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National Security - MI5

MI5 is a security service based in Britain. The name stands for Military Intelligence, Section 5 and the organisation provides counter-intelligence and security services within the UK. It works alongside MI6 and SIS. Its main objectives are to protect the democratic and economic interests of the UK as well as to fight serious crime, terrorism, espionage and militants. MI5 primarily protect interests within the UK but it does carry out overseas duties when this is necessary and fits in with the remit given above.

Since 1995 MI5 have had its headquarters on Millbank in London. It is a base that is shared with the Northern Ireland Office and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. It has also been suggested that the organisation has regional centres, possibly in Glasgow.

The symbol for the MI5 stands for 'Defend the Realm'.

The security service will be 100 years old in 2009 and a official history is due to be published to mark this milestone. It is to be written by a professor at Cambridge University and will be printed in hardback.

The Security Service originated from the Secret Service Bureau in 1909. With the recent emergence of terrorist activity the security service have increased its commitment to resources which will specialise in detecting such activity. However, there was a time when the security service was not so efficient. During the Second World War its emerged that the agency was grossly under-prepared for the outbreak of war in the country. It was badly handled and very nearly collapsed in 1940. One of the first things that Winston Churchill (Prime Minister at that time) did was to replace the long term head of the security agency and a little time after this the agency was began to revive.