The Secret Society - 1987 expose of British Secret Cabinet Committees

[Brocke]

Have you ever heard of MISC7, OD, ODSA, GEN29, MISC94, ELF?

These were but a few of the hundreds of Secret Cabinet Committees that as far as the British public are concerned do not exist and never did...

The Secret Society

The Secret Society series caused a political furor in 1987. BBC Director General Alasdair Milne's support for this series was one of the key reasons he was sacked (and replaced by Michael Checkland, an accountant). This Journalistic Coup d'État was conducted by Lord Victor Rothschild, Margaret Thatcher and Marmaduke Hussey in 1986.

The production team behind the series was threatened with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. Mr Campbell's front door was kicked down and his home searched. In 1987, Strathclyde Police raided the corporation's Scottish headquarters in Glasgow and seized the tapes from the offices of BBC Scotland where the series had been made. Mr Campbell's home was also raided, The tapes were later returned and the series broadcast on the BBC except for episode one. The BBC decided that the episode (one) about secret cabinet committees was too sensitive to show before the 1987 general election. The Thatcher government leaned on the BBC to prevent its damaging allegations being made public.

1. The Secret Constitution: Secret Cabinet Committees - about small, secret and influential Cabinet committees.

2. In Time Of Crisis: Government Emergency Powers - Since 1982, governments in every other NATO country have been preparing for the eventuality of war. In Britain, these preparations are kept secret. So what will happen when the balloon goes up?

3. A Gap In Our Defenses - Bungling defense manufacturers and incompetent military planners have botched every new radar system that Britain has installed since World War Two. Why? And can we stop it happening again?

4. We're All Data Now: Secret Data Banks - The Data Protection Act is supposed to protect us from abuse, but it's already out of date and full of loopholes. So what kind of abuses should we worry about?

5. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) - ACPO Making up their own law and policy. About the Association of Chief Police Officers and how Government policy and actions are determined in the fields of law and order.

6. Communications Zircon - About GCHQ with particular reference to a secret £500 million satellite. Reference to Zircon spy satellites which the public accounts committee were not told about.

Program 1. The Secret Constitution: Secret Cabinet Committees

VIDEO
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2770935645251752965#


Program 2. In Time Of Crisis: Government Emergency Powers

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjdvuJ6dRcY

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27vFU0NSzeU

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v_Kdyki4Ow


Duncan Campbell, Secret Society, Secret Cabinet Committees (1987)

This is from Duncan Campbell's award-winning and explosive BBC video documentary series 'Secret Society' (1987). This episode about secret cabinet committees features author Peter Hennessy, Clive Ponting and Clement Freud MP amongst others.

In this freedom of information tour de force Campbell exposes the secret decision to buy U.S. Trident nuclear submarines as well as laying bare the cabinet level dirty tricks campaign against CND and its general secretary Bruce Kent. Margaret Thatcher, James Callaghan, the British Atlantic Committee, The ultra-right Coalition for Peace Through Security and the cabinet secretary come in for sharp criticism for keeping key decisions secret from Secretaries of State as well as MP's.

His support for this series was one of the key reasons BBC Director General, Alasdair Milne (who was replaced by Michael Checkland, an accountant) was sacked. This Journalistic Coup d'Etat was conducted by Lord Victor Rothschild, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Marmaduke Hussey in 1986. The BBC's independence has been under sustained assault ever since.

Secret Society was suppressed from high above since it was simply too controversial as it openly exposed various secret groups operating invisibly inside British government. They made damn sure no one would ever discover them but they were very wrong. Find out who they are and what are they doing without your knowledge. Duration 30 minutes, producer Brian Barr.

[EvadingGrid]

I must see the series, especially episode one.

[Brocke]

Old ghosts resurface to haunt UK government

Posted: 11/09/03 By: Jemima Kiss

A BBC documentary that caused a wave of controversy - and led to the early departure of the broadcasting organisation's director general Alistair Milne - is available for sale on a UK web site.

The Secret Society TV series was made in 1986 by investigative journalist Duncan Campbell, but only five of the six programmes were ever broadcast.

The final episode - 'Secret Cabinet Committees' - alleged that both the Labour government, under Prime Minister Jim Callaghan, and the Conservative government, under Margaret Thatcher, had made major decisions at secret meetings, bypassing the cabinet. The programme also revealed that Jim Callaghan had attempted to stall the freedom of information bill.

In 1987, police seized the tapes from the offices of BBC Scotland where the series had been made. Mr Campbell's home was also raided, although the tapes were later returned and the series broadcast on the BBC.

