A tale of torture? Alexander Scotland, the London Cage and post-war British secrecy

Lomas, DWB

Abstract

The immediate post-war period saw the publication of a number of secret service accounts recounting wartime exploits, giving the impression that, with the end of hostilities, these could now be revealed. In fact, as has been clearly demonstrated by Richard J. Aldrich, officials in Whitehall attempted to manage the release of intelligence-related subject matter into the public domain, largely to protect the secrets of code-breaking and strategic deception. While receiving the most attention, these were not the only wartime activities which were strictly off-limits to publishers, as far as the authorities were concerned. Efforts to publish details of prisoner interrogation – a valuable source of human intelligence (HUMINT) – also gave cause for official concern, prompting the authorities to engage in a lengthy process to prevent Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Paterson Scotland from detailing his experiences as head of the London District Cage.

Citation

Lomas, D. (2013). A tale of torture? Alexander Scotland, the London Cage and post-war British secrecy. In C. Moran, & C. Murphy (Eds.), Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US : historiography since 1945 (251-262). Edinburgh University Press

• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Sep 4, 2020
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Pages: 251-262
• Book Title: Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US : historiography since 1945
• ISBN: 9780748646272-(hardback);-9780748677566-(ebook)
• Publisher URL: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-intelligence-studies-in-britain-and-the-us.html
• Related Public URLs: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/