The+British+MI5+During+World+War+I

=__ British MI5 Involvement In World War I __= =__ BY Hannah Wagner __=

__What is MI5?__
MI5 is a British intelligence agency similar to the CIA. It is responsible for evaluating and advising the British government on intelligence relating to national security. MI5 defends the nation against espionage and sabotage.

__Origin__
MI5 was created in October 1909 due to "pre-war paranoia." They chose Major Vernon Kell (below, right) to run this agency. Britain believed that Germany was sending in spies to get valuable information to prepare for a war. This was true, Germany had made considerable efforts before the war to place agents in Britain. The Germans sought to spy particularly on the Royal Navy's ships and installations, and had produced some useful intelligence for the Kaiser's naval staff. At this time, Britain and Germany were also in a naval arms race where the two countries tried gaining technological superiority for their fleets. However, MI5 had captured twenty of the German spies for espionage, with only a staff of fourteen people. One such spy, named Courtney de Rysbach, used invisible ink on music sheets to send messages to Germany. He was a British citizen captured by the Germans at the outbreak of the war because he was touring in Germany. They only released him if he would spy for them and gave him the invisible ink. This is one of the secret messages MI5 intercepted:

__World War I__
During the four years of World War I, MI5 was on top of the fight against German espionage. However, when the UK entered the war in August 1914, the MI5 only had fifteen members in staff. By making entering and exiting from UK difficult and inspecting mail, MI5 was successful in stopping German espionage efforts.The number of staff working for the agency increased dramatically during WWI. By 1918 MI5 had a staff of 5000 people and kept files on 137,500 individuals. During the war MI5 only could advise the country while the police led the arrests and interrogations. Because of this, many Germans in Britain were falsely accused of being spies. Here is a political cartoon showing this unfairness: **"Once a German, always a German!" Anti-German views led to thousands of innocent people being falsely** **accused of spying.** During the war not only did MI5 do counter-epsionage but also surveillanced foreign agents, pacifists, anti-conscription organizations, and organized labor. Many believed that foreign influence were part of these organizations. By the end of the war, MI5 was a full-fledged secret police in addition to being a counter-espionage agency. So, all in all, MI5 was a great success during WWI but with a minor role.

__**Mussolini**__
There is a rumor that the Italian dictator and ally of Nazi Germany, Benito Mussolini, was working for MI5 during WWI. Apparently MI5 paid Mussolini 6,000 euros a week to inforce British propaganda in Italy's newspapers. This isn't confirmed but we have some proof to this.

The MI5 logo during WWI: Pyramid of Power

For more information go to:
[|__https://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/origins.html__] [] [] [] []