Journalist and freedom of information campaigner Tony Gosling is now offering the missing episode for sale on his web site.

Mr Gosling told dotJournalism that an influential London researcher had been asking the BBC for a copy of the documentary for several weeks, with no success. Mr Gosling then provided him with a video tape of the programme and made further copies available on his site.

"I think you have to ask why this series is so hard to find," Mr Gosling said.

"There has to be a political element. I'm fighting back against this unspoken censorship." He added that the series was unlikely to be included in the BBC's new 'Creative Archive' web project.

Mr Gosling established the Bilderberg.org site in 1996 as a platform for his investigations and alternative analysis of world events.

"It's like having my filing cabinet online," he said.

"It's very personal mixture of my own take on things and more structured analysis. I'm regularly contacted by people who need extra information that they can't find elsewhere."

The site is named after business lobbying organisation The Bilderberg Group - a favourite subject for conspiracy theorists who allege that the group of European and North American industrialists are planning the globalisation of world markets.

http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/5714.php

[Brocke]

Duncan Campbell
Duncan Campbell is a British freelance investigative journalist and television producer who has specialised in intelligence issues, was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act in the 'ABC Trial' in 1978 and made the controversial series Secret Society for the BBC in 1987 (see Zircon affair). He was a staff writer and assistant editor of the New Statesman from 1978-91.

He shares the same name as another Duncan Campbell, who was a long-standing correspondent for The Guardian.

Important articles
In 1980, his article revealing the existence of the secret Standing Committee on Pressure Groups (SCOPG) in Hong Kong led to the revelation that most pressure groups and individual members of the opposition were under surveillance by the colonial government. Duncan's article asserts that Hong Kong under then governor Sir Murray MacLehose had become a dictatorship. In his words: "Hong Kong is a dictatorship; and scarcely a benevolent one."

Campbell revealed in 1988, in an article titled "Somebody's listening" and published in New Statesman, the existence of the ECHELON surveillance program.

In 1999 he wrote a report on COMINT entitled Interception Capabilities 2000 for the European Parliament.

In 2005 and 2007, Campbell investigated and wrote criticisms of the Operation Ore child pornography prosecutions in the U.K., which exposed police errors and "revealed how computer evidence used against 7,272 people in the UK accused of being paedophiles had been founded on falsehoods." These articles were "Operation Ore Exposed" and "Sex, Lies and the Missing Videotape," both published in PC Pro magazine.

The Who's Pete Townshend and Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja were both cleared of charges they accessed child pornography through the Landslide site by the investigation detailed by Campbell in PC Pro magazine. When their credit card charges and IP addresses were traced, both were found to have accessed sites which had nothing to do with child pornography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_Campbell_%28investigative_journalist%29

[worcesteradam]

i have seen one of these before

i was very suspicious of it. approach it with caution
they try to make a bid deal out of not very much, imo

[Brocke]

i have seen one of these before

i was very suspicious of it. approach it with caution
they try to make a bid deal out of not very much, imo

Program 1 The Secret Constitution: Secret Cabinet Committees impressed me. Which one have you seen and what were your thoughts on it?

[worcesteradam]

yea, the first one ive seen. i am watching it again now.

it reveals nothing, despite being made to look like it does

[Brocke]

yea, the first one ive seen. i am watching it again now.

it reveals nothing, despite being made to look like it does

So, Duncan Campbell and the production team were never threatened with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act? BBC Director General Alasdair Milne was not sacked for his support of the production? Jim Callaghan never attempted to stall the freedom of information bill?

Are the Secret Cabinet Committees common knowledge amongst the British public?

Well, it was news to me, although no surprise that Thatcher would be involved.

[worcesteradam]

i dont know about that but the programme doesnt really reveal anything. It doesnt reveal a secret society, and whether the cabinet meetings are secret or not is debatable. These people are elected to run the country.
thats all i know

[Brocke]

i dont know about that but the programme doesnt really reveal anything. It doesnt reveal a secret society, and whether the cabinet meetings are secret or not is debatable. These people are elected to run the country.
thats all i know

LOL. Ok, you object because the title might be a bit sensationalist. In 1987 this would have been volatile stuff.

You keep saying "the programme doesn't really reveal anything". Comment noted.

I've downloaded all of them for my library. 

[worcesteradam]

thanks for posting them

im not trying to criticise you for it

just posting my opinion.

[EvadingGrid]

bookmarked

[EvadingGrid]

I found the second episode most chilling, but then I am still haunted after seeing 'Threads'

[kita]

great post.This is also a good watch for those people who still belive that queen has no power and does not 'rule" the commonwealth.