From The Straits Times · · 40s
MI5 Spied on NHS Founder Bevan
Secret documents reveal British spies monitored NHS founder Nye Bevan for 27 years due to communist ties.
In brief
Secret documents reveal British spies monitored NHS founder Nye Bevan for 27 years due to communist ties. MI5 secretly tracked NHS founder Nye Bevan for 27 years over suspected communist links but found no threat. Originally reported by The Straits Times.
MI5 Spied on NHS Founder
British spies monitored NHS founder Nye Bevan for 27 years due to communist ties and wartime criticism.
“What information we have on Bevan's relations with the Communist Party since 1943 show that from time to time both the Communist Party and the Trotskyists have made attempts to get him to work with them without success”
MI5 Case File
Declassified documents show Bevan was watched from 1933 until his death in 1960, with no evidence of communist activity.
“Considering what a controversial character Nye Bevan was, the file is remarkably tame”
NHS Founder's Legacy
Bevan founded the NHS in 1948 and became health minister after the war, despite being a divisive figure.
What it means
MI5 secretly tracked NHS founder Nye Bevan for 27 years over suspected communist links but found no threat.
