British intelligence agencies
In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, GCHQ interceptions of Soviet ship positions were sent directly to the White House.
The following agencies, groups and organisations fall under the remit of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament:[5] Four national centres and authorities support and complement the work of the agencies: Organised intelligence collection and planning for the Government of the United Kingdom and the British Empire was established during the 19th century.
The Bureau was split into naval and army sections which, over time, specialised in foreign espionage and internal counter-espionage activities respectively.
This specialisation, formalised before 1914, was a result of the Admiralty intelligence requirements related to the maritime strength of the Imperial German Navy.
[19] Following the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the JIC became the senior intelligence assessment body for the United Kingdom government.
The 1943 British–US Communication Intelligence Agreement, BRUSA, connected the signal intercept networks of the GC&CS and the U.S. National Security Agency.
Its staff, including Alan Turing, worked on cryptanalysis of the Enigma (codenamed Ultra) and Lorenz cipher,[21] and also a large number of other enemy systems.
Winston Churchill was reported to have told King George VI, when presenting to him Stewart Menzies (head of the Secret Intelligence Service and the person who controlled distribution of Ultra decrypts to the government): "It is thanks to the secret weapon of General Menzies, put into use on all the fronts, that we won the war!
[29] Later broadened to include Canada, Australia and New Zealand, known as the Five Eyes, as well as cooperation with several "third-party" nations, this became the cornerstone of Western intelligence gathering and the "Special Relationship" between the UK and the USA.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, GCHQ Scarborough intercepted radio communications from Soviet ships reporting their positions and used that to establish where they were heading.
A copy of the report was sent directly to the White House Situation Room, providing initial indications of Soviet intentions with regard to the US naval blockade of Cuba.
The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) was formed as a child agency of MI5 in 2007, merging the NISCC and NSAC.
[35] CPNI provided integrated (combining information, personnel, and physical) security advice to the businesses and organisations which made up the critical national infrastructure.
[36] In 2016, the cybersecurity-related aspects of the CPNI's role were taken over by the newly-formed National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a child agency of GCHQ.
[41] The MI6 chief and the CIA director made their first-ever joint remarks in an opinion piece in the Financial Times in 2024.
