All Outputs (7)

The Secret History of UK Security Vetting from 1909 to the Present (2025)
Book
Lomas, D. (2025). The Secret History of UK Security Vetting from 1909 to the Present. Bloomsbury Publishing

Using newly available government records, private papers, and documents obtained through Freedom of Information, this book tells the secret story of UK security vetting from 1914 to the present. Although Britain avoided American-style red-baiting and... Read More about The Secret History of UK Security Vetting from 1909 to the Present.

Trust without knowledge? UK intelligence agencies and the public trust conundrum (2025)
Journal Article
Hiscoke, G., Ward, S., & Lomas, D. (2025). Trust without knowledge? UK intelligence agencies and the public trust conundrum. Intelligence and National Security, https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2025.2491239

Intelligence agencies operating in modern-day liberal democracies are dependent on the public for support. In recent years, the UK’s intelligence and security agencies have adopted a public facing role aiming to build ‘trust’ and developing wider pub... Read More about Trust without knowledge? UK intelligence agencies and the public trust conundrum.

Fact or Fiction? UK Intelligence Agencies’ Representation in the Press (2024)
Journal Article
Ward, S., & Lomas, D. W. (2025). Fact or Fiction? UK Intelligence Agencies’ Representation in the Press. International Journal of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence, 38(3), 974-1011. https://doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2024.2399627

In recent years, much has been written about the ‘openness’ of modern-day intelligence agencies and the role of the press. It has been argued that openness and wider engagement fits a pattern of manipulation, presenting a soften image of agencies to... Read More about Fact or Fiction? UK Intelligence Agencies’ Representation in the Press.

A, B or C? The Foreign Office and the politics of choosing the Chief of SIS (2024)
Journal Article
Murphy, C., & Lomas, D. (in press). A, B or C? The Foreign Office and the politics of choosing the Chief of SIS. Diplomacy and Statecraft,

This article explores the process whereby the Chief (‘C’) of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency, the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6) has been appointed, and the inter-departmental politics that the process reveals. The selection process f... Read More about A, B or C? The Foreign Office and the politics of choosing the Chief of SIS.

A latter day Judas? Security, diplomatic protection, and the Foreign Office Security Department, 1955 – 1987 (2024)
Journal Article
Lomas, D. W. B. (2025). A latter day Judas? Security, diplomatic protection, and the Foreign Office Security Department, 1955 – 1987. International History Review, 47(2), 321-340. https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2024.2341738

This article looks at the response of the British Foreign Office to security threats to HMG diplomats and diplomatic posts, placing security at the heart of the study of UK diplomacy. It explores the response of the Foreign Office’s Security Departme... Read More about A latter day Judas? Security, diplomatic protection, and the Foreign Office Security Department, 1955 – 1987.

Intelligence warning in the Ukraine war, Autumn 2021–Summer 2022 (2024)
Journal Article
Gustafson, K., Lomas, D., & Wagner, S. (2024). Intelligence warning in the Ukraine war, Autumn 2021–Summer 2022. Intelligence and National Security, 39(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2024.2322214

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is a unique case study of the use of warning intelligence. The article shows that whilst Russia’s invasion has sparked a wave of interest on aspects of intelligence, including the use of open source and ‘... Read More about Intelligence warning in the Ukraine war, Autumn 2021–Summer 2022.

The Foreign Office ‘Thought Police’: Foreign Office Security, the Security Department and the ‘Missing Diplomats’, 1940 – 1952 (2023)
Journal Article
Lomas, D., & Murphy, C. J. (2023). The Foreign Office ‘Thought Police’: Foreign Office Security, the Security Department and the ‘Missing Diplomats’, 1940 – 1952. Diplomacy and Statecraft, 34(3), 433-463. https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2023.2239638

The protection of diplomats, embassies and sensitive information has always been an important aspect of diplomacy. Today, security is an accepted norm of day-to-day diplomatic work, yet the importance of security in the UK Foreign Office was not alwa... Read More about The Foreign Office ‘Thought Police’: Foreign Office Security, the Security Department and the ‘Missing Diplomats’, 1940 – 1952.