In a historic decision, the House of Lords on October 12 reversed the Thatcher government’s ban on “quoting from Spycatcher,” opening the way for the publication in England and the United States of The Wilson Plot-the highly controversial and explosive account of what the spycatchers were really up to.
Using hitherto unknown material from Peter Wright, author of Spycatcher, and interviews with dozens of his sources, the London Observer’s David Leigh has put together an unbelievable story of paranoia and treachery in the British and American intelligence agencies, revealing a wealth of “dirty tricks” played against democratic governments - a treason never discussed in the other spycatcher books.
Leigh traces the spycatchers’ obsession that Labour prime minister Harold Wilson was, incredibly, a Soviet spy - and shows how they tried to persuade British officers to join in an attempt to overthrow the popularly elected government. Leigh discusses the role of CIA chief James Angleton and uncovers the true motives of Wilson’s accusers: playing on anti-communist hysteria, the CIA and MI5 set out to defame those individuals whose politics interfered with

the intelligence agenda. Amazingly, such plots succeeded in Australia, and perhaps even toppled Willy Brandt’s government in Germany as well.
In exploring the incredible complexities of postwar espionage, Leigh turns a bright light on the murky corners of a secret world that is illuminated here for the first time.
David Leigh has been a reporter for the London Cuardian, the London Times, and the Washington Post, and has won numerous journalism awards, including Special Press Award and Reporter of the Year. He is currently the leading exposé writer for the London Observer.