Secrecy and the Media: The Official History of the United Kingdom's D-Notice System

by Nicholas John Wilkinson

Overview

Secrecy and the Media is the first book to examine the development of the D-Notice system, which regulates the UK media's publication of British national security secrets.  It is based on official documents, many of which have not previously been available to a general audience, as well as on media sources.

From Victorian times, British governments have consistently seen the need, in the public interest, to prevent the media publishing secret information which would endanger national security. The UK media have meanwhile continuously resisted official attempts to impose any form of censorship, arguing that a free press is in the public interest. Both sides have normally seen the pitfalls of attempting to resolve this sometimes acrimonious conflict of interests by litigation, and have together evolved a system of editorial self-regulation, assisted by day-to-day independent expert advice, known colloquially as the D-Notice System.

The book traces the development of this system from nineteenth-century colonial campaigns, through two world wars, to modern operations and counter-terrorism in the post-Cold War era, up to the beginning of the Labour government in 1997. Examples are drawn from media, political and official sources (some not yet open), and cover not only defence issues (including Special Forces), but also the activities of the secret intelligence services MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. These cases relate principally to the UK, but also to American and other allies’ interests.

The story of how this sometimes controversial institution now operates in the modern world will be essential reading for those in the media and government departments, and for academics and students in the fields of security, defence and intelligence, as well as being an accessible exposé for the general reader.

Nicholas Wilkinson served in the Royal Navy 1959-98, and from 1999 to 2004 he ran the independent Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee. He was a Press Complaints Commissioner from 2005 to 2008, and is a Cabinet Office Historian.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415453752
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/26/2009
Series:	Government Official History Series
Pages:	652
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Nicholas Wilkinson served in the Royal Navy 1959-98, and from 1999 to 2004 he ran the independent Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee. He was a Press Complaints Commissioner from 2005 to 2008, and is a Cabinet Office Historian.

Table of Contents

Preface Section 1: Pre-Formation – The Long Debate – 1880s-1912  1. Victorian Security and Press Interaction  2. Regulation of the Press, and the Boer War  3. Facing the Growing German Threat  4. Wrangling with the Press  5. Government Attempts to Litigate  6. Events Bring Matters to a Head  Section 2: Formation and Early Modus Operandi of the Committee – 1912-14  7. Establishing the Committee  8. Establishing Machinery and Procedures  9. Establishing a Modus Operandi Pre-War  Section 3: World War I, 1914-18  10. The Security Context  11. Censorship  12. The Press Bureau  13. Early Interaction Between AWOPC, Press and Press Bureau  14. Settling Down to a Long War  15. Approaching the Steady State  16. Continuing Tensions  17. The Steady State  18. The Final Push  Section 4: Between the World Wars – 1918-39  19. Security Context  20. Media Context  21. Early Work of the Committee  22. Middle Years Lull  23. Thinking About War Again  24. Return Towards a War Footing  Section 5: World War II – Suspended Animation – 1939-45  25. The Press and Censorship Bureau  26. The Practice of Censorship  27. Towards Peace  Section 6: Early Years of the Cold War – 1945-1967  28. Security Context  29. Media Context  30. Return of the Committee  31. Beginning of Cold War Considerations  32. Korean War and Imperial Disentanglement  33. Equipment Disagreements  34. Suez Crisis, and ‘War Potential’  35. Fallout from the Blake Case, and the Kuwait Crisis  36. ‘War Potential’ Again, and the Radcliffe Report  37. Post-Radcliffe  Section 7: The 'Lohan' Affair 1967  38. A Squall Becomes a Storm  39. Another Radcliffe Inquiry  40. The Storm Becomes a Hurricane  41. Rocks All Around  42. Lohan in the Spotlight, and Radcliffe Bites  43. Clearing up the Damage  Section 8: Latter Years of the Cold War, and Northern Ireland  44. Security, Political and Media Contexts  45. Revision of the Notices 1971, and Early Caswork  46. Impact of the IRA Campaign  47. Wider Concerns about the D-Notice System  48. The DPBC Review 1981-82  49. Falklands Conflict 1982  50. Back to Routine Business  51. The 'Zircon' and 'My Country Right or Wrong' Controversies  52. Reform of the Official Secrets Act  53. Business as Usual Again  Section 9: Post-Cold War, 1991-97  54. Iraq, Terrorism, Modernisation  55. D-Notice Review, and Spook Mania  56. Books, Avowal, and the Chinook Crash  57. Special Forces, Former Yugoslavia, Inadequate DA- Notices  58. Media Discomfort, Northern Ireland, Early Website and a Books Mountain  59. Quo Vadit?

 

Editorial Reviews

'An important and absorbing book, surprisingly amusing at times for an official history. Admiral Wilkinson charts the troubled history of the D-Notice system, that great British compromise between national security and freedom of the press, and shows how it has been tested almost to destruction in peace and war over the past century, yet somehow survived. The D-Notice system is much misunderstood, even by journalists: this book will dispel many myths and provide an indispensable reference point for future debates.' Donald Trelford, former Editor of The Observer, Emeritus Professor in Journalism Studies at Sheffield University

'This book is a ‘must’-read for all journalists, espionage writers and other aficionados of the intelligence scene, historians and citizens who cherish the right to know, within the bounds of reasonable security, what is being secretly perpetrated in their name.'
H. Chapman Pincher, journalist, author

'Nick Wilkinson has done us all an enormous service and at a crucial moment in history. Like all great stories, this one is fascinating, packed with information and facts, and brilliantly tells us about the struggles between Whitehall and the media. This is not just history for historians but a must for anyone who cares about our freedoms and how they are protected.'
André Singer, Adjunct Research Professor of Anthropology, University of Southern California

'In an open society there inevitably lies a fault-line where the guardians of national security meet the tribunes of a free press. Nick Wilkinson lived on top of that fault-line for years. It’s called the D-Notice System and, in this remarkable book, he takes us deep into that fissure and mines some real gems which illuminate the hidden history of British Government and the Media.'
Peter Hennessy, Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History, Queen Mary, University of London

‘Thoroughly researched…surprisingly readable and packed with intriguing snippets’ - James Delingpole, The Mail on Sunday

'The history, written by Rear Admiral Nicholas Wilkinson, one of the more enlightened past secretaries of the Committee, provides telling insights into the relationships between editors and Britain's defence, security and intelligence establishment.' - Richard Norton-Taylor, the Guardian

From the Publisher