Surveillance Targets

Abstract

This chapter discusses the targets of surveillance. It examines four groups who were the subject of surveillance during the Cold War: the Communist Party of Great Britain (the CPGB), the peace movement, the trade union movement, and the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), which might be described today as a non-governmental organization (NGO). It is important to stress that the organizations and individuals subject to surveillance were involved in lawful activity and that the Security Service had no statutory authority to engage in the surveillance in question. It is also important to emphasize that these were not the only organizations to be the subject of surveillance, with the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers being another notable example, in addition to those already mentioned. Finally, it is important to be reminded that the organizations considered in this chapter were under surveillance by virtue of a mandate that gave MI5 authority to defend the realm, particularly in relation to threats from espionage, sabotage, and subversion.