The book "The Black Door" explores the shifting relationship between successive British prime ministers and the secret services, from Asquith's Secret Service Bureau to Cameron's National Security Council.

Secret intelligence can take on the dirty work of a prime minister. For over a century, secret wars have been conducted directly from Number 10. These wars have prevented conflicts, defeats, and the decline of Britain through complex tactics, often deceiving friends and foes. However, since the establishment of the modern British intelligence service in 1909, prime ministers have been strangers to the secret world—sometimes with disastrous consequences. During World War II, Winston Churchill oversaw a remarkable revolution in the exploitation of intelligence, bringing it to the center of government.

Churchill's wartime government also formed a spy school for future prime ministers, and its secret legacy has endured. Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and David Cameron all became great enthusiasts for spies and special forces. Although Britain’s political leaders often feign ignorance of what one prime minister called the “underworld of foreign espionage,” many of the boldest and most controversial intelligence operations can be traced directly back to Number 10.

Pages: 624, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm