A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
I 4 AM not," writes Sir Percy Sillitoe in his memoirs, extracts from which are appearing in a Sunday newspaper, "at liberty to discuss in any detail the work of MI5." That seems fair enough, but it is a little difficult to know what to make of the following sentence: " The work of MI5 is unconnected With political matters, the creed, politics and nationality of those who are guilty of activities liable to undermine the national security are immaterial in so far as the Department's attitude to them is concerned." I should have thought myself that both the national security and activities liable to under- mine it (unless undertaken by lunatics not holding Cabinet rank) were political matters; and although I quite see that once a man has been proved guilty of such activities he ceases to be of much concern to MI5, I should have supposed that, until this stage was reached, his creed, politics and nationality were things in which the security authorities jolly well ought to take an interest. If, for instance, a visitor to England is known to be a citizen of the Ukraine, a fervent apostle of Com- munism and to advocate the overthrow of Imperialism, what has to happen before MI5 allow their attention to be drawn to his presence / If their work is " unconnected with political matters " what on earth is it connected with ?
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