Operation Foot | The British MI5 takedown of the Soviet KGB in Britain - 1971

[@trevr10]

Reminded me of our time serving in Cyprus in the late 80's with the out of bounds Aeroflot hotel between Larnaca and Dhekelia and the strict warning that all Aeroflot stewardesses were KGB. Interesting video.

[@a.p.3004]

The Palm Beach Hotel. You missed those Russian beauties.

[@grahamstubbs4962]

@@a.p.3004 They went like barn doors in a high wind.

[@cyclesgoff9768]

Nah , they weren’t all KGB or GRU or whatever. Although by the mere fact that they were allowed on overseas trips meant the girls game from exceptionally well connected families at least from the номенклату́ра.

[@TeddyBear-ii4yc]

@@cyclesgoff9768 The British double-agent, George Blake, was helped to escape prison and travel into Europe by a British criminal. Once in Russia, the daughter of a KGB officer lived with the escaped prisoner while he lived there.

[@1Hannigan1]

​@@TeddyBear-ii4yc As long as the lady KGB agent was sexy, that's a big step up for Blake , coming from a British jail or prison.

[@hernandotorres1234]

As long as I can remember, and I'm 71, politicians have been saying that the good times are over and we'll have to tighten our belts. The thing is I can't remember any good times.

[@josiechaney9010]

That’s interesting… These times seem bleaker than any I’ve lived through as a GenXr. But it’s all relative I guess. But your point about politicians and their message for us commoners is not lost on me. 🌸☘️

[@alvarvillalongamarch3894]

Damn right you are,Sir!You gave me a good laugh there!Keep healthy and optimistic.Best regards from Spain!

[@tonycavanagh1929]

yes.

[@dominicseanmccann6300]

Always been grim; just getting double grim....56 year old...😁

[@mikefellows3901]

This is a masterpiece ! Probably the UK's greatest success since the double cross operation of WW2. The information and narrative here is exceptional ! Many thanks Andy !!!

[@merlinonline67]

During the Cold War, there was a Soviet Tractor importer called UMO which was based in the Belarus SSR. They had an import office along Blackhorse Road, Letchworth, Hertfordshire and this was used as a base for agents of the KGB. and GRU posing as sales agents. because of the spying activity, the local police station had a Special Branch office until the end of the Cold War.

[@AsteroidM749A]

I need to know more about this!! I think I remember a rumour about this - the one opposite the tip? Are you from Letchworth pal?

[@DMU386]

I remember that place. I remember that we, we as in a Det A Team, 39th Special Forces, US Army we put a bug one time in ambulance that they used. I think it was an ambulance. Dont know why the ambulance was there. It was a long time ago. We worked out of Berlin but did some ops in the UK. Always had some Brit specs ops guys with us ofcourse. I promise

[@ianbeedles1329]

I was stationed at Henlow during the '80's, and every year we had our annual Ground Defense Training. Besides learning our NBC drills, how to safely fire the SLR, the 2 days training always started with a 'security threat brief'. Letchworth, Luton and Bedford were always "mentioned" (the latter two in connection to certain groups from Northern Ireland).

[@almac2598]

When I started an Avionic apprenticeship in the early 70s a lot of my instructors were ex Concorde. They were quite open about how they knew who the spies were and how the official policy was to ignore anything that was generally known but to feed them false information on more secret things.

[@bloggalot4718]

There was a story going around that Russia was fed deliberately wrong technical info on the Concorde aircraft.

[@michaelsamuel9917]

Its quite true, when the "Concordski" showed up at the Paris airshow British aircrew were specifically told Not to go on the plane for flights etc, and days later it crashed! @@bloggalot4718

[@philipbrooks402]

I heard that same story. The information being passed on having very subtle design flaws, hence the TU 144's appalling safety record. Vaguely remember the first one crashing at the Paris Air Show of 1973.@@bloggalot4718

[@teabagtowers3823]

​@@bloggalot4718 Which explains why the Soviet version of the Concorde the TU144 was a massive pile of shit.

[@robertrichard6107]

It was green run XB-70A info anyway wasn't it? Didn't Churchill live past JFK's assassination, that's the cover-up that's still going on today. The gin swilling, cigar in the mouth, ultra-secret cousin of FDR took a lot of secrets to the grave I believe, especially his iron curtain deal with Stalin in 1944.

