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MI5 Kept Nye Bevan Under Surveillance for 20 Years

By Drooid · Oct 22, 2026, 11:44 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

MI5 Spied Bevan

MI5 spied on NHS founder Nye Bevan for more than 20 years.
MI5 opened a file on Nye Bevan in 1933 when he was MP for Ebbw Vale.
Sir Percy Sillitoe warned Minister Clement Attlee in 1949 about Bevan’s links to spy Wilfred Macartney.
Attlee dismissed the claim as a “tissue of lies” but still cautioned Bevan.
The MI5 file on Bevan remained open until 1975, years after his 1960 death.

Summary

Bevan Launches NHS

Bevan, as Minister of Health, led the 1948 creation of the NHS despite doctors’ fierce opposition.
He began working as a 13-year-old miner, witnessing accidents and coal-dust illnesses.
Bevan saw the Tredegar Workmen’s Medical Aid Society, later inspiring the NHS.
In 1936 he supported the Communist Party’s bid to affiliate with the Labour Party.
During WWII he waged a “war on two fronts,” targeting Nazis abroad and Chamberlain at home.

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MI5 Spied Bevan

MI5 spied on NHS founder Nye Bevan for more than 20 years.
MI5 opened a file on Nye Bevan in 1933 when he was MP for Ebbw Vale.
Sir Percy Sillitoe warned Minister Clement Attlee in 1949 about Bevan’s links to spy Wilfred Macartney.
Attlee dismissed the claim as a “tissue of lies” but still cautioned Bevan.
The MI5 file on Bevan remained open until 1975, years after his 1960 death.

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