MI5: Background information when reading At Risk

MI5

This article relates to At Risk

According to a BBC Interview with Rimington, there is no exact equivalent to MI5 in the USA - the nearest equivalent is what used to be called the Foreign Counter Intelligence arm of the FBI. She goes on to say that "MI5 is a civilian intelligence service with no powers of arrest or any other police powers, but a lot of investigative powers. For example, tbey have the power to intercept communications, follow people around, and search houses and cars. Its job is to help to protect the country against serious threats to our national security by generating intelligence, assessing it and taking action on it to prevent the harm intended."

Rimington's autobiography, Open Secret, was published in 2001 and a new thriller, Secret Asset, will be published this August.

Incidentally, having a female in charge of MI5 wasn't a one-time aberration in the system - as witnessed by the fact that Eliza Manningham-Buller led the agency from 2002-2007. (Has there ever been a female in charge of the CIA or FBI? I don't know and have been unable to find out. If somebody knows, please drop me a line).

Filed under Society and Politics

This article relates to At Risk. It first ran in the June 1, 2006 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.