[@RalphBrooker-gn9iv]

Remarkable, compelling story. I served in the British Army for 12 years and was lucky enough to get posted to West Berlin at part of the Berlin Infantry Brigade, 1986-87. A strange quirk of the times was that you could take the U-Bahn from a station in the West and end up at Friedrichstraße just inside the Eastern sector near Checkpoint Charlie. I did it once. Fell asleep drunk on the U-Bahn. We could also enter legally in uniform (No.2 Dress) after considerable paperwork and as a planned regimental activity.

[@norbertschmitz3358]

I was a West German student in West Berlin during the seventies. Once a week we would stop at Friedrichstrasse station to by cheap duty free cigarettes and alcohol. During 250 trips i got busted 6 or 7 times by West German customs. Still, saved 1000's in duty. Visiting East Berlin was no problem. Any further and one was asking for big trouble.

[@stevep5408]

In the 2010's you could still instantly tell when you went from West to east! It was like some cheap horror movies, jagged edge, cave like, dingy, chill in the air, kind of menacing, place.

[@tonycavanagh1929]

A soldier falling asleep drunk on the U-Bahn. i never heard of such a thing :P I was a Lodon lad, did my basic in woolwich barracks Royal Artillery , fell asleep so many times on that line. Only a few times on the U-Bahn , wgen based in West Germany,

[@juanleahy2202]

To further add that the details you gave with this video were very much appreciated, especially for me who as then young man lived through those times in the UK. Thankyou again.

[@dezzadiggler3693]

I don't know how I stumbled across this gem of a documentary; but it fascinated me from beginning to end. Liked and subscribed!

[@flimsedom]

This is the kind of quality I miss about present day documentaries. Thank you for your great work! Kind regards from Potsdam.

[@silvanski]

Growing up during the Cold War I appreciate quality documentaries like this. Excellent content sir.

[@vincenzochieppa689]

Extremely interesting and well-done. I am not from UK but a fan of LeCarrè and this story is really fascinating. Thank you!

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

Fantastic research and presentation Andy as always and actually answers a few minor questions I hadn't yet considered from one of my favourite Cold War era espionage films, The Fourth Protocol.

[@jcollins1305]

As Ana American well versed in our history, I find the British viewpoint fascinating. The 70’s seemed like a very rough time in Britain, and to have the PM publicly say that things are going to get worse must have been a huge blow to morale there. Fascinating stuff. Thank you for taking the time to make this fine video.

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

This is TV quality content. My humble compliments to you.

[@AndyMcloone]

Wow, thank you!

[@mistercutts]

Absolutely spot on with this comment.

[@nunyab8003]

Bravo! An HBO special or something like that, that’s for sure.

[@flyingcod14]

Great video never knew about this. 👍

[@JanJaapBats]

Agree

[@EEX97623]

New subscriber commenting to say thanks, the delivery is very good. Greetings from Estonia.

[@tommo1988]

Another brilliant episode. You produce the best cold war documentaries available in my opinion. Thanks.

[@AndyMcloone]

Thanks

[@Lee-73]

Brilliant watch as always 👌🏻

[@HarryWHill-GA]

Bravo Zulu (Well Done). This take down, as it related to the US Navy, was mentioned in the Intel Advanced course. I did a little work with GCHQ late in my career. I always thought our cousins at GCHQ were a very professional bunch.

[@dmacpher]

Earned a new subscriber! Just getting started, but it looks like you’ve accumulated some amazing historic footage and imagery to support this story! Amazing work!

[@AndyMcloone]

Awesome, thank you!

[@dmacpher]

@@AndyMcloone Loved the flourish at the end!

[@wayinfront1]

Very good account. By the way, Sir Alec Douglas Home's name: Home is pronounced 'Hume.'

[@johntait491]

A well compiled and produced video Andy. In 1971, I served on that Royal Navy Polaris submarine shown at 9:49. 😉

[@johnlane5874]

Thanks Andy, another superbly made and fascinating tale from the cold war, my favourite history era.

[@samking4179]

Great video! Thank you for making/posting!

[@joonatanalismaki8150]

You live, you learn. This fella was new to me. And this channel, I thank thee. Just love espionage history.

[@steve45]

This was fantastic!!! Thoroughly interesting. Its a subject that has intrigued me for most of my life. Very professionally presented and produced.👌

[@frozen_eddy]

Thank you Andy for another great video. I love the care and attention you bring to these moments in history. Always a treat to watch your work.

