The Black Door: Spies, Secret Intelligence and British Prime Ministers (Paperback)

The Black Door explores the evolving relationship between successive British prime ministers and the intelligence agencies, from Asquith's Secret Service Bureau to Cameron's National Security Council.

At the beginning of the 20th Century the British intelligence system was underfunded and lacked influence in government. But as the new millennium dawned, intelligence had become so integral to policy that it was used to make the case for war. Now, covert action is incorporated seamlessly into government policy, and the Prime Minister is kept constantly updated by intelligence agencies. But how did intelligence come to influence our government so completely?

The Black Door explores the murkier corridors of No. 10 Downing Street, chronicling the relationships between intelligence agencies and the Prime Ministers of the last century. From Churchill's code-breakers feeding information to the Soviets to Eden's attempts to assassinate foreign leaders, from Wilson's paranoia of an MI5-led coup d'etat to Thatcher's covert wars in Central America, Aldrich and Cormac entertain and enlighten as they explain how our government came to rely on intelligence to the extent that it does today.

‘Aldrich and Rory Cormac are inexhaustible researchers, who use a wide range of archives (some only recently declassified) and include striking material from off-the-record informants. The Black Door is a vital, authoritative book.’ – The Times

‘[An] excellently informed yet also admirably unsensational history […which] deserves to be read very seriously’ - Sir Max Hastings, Sunday Times

‘Pioneering … This is one of those rare books that deserve to change the way that modern British political history is researched and written.’ - Prof Christopher Andrew, Literary Review

Richard Aldrich is a regular commentator on war and espionage and has written for the Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph. He is the author of several books, including the ground-breaking, uncensored history, GCHQ.

Dr Rory Cormac is an Associate Professor of International Relations at The University of Nottingham. His research specialises in secret intelligence, covert action and deniable interventions and national security.