Declassified documents reveal MI5 surveillance of Nye Bevan — Cyprus Mail

In the United Kingdom, declassified documents have shown that the MI5 security service monitored the activities of Nye Bevan — one of the creators of the National Health Service (NHS) — from 1933 until his death in 1960. According to Cyprus Mail, the materials were released by the National Archives.

MI5 suspicions

MI5 tracked Bevan's activities in parliament, as well as his movements and meetings outside it. The service suspected the committed socialist, who was one of the most prominent parliamentary critics of Winston Churchill and his wartime coalition, of sympathies with communists.

The documents state that the surveillance was linked to Bevan's contacts with the Communist Party and his criticism of the British government during World War II. At the same time, the MI5 investigation appears not to have found grounds for concern.

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A 1955 internal memo stated that information available since 1943 indicated that the Communist Party and Trotskyists had from time to time tried to recruit Bevan, but unsuccessfully.

Role in creating the NHS

After the war, Bevan became health minister. He is credited with founding the state NHS in 1948. The former Welsh miner was known for his oratorical skills, but was also regarded as a controversial figure both within the Labour Party and in the country as a whole.

Two years after Bevan's death, a review of his MI5 file noted that, despite his controversial reputation, the case materials were remarkably restrained. Other released files include documents on the German diplomat Wolfgang zu Putlitz, as well as on Soviet agents and people suspected of collaborating with them.