[@jveggen28]

Excellent production and topic, Andy! Just finished reading "Spycatcher" for the 3rd time in 20 years so the material is quite familiar, but super interesting to see it the way you present it! Have seen all of your video's, keep up the good work!

[@AndyMcloone]

'Spycatcher ' was one of my references when researching this story!

[@EdgyNumber1]

​​@@AndyMclooneAndy, I hope to see your take on this. Peter Wright at the time had his suspicions about Roger Hollis but later on one of the other ones confessed (can't remember who.) But was this officer coerced/sacrificed to hide the embarrassment that the actual head of MI-5 Hollis was the real mole?....

[@peterreston6478]

And the Great Game continues. Good job. Thanks for your through and informative presentation.

[@nickymadison6108]

Been hooked on all your Cold War videos! I was born just before the fall of the Soviet Union so I find all of this fascinating. You got yourself another subscriber

[@AlsGeekLab]

Excellent work Andy. Consistently high quality documentary content, well done

[@wochee]

Great video, and a lot of hard work behind it. Thank you.

[@uingaeoc3905]

It is noticeable that Wilson said he thought that he would scrap the UK Nuke deterrent. Yet this was initiated by Attlee. In fact Wilson not only continued the UK Polaris system through the late 1960s but when he returned to office in 1974 he initiated the development of the improvement of it under the CHEVALINE programme which gave it multiple warheads. Under thatcher this was continued and when Blair entered office in 1997 he gave the go ahead to the trident replacement.

[@markrichmond4243]

Still the UK nuclear deterent is not independent in the same manner as the French one is.

[@joereedsmith1531]

Very well put together as good as if not better than what TV would make of this story.

[@glennmorrissey5309]

Another great commentary Andy on an extraordinary epoch of spying and espionage. I learned so much! Thank you!

[@christycullen2355]

I've been waiting for this since you said you were dropping a longer video. The wait was worth it. Your content is epic, and you have a great narration voice. Thank you Andy.

[@neilclements3929]

Fantastic, a thorough and captivating tale told at the right pace and with appropriate music and pics. A lot of hard work which puts this at the premiership of KZbin documentaries

[@AndyMcloone]

Many thanks!

[@SanjayKumar-fc2qg]

Excellent content. This is very informative. Thank you.

[@RossDmoch]

Cheers m8! Well done, first time listening, already can tell this is the good stuff

[@jepkratz]

Outstanding documentary, with many not commonly known revelations. Well done!

[@UNUSUALUSERNAME220]

So, you can become a Probation Officer in The UK even after being convicted of espionage and serving 21 years in prison? I did not know that! This was so good! I've seen several programs like these on BBC and this puts them to shame. I would much rather have photos of the actual people with an intelligent presenter telling me the who & what. I despise all the actor portrayals, they are always so bad! Anyway, great job mate! Cheers!

[@davidcooksey1390]

Thank you for this excellent piece of work.

[@oscarvi3232]

Have been a big fan of Le Carre & Deighton for decades. Great video and thanks for posting.

[@crocodiledundee8685]

Thanks for this fantastic documentary. Will definitely be sharing this.

[@AndyMcloone]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Gonzooo69]

I absolutely loved this documentary. Thank you.

[@noodlyappendage6729]

Thank you mate! Great doc. Put a lot of hard work and it was appreciated 💪👍

[@certuv]

Very informative history documentary, thank you for posting.

[@petebondurant58]

Very well done, Sir! I especially appreciate the postscript. Thank you for sharing this story. 🇬🇧

[@paulwright3827]

Excellent video. Well done Andy. I really really enjoyed this. 10/10

[@Retirement_Life]

Absolutely brilliantly video, Andy! More of the same, please…

[@liberty_and_justice67]

Thanks! Very well researched and presented. Interesting!

[@AndyMcloone]

Thanks so much 😊

[@wtfroflffs]

Great video. I had never heard of Operation Foot. Nice to know Britain did have some successes during the Cold War.

[@geoffmilner]

Very nicely researched and clearly explained with background summarising to set the scene and with elevant images and video. Usually when I watch a documentary I pause to research the extra detail or general understanding, often with the 'where are they now' question. This is the first time I felt that everything and more that I would want to know was included already. Well done for that.

