State of Secrecy: Spies and the Media in Britain

Richard Norton-Taylor has spent forty years as a journalist covering the world of spies and their masters in Whitehall. He has successfully campaigned against official secrecy and has been a thorn in the side of the intelligence establishment. His book, The State of Secrecy, provides an illuminating, critical, and provocative account of his experiences investigating the secret world.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 23 January 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Richard Norton-Taylor, a veteran journalist with over four decades of experience in covering the world of spies and their masters in Whitehall, has unveiled the secrets of his remarkable career. Early on, Norton-Taylor successfully fought against official secrecy, earning him a reputation both within the Whitehall establishment and among the public for his unwavering determination to expose wrongdoing and incompetence. His primary targets have always been the security and intelligence agencies, as well as the Ministry of Defence, institutions that frequently use national security as a cover to shield themselves from embarrassment and accountability.

Driven by his trusted contacts within intelligence agencies and Whitehall departments, Norton-Taylor was among the first few journalists to consistently criticize the planned invasion of Iraq in 2003. He subsequently provided the Guardian with devastating evidence from witnesses at the Chilcot inquiry. Furthermore, he enjoyed unique access to a wide range of defense sources, granting him a rare insight into the disputes among top military commanders as they struggled to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with under-resourced and ill-equipped troops.

Described by a former senior Intelligence official as a "long-term thorn in the side of the intelligence establishment" and a recipient of numerous awards for his journalism, Norton-Taylor is widely regarded as one of the most respected defense and security journalists of his generation. The State of Secrecy, a provocative and rich in anecdotes account of his experiences investigating the secret world, is an illuminating, critical, and occasionally provocative exploration of the author's encounters.

Weight: 692g
Dimension: 242 x 161 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781788312189