31-08-2009, 08:01 PM
Hi Tony and welcome to DPF!
Yes, this BBC series was notorious at the time.
Important historical context is that this was still the era of the D Notice, when a faceless Civil Servant, acting on orders from the government or MI5, could simply stat that programme Y or fact Z could not be broadcast on "national security grounds" - without having to justify their decision.
The rather anodyne wiki entry below suggests that there was some element of "voluntary compliance" with D notices. That's not true. D notices were obeyed by broadcasters and publishers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DA-Notice
Yes, this BBC series was notorious at the time.
Important historical context is that this was still the era of the D Notice, when a faceless Civil Servant, acting on orders from the government or MI5, could simply stat that programme Y or fact Z could not be broadcast on "national security grounds" - without having to justify their decision.
The rather anodyne wiki entry below suggests that there was some element of "voluntary compliance" with D notices. That's not true. D notices were obeyed by broadcasters and publishers.
Quote:Britain
In Britain, a Defence Advisory Notice or DA-Notice (called a Defence Notice or D-Notice until 1993) is an official request to news editors not to publish or broadcast items on specified subjects for reasons of national security.
D-Notices and DA-notices are merely a request and therefore not legally enforceable and consequently news editors can choose to ignore them without (in theory) official repercussions, although they are generally accepted by the media.
The original D-Notice system was introduced in 1912, run as a voluntary system by a joint committee headed by an Assistant Secretary of the War Office and a representative of the Press Association.
In 1971 all existing D-Notices were cancelled and replaced by standing D-Notices that gave general guidance on what could be published and what could not, and what would require further advice from the secretary of the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee (DPBAC). In 1993 the notices were renamed DA-Notices.
As of 2008[update] there are five standing DA-Notices:[1]
DA-Notice 01: Military Operations, Plans & Capabilities
DA-Notice 02: Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Weapons and Equipment
DA-Notice 03: Ciphers and Secure Communications
DA-Notice 04: Sensitive Installations and Home Addresses
DA-Notice 05: United Kingdom Security & Intelligence Special Services
On 8 April 2009 the Government issued a 'D' notice in relation to sensitive anti-terror documents photographed when Assistant-Commissioner Bob Quick arrived at Downing Street for talks about current intelligence.
[edit] Australia
A voluntary system of D-Notices was also used in Australia starting in 1952 during the Cold War period and were issued by the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee. At the first meeting of the Committee, eight D-Notices were issued covering atomic tests in Australia, aspects of naval shipbuilding, official ciphering, the number and deployment of Centurion tanks, troop movements in the Korean War, weapons and equipment information not officially released, aspects of air defence and certain aerial photographs.[2]
In 1974 the number of D-Notices was reduced to four, covering:[2]
Technical information regarding navy, army and air force weapons, weapons systems, equipment and communications systems;
Air operational capability and air defences;
Whereabouts of Mr and Mrs Vladimir Petrov; and
Ciphering and monitoring activities.
A fifth D-Notice relating to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) was issued in 1977.[2]
In 1982 D-Notices were again revised to four.[3]
D Notice 1: Capabilities of the Australian Defence Force, Including Aircraft, Ships, Weapons, and Other Equipment;
D Notice 2: Whereabouts of Mr and Mrs Vladimir Petrov;
D Notice 3: Signals Intelligence and Communications Security; and
D Notice 4: Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS).
The Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee has not met since 1982 although the D-Notice system remains the administrative responsibility of the Minister for Defence.[2]
The D-Notice system fell out of common use at the end of the Cold War but remained in force. The 1995 Commission of Inquiry into the Australian Secret Intelligence Service reported that newspapers confessed ignorance that the D-Notice system was still operating when it was drawn to their attention in 1993 and 1994.[4]
[edit] References
^ Details of the UK D-Notice system from dnotice.org.uk
^ a b c d Sadler, Pauline (May 2000). "The D-Notice System". Australian Press Council News.
^ "Fact sheet 49 – D Notices". National Archives of Australia. http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publicati.../fs49.aspx.
^ Gordon J. Samuels and Michael H. Codd (1995), Report on the Australian Secret Intelligence Service - Commission of Inquiry into the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, Australian Government Publishing Service, pp. 114-115, ISBN 0644432012
[edit] External links
D-Notice website (official web site)
National Archives of Australia
Dr. Pauline Sadler, "The D-Notice System", on the Australian Press Council News website
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DA-Notice"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DA-Notice
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War."
Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta."
The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War."
Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta."
The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war