[@AndyMcloone]

Thank you very much!

[@antoinesilva1527]

@@AndyMcloone Was this the inspiration behind Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’s settings?

[@DICECLUB]

What a fascinating story - thanks for telling it, Andy 👍

[@rosalindmallory6570]

Fascinating history. Thank you for making this video available.

[@nicc5122]

More of this please, absolutely fascinating, particularly like the "what happened to" at the end always fascinated on the current status of those historical players.

[@danielmarshall4587]

Smashing, thank you for this very good video AND your time and effort putting it together.

[@MGJS71]

Interesting film, but the story Wilson wanted to avoid Vietnam is a well known fiction. In fact it was a speech delivered in Falkirk by Enoch Powell of all people that exposed Wilson's ambition to join the Vietnam War, thus preventing it. Powell later reckoned this was his greatest contribution to British interests. Even so, Wilson still covertly sent SAS to Vietnam (posing as Australians). Wilson was always more Liberal than Labour: his socialist pose was just that - a pose to gain power.

[@yonmusak]

I think you might be mistaken about Brits being in Vietnam mate. Aussies sent troops of a their own volition, which would have included their own SAS troops.

[@wtfbuddy1]

Great video Andy - well researched and presented, times have changed and we are once again wary of the Bear from the East. Cheers and stay safe

[@AndrewFranklin-w2r]

Great work again! Love your Cold War stuff! Thanks very much.

[@RebelRebelious]

Very interesting. I remember the Bingham case being all over the news as a youngster but it meant nothing to a young boy more interested in football. I now live around 2km from Putin's former KGB HQ in Dresden. An attractive villa located just around the corner from the former Stasi HQ & remand centre, it now functions as a clinic for alternative medicine. During the 1989 uprising, crowds gathered outside the KGB HQ threatening to overrun it. As the story is recalled, Putin bricked it and attempted to call in the tanks. A senior officer refused his request stating he could "only authorise it with permission from Moscow, and Moscow is silent"....

[@NorwayT]

"Yeah, I'm talking about you, Joe Biden!" LOL 😂 👍 Jokularities aside, this is one of the BEST Documentaries EVER made! And you deserve extra points for not cra***g on Senator McCarthy! I'm really impressed by he detailed and compact form you have managed to produce here, Andy Mcloone. And the pictures and illustrations are simply amazing. Well done! Well done, indeed! 👍 I fear that Russia is the least of the major problems we are facing today. Communist China seems to outperform the KGB by an order of magnitude.

[@SteveCondron]

Great documentary. Thanks for not including irritating background music.

[@LurchLures]

Fantastic Documentary. Much appreciated. Made my day watching this. Thanks !

[@Patrick-q2z]

Thank you for producing this video. Really enjoyed it.

[@tombrunila2695]

At about 7:10, the KGB was NEVER disbanded! Boris Yeltsin only changed its name! The First Chief Directorate became the SVR and the Second Chief Directorate became the FSB. Nothing in its personnel and tasks was changed.

[@allangibson8494]

And Putin was head of the FSB…

[@davidweihe6052]

The KGB kept the archives of the Okhrana, the Czarist secret service, in among their own. Thus, the Czarist Okhrana never really disbanded, it just merged with the Bolshevik Cheka (which changed its identity to NKVD, NKGB, then KGB) and carried on together.

[@cannondale514]

Thoroughly well-researched as usual.

[@leocoghini6834]

Thanks for another great video Andy. Had to watch it for a second time! The amount of care and detail that goes into your videos is greatly appreciated. Cant wait for the next one...ill be waiting eagerly from down here in New Zealand. Godspeed.

[@MG_007]

A brilliant piece put together, very interesting, there's plenty more stories like this involving our services protecting us...more please my friend.🙏👍

[@lukec31]

Superb Sir!!! You’ve gained another subscriber now! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@stephennewman7328]

Great video. Really enjoyed watching it (second time now). As a matter of interest how long did it take to make it?

[@bensmith5413]

Fantastic video and production. Very well made

[@Snootyboss]

A very informative and entertaining upload. I'd very much enjoy more of the same. Keep 'em coming

[@hunty1970]

Really enjoyed this and all of your other Cold War documentaries. Thank you Andy.

