Anthony John Cavendish (20 July 1927 – 12 January 2013) was a British MI6 officer who served in Germany and Austria during the early years of the Cold War.
[3] Cavendish left SIS in 1953 and turned to journalism, covering Eastern Europe and the Middle East for United Press International and filing acclaimed eyewitness dispatches from Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
[2][3] When Oldfield fell victim to a smear campaign in 1980, following his appointment as British Prime minister Margaret Thatcher's security supremo for Northern Ireland, Cavendish began writing a slim volume of memoirs intended to clear his friend's name.
[1][2][3][4][5] This attempt by Cavendish to restore Oldfield's reputation led to a two-year game of cat-and-mouse with Whitehall censors until the House of Lords threw out the government's case.
[3] In May 1989 Cavendish made an extended appearance on the Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark, alongside Tony Benn, Lord Dacre, James Rusbridger, Miles Copeland and others.