The Defence Regulations existed in draft form, constantly revised, throughout the years between the world wars.
[2] It was originally intended that Code B would be imposed by an Order in Council, with retrospective indemnity being granted by an Act of Parliament should anyone dispute the actions of the authorities.
(1) If the Secretary of State has reasonable cause to believe any person to be of hostile origin or associations or to have been recently concerned in acts prejudicial to the public safety or the defence of the realm or in the preparation or instigation of such acts and that by reason thereof it is necessary to exercise control over him, he may make an order against that person directing that he be detained.
(4) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to secure that any person against whom an order is made under this Regulation shall be afforded the earliest practicable opportunity of making to the Secretary of State representations in writing with respect thereto and that he shall be informed of his right, whether or not such representations are made, to make his objections to such an advisory committee as aforesaid.
The total would have been higher if William Joyce had not been tipped off by an MI5 officer, who appears to have been Maxwell Knight, about his impending internment, allowing him to flee to Germany.
[6] In the Commons a group of Labour and Liberal MPs attempted to have Code B annulled on 31 October 1939, but were persuaded to withdraw their motion in favour of consultation that produced slightly amended wording.
The recent rapid seizure of power in Norway by Vidkun Quisling raised the possibility of a fifth column deposing the British government.
This opened the possibility that Ramsay might use parliamentary privilege to reveal the telegrams, which Churchill had not told the Cabinet about.
Popular reaction was strongly in favour,[citation needed] and one reader wrote to The Times to note with satisfaction that news of Mosley's arrest had been carried in the fifth column[7] of the page.
The winter quarters of Bertram Mills's circus provided one camp at Ascot Racecourse, and uncompleted council housing at Huyton near Liverpool was used from March 1941.
Finally the authorities solved the accommodation problem, both for 18B internees and for interned enemy aliens by setting up camps on the Isle of Man.
There were two justifications for an order to intern: "acts prejudicial to the public safety" and "hostile origin or associations".
Fear of immediate invasion subsided after the Battle of Britain and the number of 18B internees slowly decreased as those of least concern were released.
Oswald Mosley, who was said to be suffering from phlebitis, was released on 23 November 1943, to a great deal of public criticism.
[8] The invasion of France on D-Day again lifted pressure and by the end of 1944 only 65 internees under Regulation 18B remained, most of whom were naturalised German-born citizens.