Prime Ministers and spies: from Asquith to Thatcher

At the start of the 20th century, Prime Ministers and espionage had few ties. As the decades went by, their relationships developed; from Asquith’s Secret Service Bureau, through Churchill’s innovative wartime regime, to the role of intelligence in Cold War decision-making. 

Speakers Richard Aldrich, Professor of International Security at the University of Warwick, and Rory Cormac, Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, are coauthors of The Black Door. They will explore how the relationship between Number 10 and the Security Services evolved, using records from The National Archives’ collection.