Cold war rhetoric and the politics of empty gestures

Interesting:

Indeed, so tightly is the BBC controlled by the British state that since its earliest days its staff have been directly vetted by the British security service — MI5.

This co-ordination of the BBC with military intelligence was organised from a special office inside the BBC’s headquarters.

There was a formal procedure that all staff should be vetted by MI5 except “personnel such as charwomen [cleaners].”

The BBC agreed not to reveal the role of the British Security Services or the existence of the vetting itself.