Book description
The gripping and largely untold story of the role of the intelligence
services in Britain's retreat from empire.
Against the background of the Cold War, and the looming spectre of
Soviet-sponsored subversion in Britain's dwindling colonial possessions,
the imperial intelligence service MI5 played a crucial but top secret
role in passing power to newly independent national states across the globe.
Mining recently declassified intelligence records, Calder Walton
reveals this 'missing link' in Britain's post-war history. He sheds new
light on everything from violent counter-insurgencies fought by British
forces in the jungles of Malaya and Kenya, to urban warfare campaigns
conducted in Palestine and the Arabian Peninsula. Drawing on a wealth of
previously classified documents, as well as hitherto overlooked personal
papers, this is also the first book to draw on records from the Foreign
Office's secret archive at Hanslope Park, which contains some of the
darkest and most shameful secrets from the last days of Britain's empire.
Packed with incidents straight out of a John le Carré novel, Empire of
Secrets is an exhilarating read by an exciting new voice in intelligence
history. 'A superb and engaging account of the role of intelligence
during the decline of Britain's Empire' Daily Express
'A fascinating history of intelligence and empire. Walton's book is
perfectly timed, as Britain braces for a possible public inquiry into
allegedly systemic torture of prisoners in Iraq. Walton provides
appalling insight into the use of torture throughout the withdrawal from
empire' Observer
'There is enough human anecdote and eccentricity in 'Empire of
Secrets's “high octane” narrative to please even the most satiated
consumer of such subjects … a story that often left me wondering what on
earth we pay these people for' Michael Burleigh, Literary Review
'Walton is a very good writer. 'Empire of Secrets' fairly rips along,
summoning in places the verve of a good spy novel … It is to his credit
that he has produced such a gripping, thoughtful and satisfying book on
an aspect of British history still largely hidden by shadow' Daily Telegraph
'A compulsively readable tale of loss of empire, a necessary process of
decolonisation overseen by MI5' Times Calder Walton is a leading
expert among a new generation of intelligence historians. He has
published widely on intelligence history and contributed to a number of
books on British foreign policy and international relations. While
completing a PhD in history at Trinity College, Cambridge, and then a
post-doctoral Fellowship at Darwin College, Cambridge, he was one of the
principal researchers on Christopher Andrew's unprecedented authorised
history of MI5. He lives in London, where he works as a barrister. This
is his first book.
