Newly released MI5 files reveal that Aneurin "Nye" Bevan, the founder of the NHS, was monitored by the security service for over 20 years, beginning in the 1930s. Initially viewed as a left-wing firebrand with communist associations, Bevan attracted MI5's attention while serving as a Labour MP and continued to be watched during his tenure as health minister in the post-war Labour government. Concerns peaked when MI5 suspected his links to a Russian spy, prompting the then director general to warn Prime Minister Clement Attlee.
Despite the prolonged surveillance, some MI5 officers questioned the necessity of monitoring Bevan, noting his public political activities and describing the file's content as "remarkably tame" after his death in 1960. The files also detail Bevan's interactions with individuals connected to communist espionage and a notably awkward meeting with the Soviet ambassador in 1954. The surveillance file remained open until 1975, fifteen years after Bevan's passing.
Read the full story: BBC UK News.
Source: BBC UK News. Aggregated summary, not independent reporting.