Initially tasked with combatting the threat of Irish republican terrorists in the reign of Queen Victoria, the Metropolitan Police Special Branch went on to play a major role in the defence of the realm for over 120 years. Over time, 'the Branch', as it came to be known, assumed a much wider role, and was held responsible for monitoring the activities of anarchists, Bolsheviks and even the suffragettes. Later, it became the executive arm of MI5 in dealing with espionage cases, as (much to their frustration) the Security Service had no power to arrest potential spies. As the war against terrorism became more intense in the latter half of the twentieth century, Special Branch worked closely with the Anti- Terrorist Branch in tackling this new threat. Packed with accounts of extraordinary missions, life-saving acts of bravery and high-risk intelligence-gathering, Special Branch offers the first complete history of this unique, but now defunct, service, which was subsumed into the Counter-Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police in 2006. Special Branch veterans Ray Wilson and Ian Adams have brought this long and distinguished history to life with the help of recollections from former colleagues, as well as their own experiences of life in the Branch. In doing so, they have also illuminated the underlying friction marring its relations with the Security Service - without doubt a factor in its eventual demise.

The Malayan Emergency lasted from 1948 to 1960. During these tumultuous years, following so soon after the Japanese surrender at the end of the Second World War, the whole country was once more turned upside down and the lives of the people changed. The war against the Communist Party of MalayaA*s determined efforts to overthrow the Malayan government involved the whole population in one form or another. Dr Comber analyses the pivotal role of the Malayan PoliceA*s Special Branch, the governmentA*s supreme intelligence agency, in defeating the communist uprising and safeguarding the security of the country. He shows for the first time how the Special Branch was organised and how it worked in providing the security forces with political and operational intelligence. His book represents a major contribution to our understanding of the Emergency and will be of great interest to all students of Malay(si)aA*s recent history as well as counter-guerrilla operations. It can profitably be mined, too, to see what lessons can be learned for counterinsurgency operations in other parts of the world.

The official records of the proceedings of the Legislative Council of the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, the House of Representatives of the Government of Kenya and the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya.

This book is a detailed examination of whether domestic security measures are striking an appropriate balance between homeland security and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Professor Paul Wilkinson and the other contributors assess the nature of UK responses to terrorism by key public and private-sector bodies, highlighting how these organizations can prevent, pre-empt, counter and manage terrorist attacks by using a matrix of factors such as types of terrorist networks, tactics and targets. The volume also compares and contrasts the UK's response with cognate states elsewhere in the EU and with the USA. While improved intelligence has helped prevent a major Al Qaeda attack, the authors conclude that there is still a ‘major question mark’ over whether the country is adequately resourced to deal with an emergency situation, particularly in major cities other than London. The book also confirms that while the UK faces a ‘real and serious’ threat of terrorist attack by Al Qaeda, it is better prepared for an attack than other EU member states. Homeland Security in the UK will be essential reading for all students of terrorism studies, security studies and politics, as well as by professional practitioners and well-informed general readers.

The renowned espionage historian offers “a gripping account of British intelligence during the last days of empire” (The Daily Telegraph). Drawing on a wealth of newly declassified records and hitherto overlooked personal papers, intelligence expert Calder Walton offers a compelling and authoritative history of Britain’s espionage activities after World War II. A major addition to intelligence literature, this is the first book to utilize records from the Foreign Office’s secret archive, which contains some of the darkest and most shameful secrets from the last days of Britain’s empire. Working clandestinely, MI5 operatives helped to prop up newly independent states across the globe against a ceaseless campaign of Communist subversion. Though the CIA is often assumed to be the principal actor against the Soviet Union through the Cold War, Britain plays a key role through its so-called “special relationship” with the United States. In Empire of Secrets, Walton sheds new light on everything from violent counterinsurgencies fought by British forces in the jungles of Malaya and Kenya, to urban warfare campaigns conducted in Palestine and the Arabian Peninsula. The stories here have chilling contemporary resonance, detailing the use and abuse of intelligence by governments that oversaw state-sanctioned terrorism, wartime rendition, and “enhanced” interrogation. “An important and highly original account of postwar British intelligence.” —The Wall Street Journal

Security sector reform (SSR) is central to the democratic transitions currently unfolding across the globe, as a diverse range of countries grapple with how to transform militias, tribal forces, and dominant military, police, and intelligence agencies into democratically controlled and accountable security services. SSR will be a key element in shifts from authoritarian to democratic rule for the foreseeable future, since abuse of the security sector is a central technique of autocratic government. This edited collection advances solutions through a selection of case studies from around the world that cover a wide range of contexts.

On Saturday 15 August 1998, a car bomb exploded in Omagh, County Tyrone, killing 29 people and two unborn children. No one has been successfully convicted of this mass murder. This report considers events on and after the day of the bombing, questioning whether certain actions could have resulted in the prosecution and conviction of those responsible for the crime. The Committee stresses however that the Real IRA and the individuals who carried out the bombing are responsible for those deaths alone. The inquiry which informs this report began in Omagh in October 2008 when the Committee met representatives of the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group and paid their respects at the memorial garden erected in the town. At this time two significant processes were under way which inform the bulk of this Report. Sir Peter Gibson's (the Intelligence Services Commissioner), review and also a civil court action by some of the Omagh families against five named individuals and the Real IRA had begun some eight years ago and remains in progress. As Appeal proceedings have begun the Committee makes no comment on that case in this report. In this document the Committee, report facts that are already matters of public record and make some general points about the treatment of victims of terrorist incidents. The Committee looked at the Gibson Review (which resulted from a BBC Panorama programme broadcast two days earlier and an article in that week's Sunday Telegraph by the BBC reporter John Ware), High Court Action and the case for a public inquiry.