This prize-winning book, first published in 1991, provides a detailed legal account of the development of the UK Official Secrets Acts 1911-1989. In particular, the Espionage section (s.1) of this criminal law is analysed carefully, illustrated by leading cases of UK spies prosecuted under this section, particularly during the 1980’s — including MI5 officer Michael Bettaney and Geoffrey Prime who worked at GCHQ. The author also examines problems of evidence in espionage prosecutions, and the consent of the Attorney-General in cases under the Official Secrets Acts. This book remains the definitive treatise on the UK Official Secrets Acts, especially concerning the espionage provisions.

Rosamund Thomas’s book is a trenchant legislative history of the official secrets acts from 1911, a careful legal analysis and an incisive commentary on criminal cases in the UK and USA. It wrestles with prosecutions of releases of information treated as espionage. This book extended the masterwork of the late David G.T. Williams, and is the finest work on the subject.

Jeremy Lewis,

Huntingdon College, USA

Researcher (among other subjects) of official information policy in the US and UK since 1976.

Dr Rosamund Thomas… reveals an encyclopaedic knowledge of the cases and the literature. Her careful analysis of the cases against the background of the general principles of criminal law and evidence and her thoughtful commentary will be essential reading for all who are interested in the subject.

The late J. C. Smith, C.B.E., Q.C., LL.D., F.B.A., Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Nottingham (September 1990)