Future of Secret Services: Part 3; Preparation of the Bland Report

A file of correspondence and memoranda concerning the preparation of the Bland Report on the future of the secret services after the Second World War. Among the subjects discussed in this file are government control of the secret services; the balance of power in Europe after the war; post-war intelligence priorities, including weapons development and the growing importance of economic intelligence; the failings of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) during the war; the proposed disbandment of the Special Operations Executive (SOE); the need for the centralisation of the secret services; anticipated problems with recruitment; the maintenance of secrecy and post-war cover plans; the funding and finances of the secret services; the mechanisms for gathering and processing intelligence; communications, including the use of codes and cyphers; the anticipated post-war intelligence requirements in various countries; the organisation of intelligence operations abroad and the difficulty of operating in certain areas, such as China.