing plans aimed at undermining the celebrations, including pamphlets and calls for a boycott, as well as a bizarre incident involving a man prosecuted for claiming there was a plot against the coronation.

Another significant figure in the files is Wolfgang zu Putlitz, a German diplomat who provided MI5 with intelligence on Hitler's plans before fleeing to Britain in 1939. His story continued to unfold after the war, as he became a British citizen and later moved to Communist East Germany in the 1950s. The files related to Putlitz span until 1973.

Significant Actions Against Soviet Espionage

In September 1971, the British government expelled 105 Soviet officials, marking the largest expulsion of spies in history, known as Operation FOOT. This action followed the defection of a KGB officer in London and was documented in eleven files that detail the internal discussions within Whitehall regarding Soviet espionage.

Composer Michael Tippett also appears in the released files, which trace his activities from 1934 when he briefly joined the Communist Party, through his imprisonment as a conscientious objector during the war, to a review of his opera, The Midsummer Marriage. By 1965, MI5 concluded that his file held no significant security implications, and he was knighted the following year.

Cleared for Release

The release further includes files on individuals convicted of spying for the Soviet bloc in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as near-verbatim minutes from Communist Party leadership meetings during the war. Historians and researchers will find these documents valuable for understanding the dynamics of espionage and political surveillance in Britain during a tumultuous period.

These files are now accessible through The National Archives under the specified references, providing a rich resource for those interested in British intelligence history.