Antony Duff

From Powerbase
Jump to: navigation, search
Antony Duff
© Crown Copyright 2007

Sir Antony Duff was the Director General of the Security Service MI5 from 1985 to 1987.[1]

Duff served as the last Deputy Governor of Southern Rhodesia before it became independent as Zimbabwe in 1980. He subsequently became Deputy Secretary at the Cabinet Office before moving to the Security Service.[2]

A 2015 review of Government papers on child abuse was critical of comments made by Duff in correspondence with Cabinet Secretary Sir Robert Armstrong three decades earlier:

To give one striking example, in response to claims from two sources that a named Member of Parliament "has a penchant for small boys". matters conclude with acceptance of his word that he does not and the observation that "At the present stage ... the risks of political embarrassment to the Government is rather greater than the security danger." The risk to children is not considered at all.[Sir Antony Duff to Sir Robert Armstrong 4/11/86][3]

According to the report of Sir Desmond de Silva's Pat Finucane Review, Duff was involved in discussions about the re-recruitment of agent Brian Nelson in 1987.[4]

External resources

Notes

  1. Former Directors General, MI5, accessed 30 June 2009.
  2. Former Directors General, MI5, accessed 30 June 2009.
  3. Supplement to the Wanless-Whittam Review, 22 July 2015.
  4. Sir Desmond de Silva, Volume 1 - Chapter 6: The recruitment of Brian Nelson, Pat Finucane Review, 12 December 2012.