BRITISH security services were monitoring the Scottish nationalist movement – and feared the French government could be supporting it, newly published MI5 files have revealed.
Part of a huge tranche of thousands of documents released by The National Archives on Tuesday, the files show that Martin Furnival Jones, the head of MI5 from 1965 to 1972, had an eye on nationalist groups in Scotland and Wales.
In a briefing from April 1968 signed by the “security service” and stamped by “E M Furnival Jones”, it is revealed that potential links between the French government and nationalists in the UK were a matter of concern, particularly in Scotland.
“I am hopeful that the arrangements we have for covering the activities of Welsh and Scottish nationalists would be adequate to detect any intervention on behalf of the French Government,” the MI5 director general stated in one 1968 document, suggesting ongoing surveillance of nationalist groups.
A summary of findings then states: “Our enquiries into the Welsh and Scottish nationalist movements have shown no contact between them and the French government.
“The only French contacts are with the separatist movement in Brittany, and these are conducted under the aegis of the Celtic Youth Congress. This congress was established in October 1965, and its aims are to promote co-operation and the exchange of ideas between celtic national movements in all spheres of activity.
“In June 1967, it claimed to have a membership of about 200 in Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, Wales, and the Isle of Man, but this figure was thought to be exaggerated. The bulk of the membership was believed to be in Wales. In view of the separatist character of the Breton movement, it is unlikely that its contacts with comparable organisations in the UK would be used by the French government.
“The foregoing argument applies equally to the nationalist movement in Scotland, where again the only French contact we have been able to establish is through the Celtic Youth Congress or its parent body, the Celtic League.
“It is nevertheless worth bearing in mind that there is a centuries-old tradition of cultural contact between the Scots and French, and that an approach by the French Government might receive a readier response there than in Wales.”
A later document, from May 1968, revealed that enquiries were ongoing.
Also stamped by E M Furnival Jones, the documents state: “With [redacted] we are continuing our enquiries into the possible links between Welsh and Scottish extremist elements and the French government.”
It added: “We have no evidence that any German political party has affiliations with Scottish or Welsh nationalist bodies.”
However, the security service briefing added: “Cayo-Evans is given to exaggeration in the interests of publicity, and we are inclined to treat this claim with reserve.”
The documents dealing with Scottish and Welsh nationalists and their potential links abroad form but a small part of the release from the National Archives.
Overall, the thousands of published pages fall into four categories: historical reports and other papers (KV 1), personal files which relate to individuals (KV 2), subjects tackled by the Security Service (KV 3), and policy files (KV 4).
The notes on the monitoring of nationalists fall under policy files. The majority deal with now-famous spies from the “Cambridge Five”, a ring of Soviet spies in the UK, recruited at Cambridge University in the 1930s, who infiltrated British intelligence and government during the mid-20th century.
Some of the papers will be shown at an exhibition entitled MI5: Official Secrets, which will be at the National Archives in Kew this spring.
The National Archives said it was the “first time in MI5’s 115-year history that it has collaborated on an exhibition in this way, with their input providing an insider’s perspective on the evolution of espionage in response to changing security threats”.
The documents linked to Scottish and Welsh nationalists will not appear.
Sir Ken McCallum, the current director general of MI5, said: “We are pleased to partner with The National Archives to share our history through MI5: Official Secrets.
“While much of our work must remain secret, this exhibition reflects our ongoing commitment to being open wherever we can.”
Mark Dunton, historian at The National Archives and curator of MI5: Official Secrets, said: “The joy of the MI5 files are that many can be read as though they were a gripping spy novel.
“The difference is that these are the authentic, official records which give us rich layers of detail about famous espionage cases.
“Many people will have heard of the Cambridge Five, Klaus Fuchs and the atomic spies, or the double cross agents of the Second World War, but we will also be highlighting the astonishing work of dedicated MI5 officers, like Major ‘Tin Eye’ Stephens and Jane Sissmore, the first female MI5 officer, who tirelessly investigated espionage suspects. And even the work of the Girl Guides who acted as messengers in the early years.”
