‘Clash Of The Titans’: Law Vs Security In World War II Britain

Abstract

Historians generally discuss cross-purposes in war in international contexts - for example, the Soviet-Anglo-American grand strategy of World War II. During World War II, Britain devoted significant resources to its intelligence services. As the threat of invasion by the Germans loomed and the nation's resources became strained, the counter-espionage work of Britain's intelligence organizations gained new importance. The actions of the British People's Party (BPP) continued to fall under the watchful eye of MI5. A reversal of Regulation 18B could undermine MI5's efforts to guarantee the nation's internal safety during wartime. As the possibility of the nation's demise receded, the committee eased the heavy hand of government and, to some extent, rejected MI5's argument for continued vigilance. At the end of the day, for Benjamin Greene, in the clash of the titans, law defeated security. Keywords: Benjamin Greene; British People's Party (BPP); Germans; MI5; Regulation 18B; titans; World War II