13. Special branch

The Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police was formed in 1883. The authority for its formation was given by the Assistant Commis­sioner for Crime at the time on the instructions of the Home Secre­tary.

The Branch was formed to combat the activities of the ‘Fenians’ and, because of this, was originally known as the ‘Special Irish Branch’. The ‘Fenians’ were Irish Republican extremists who, seek­ing Home Rule for Ireland, were at that time placing bombs in various public buildings in London and at one point tried to blow up Scotland Yard itself.

The Special Irish Branch was veiy successful in its efforts and after three years’ Irish’ was dropped from its title. It was expanded to deal with security problems at the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 and still later with foreign anarchists who were regarded as a danger to society.

Except for a period during the First World War, the Special Branch has formed part of the CID⁷ throughout its existence and is today headed by a Deputy Assistant Commissioner. The members of the Branch are police officers recruited from either the Uniform Branch or other parts of the CID and are subject to exactly the same condi­tions and regulations as all other police officers.

Despite the air of mystery sometimes attributed to the Branch in spy novels and TV series, it is in fact merely one of the specialist units used to provide efficient policing by the Force. Crimes commit­ted for political reasons or against the State are still crimes. Political assassination is still murder and a terrorist bombing amounts, tech­nically, to serious criminal damage or assault although both may be more dramatic and treated more seriously both by the police and the Courts.

This means that, as with all crimes, the police have a primary responsibility of prevention and if that is not achieved, the identifi­cation, arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Special Branch, therefore, always works within the law and the criminals it deals with have the same rights as any others.

The work of Special Branch is not widely publicised and is often, therefore, misrepresented. Its prime functions may be broken down as follows:

• to keep a watch on the movements of undesirables through air and sea ports;

• to cany out enquiries from the Home Office in cases where aliens apply for British nationality;

• to help guard Government ministers and foreign VIPs visiting Britain;

• to supply information about the activities of organisations or individuals who threaten the security of the country or seek to cause the breakdown of law and order.

Special Branch is concerned with contravention of the Official Secrets Acts and the prosecution of spies. It is fully occupied with combating the activities of the IRA in Great Britain in just the same way as its early forerunners, the Special Irish Branch, acted against the Fenians of the 19th Century.