[@thomasvandevelde8157]

Wauw. This was some good stuff mate! Going to watch some more videos of yours. Regards, Thomas

[@davelenthall1]

Fantastic content and detail. Thanks for posting Andy

[@Britishchapp]

Great content, a really fascinating watch. Keep up the impressive work 👍🏻👌🏻🇬🇧

[@davidlemor]

Just discovered your channel. I love your narration style, thank you for this excellent program.

[@Mishima505]

The David Bingham case provided the plot for an episode of the TV series Warship (Funny, They All Say That) where a PO whose wife has run up debts is blackmailed into supplying details of a new submarine detection system to the Soviets.

[@COIcultist]

Warship created by Lt Cdr Ian Mackintosh, an excellent series. It has been reposted on YT. If you haven't see it may I recommend The Sandbaggers, another Mackintosh series, brought to a close by his untimely death.

[@cannybearsed]

Great documentary, mate. Love the channel. Great work. Thank you. 👍🏻

[@SteveLewer-i3j]

Brilliantly researched, a fantastic watch, thanks!

[@jaysonsladen9756]

Fantastic, as always. Thanks you for producing these marvellous presentations

[@ButaneBear]

Holy fuck this is my new fave channel. You are epic in your story telling. I felt transported

[@keithrogers4170]

By 1970,the UK had been deluged with soviet agents because of nearly 20 years of ineptitude and betrayal within Mi5. The primary reason for this huge soviet espionage success was that there was a soviet GRU mole in the upper echelons of Mi5-Sir Roger Hollis,Deputy Director-General from 1953-56 and Director general from 1956-1965. He was forewarning the soviet of surveillance operations against their agents,which is why so many operations collapsed.

[@roycameron8270]

Thank you Mr Mcloone, the story was very well told and illustrated.

[@alastairgordon-forbes3139]

Excellent watch. Very nicely presented. Thank you.

[@richardbrayshaw570]

Very interesting video about a very interesting time in UK and world history.

[@marcellocolona4980]

Great channel, high quality videos. I subscribed.

[@Photonface]

Love it! Liked and subscribed. Wlhat is the piece of music at the end? It is really nice.

[@briangooderham5649]

wow brilliant stuff subscribed for sure well done mate

[@bertspeggly4428]

Tinker Tailor............Forget the Hollywood movie. The TV series with Alec Guinness is a million times better. For me, Mr. Guinness IS George Smiley.

[@journolisto]

Great job Andy. Thank you

[@phil9678]

Quality bit of journalistic research. And very well edited and presented

[@mikebillett7935]

Another top notch documentary Andy... Thank you

[@AndyMcloone]

Many thanks!

[@holgerandersengrn3457]

Again an outstanding video by Andy, exciting and very informative. I don't think it can be done better and if it had been on national TV it would have had great viewing figures. Looking forward to the next masterpiece from Andy's hand. The Europeans have always been incredibly naive and to paraphrase Winston Churchill's words "You can not reason with a tiger when your head is in his mouth." to "You can not reason with a bear", or as Stalin said they gave the Rolls Royce Nene jet mortor to the Soviets "how stupid can you be" that gift was responsible for the lives of many allied pilots. That nativity is also seen in Russia today, just look Angela Merkel and now Hungary and Slovakia are moving in the same direction

[@geoffmilner]

Russia of today isn't the same as the Soviet Union. The communism of the past is no more, however if you peel back the veneer, it is the West that has is stripping away free speech, controlling the narratives, locking people up without charge, taking children away using the family courts, cancelling people for thought crimes, debanking, having pretend democracies and so on. There is an Orwellian system of dishonesty and garbage progressive anti family, anti white, anti Judeo Christian values etc. Slovakia and Hungary are right to want to be allies with Russia as they also have sensible and frankly, better values and culture now.

[@Redfvvg]

Do you rule out that Hungary and Slovakia have suddenly sobered up?

[@rglon4019]

Awesome documentary! Already look forward to seeing more content like this 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@Selous_Scout]

Great video as always Andy

[@brianelliott9861]

Totally fascinating and brilliantly researched.

[@Hazy808]

This is a top video, thanks for making this. 👍

[@stevenblack7928]

Very interesting video again, thank you Andy

[@bullettube9863]

I remember this story but never knew the details so this video was a real eyeopener!

[@Closedgroove]

Great content! Already looking forward to the next one.😎👍