Open Secret

Open Secret by Rimington, Stella. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780091793609.

The extraordinary life of the first woman Director-General of MI5, Britain’s internal security service. Stella Remington tells her own story from early childhood in World War II, through her life as a young wife in India where she was first recruited by MI5, to her 27 years at the heart of the country’s internal security service where she rose to become Director-General. She was the first woman to hold this position, and also the first Director-General to be publicly named. Her fascinating autobiography provides a unique perspective on the historic changes of the second half of the twentieth century, not just in matters of international security, but in political and personal matters too, testifying to the modernization of government institutions and to the changing role of women in the workplace. Formed in 1909 as the Secret Service Bureau, Britain’s security intelligence agency was named MI5 in 1916, and then the Security Service in 1931. The purpose of the Security Service is to protect British national security from threats such as terrorism, espionage and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to safeguard the economic well-being of the UK against foreign threats, and to support law enforcement agencies in preventing and detecting serious crime. They do so by collecting and disseminating intelligence; investigating and assessing threats, and working with others to counter them; advising on protection; and providing effective support for those tasks.