Secret history
John Sawers, head of MI6, defended the organisation by saying ‘secrecy is not a dirty word’.
Secret history
John Sawers, head of MI6, defended the organisation by saying ‘secrecy is not a dirty word’. Here are a few things which the organisation does not attempt to keep secret:
— MI6 still does not officially exist. It was once known by that name but is now called the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in government circles.
— There were once 17 ‘MIs’. The original MI6 dealt with legal and financial affairs.
It spent much of the first world war housed in a single flat in Whitehall Court.
— MI6 and the other secret services grew out of the Secret Service Bureau set up in 1909 and which was often abbreviated ‘SS’ on official documents.
— MI6 does not publish accounts, but the intelligence services cost a total of £1.36 billion in 2005/06 — the latest year for which figures are on the SIS website
Source: SIS website
Armed forces
Britain and France have signed a defence treaty promising greater collaboration. How do our forces measure up?
Britain France
195,000 Military personnel 225,000
1,891 Aircraft 1,023
2 Aircraft carriers 1
6 Destroyers 13
11 Submarines 10
17 Frigates 10
Source: MOD/globalfirepower.com
High prices
Street prices of drugs, per unit:
LSD (1 tab) £5.64
Heroin (1 hit, 0.1g) £5.57
Crack (1 hit, 0.75g) £5.00
Cocaine (1 line, 0.1g) £4.27
Draught bitter (1 pint) £2.96
Draught lager (1 pint) £2.59
Cannabis, skunk (1/80th oz) £2.33
Cannabis, hash (1/80th oz) £1.78
Amphetamine (0.1g) £1.31
Sources: IDMU, DrugScope and ONS
Fire and rescue
The Fire Service strike has drawn attention to what firemen do. Last year England’s 51,000 firemen made 669,000 emergency calls. Of these, 285,000 were false alarms and 142,500 were not related to fires. Here is how that category broke down:
Road traffic accidents 34,000
Lift release 20,400
Effecting entry 15,700
Water removal/provision 15,400
Spills or leaks 6,400
Other rescue 50,800
Source: DCLG
Comments