Spycatcher and the alleged MI5 “Wilson plot”
Alleged: Reported or claimed; not established in the public record.
Former MI5 officer Peter Wright claimed in Spycatcher that thirty MI5 officers had approved a plot against Prime Minister Harold Wilson. MI5 ordered a fresh internal inquiry. On BBC Panorama on 13 October 1988 Wright said the maximum number was “eight or nine”, often only three, and that when it came to it only “One, I should say” was serious.
Documented
MI5’s history page records the claim, the internal inquiry and Wright’s Panorama concession. The European Commission of Human Rights’ report of 12 July 1990 (Times Newspapers and Neil v UK) lists Wright’s allegations and found a violation of Article 10, freedom of expression.
Claimed, disputed or not established
Wright alleged an MI5 plot against Wilson, a plot against Nasser, and that Sir Roger Hollis was a Soviet agent. Per MI5 and its former Director-General Stella Rimington, internal interviews and file searches found nothing matching his account. The allegations remain Wright’s claims.
Sources (opened in a new tab)
- MI5: The Wilson plot ↗https://www.mi5.gov.uk/history/the-cold-war/the-wilson-plot
- The Guardian: Rimington on Spycatcher and freedom of information (11 Sep 2001) ↗https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/sep/11/freedomofinformation.media
- ECHR Commission report: Times Newspapers Ltd and Neil v UK (PDF) ↗https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?filenam=&id=001-45478&library=ECHR
Connected
- Section: United Kingdom
- Agencies: MI5
- Vault documents: Times Newspapers Ltd and Neil v United Kingdom: Commission report (Spycatcher) ↗
- Case board · Timeline (1988) · Document vault