Corera, Gordon. "Growing Pangs of Britain's Spy Agencies." BBC, 29 Jan. 2008. [http://news.bbc.co.uk]Materials presented chronologically.
Corera, Gordon. "Growing Pangs of Britain's Spy Agencies." BBC, 29 Jan. 2008. [http://news.bbc.co.uk]
According to the annual Intelligence and Security Committee report, "Britain's intelligence and security services have been growing fast since 9/11.... The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS [MI6]) ... grew at a rate of 3.6% in the last year compared to nearly 30% for MI5, but it has still been undergoing significant changes.... In its broadest definition, counter-terrorism now takes up 56% of MI6's work and that figure is rising.... MI6's greater focus on counter-terrorism has also led to a significant increase in the number of direct 'disruption operations' against terrorist targets, the report says.... The government's eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, has also been put under pressure with resources increasingly devoted to supporting MI5 operations. Making sure its resources keep pace has not always been easy."
Fidler, Stephen. "Legal Cases Draw Spy Secrets out of Shadows." Financial Times, 7 Feb. 2008. [http://www.ft.com]
In Britain, "unlike recordings from eavesdropping devices, intercepts cannot be used as evidence in a court of law.... Britain is the one country in Europe, apart from Ireland, where evidence from wiretaps is not admissible in court. The intelligence services ... distinguish firmly between 'intelligence' and 'evidence', but since 2001 they have in any case been drawn inexorably into court cases, particularly involving terrorist suspects, in which some of their methods have come into the open."
Rayment, Sean. "Former Spy Faces Court Battle to Publish Book." Sunday Telegraph (London), 9 Mar. 2008. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk]
Legal proceedings against a former MI5 undercover agent, to stop publication of a book on the inner workings of the secret service, are due to begin at the High Court in London the week of 10 March 2008. "A senior judge has been appointed to hear the case, which will be held in secret. He will rule on whether publication of the book would breach national security."
Simmons, Chris. "When Spies Become Diplomats." Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2008. [http://www.miamiherald.com]
"[T]wo former Cuban intelligence officers who are now in the United States" have identified René Mujica Cantelar, Cuba's ambassador to the United Kingdom, "as a deep-cover spy in Cuba's foreign-intelligence service, the Directorate of Intelligence (DI)."
Borger, Julian. "British Trade Official Accused of Espionage by Russians." Guardian, 11 Jul. 2008, 12. [http://www.guardian.co.uk]
The Foreign Office confirmed on 10 July 2008 that "the Russians suspected a senior diplomat in the British embassy's trade section of espionage. Local media in Moscow named him as Chris Bowers.... The accusation came just hours after Russia's ambassador in Britain, Yuri Fedotov, responded angrily to a string of reports quoting unnamed British security officials emphasising the security threat posed by Russian spies in Britain."
BBC. "Spy Plane Intelligence 'Lacking.'" 4 Aug. 2008. [http://www.bbc.co.uk]
A report by the Commons Defence Committee says that "[t]he effectiveness of unmanned aerial vehicles used by UK military in Iraq and Afghanistan is being undermined by skills shortages.... According to the report, the Army had a 48% shortfall in UAV operators at the start of 2008, while the RAF was 18% shy of the number needed to assess the intelligence value of images."
Leppard, David. "Terror Chief Tipped to Head MI6." Sunday Times (London), 21 Sep. 2008. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk]
According to senior Whitehall officials, "Charles Farr, a 49-year-old spymaster who has overhauled the Home Office's handling of the war on terror, is widely tipped" to become the chief of MI6 in July 2009, succeeding Sir John Scarlett. "Farr's main rival for the post is thought to be the deputy head of MI6, whose identity cannot be disclosed for security reasons."
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