Portillo's State Secrets,BBC2,1830 Monday
ftv
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Michael Portillo travels through the national archive to dig out stories from previously classified documents. This week he looks at UFOs,Hitler's medical files, the war on the Rolling Stones and why Britain didn't boycott the 1936 Olympics. I like his train journeys and this sounds like fascinating stuff.
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I didn't realise there was any doubt about us competing in the Berlin Olympics. We continued to play football against Germany until 1938, and our players were made to give the Nazi salute when we played them
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05p6p2t/episodes/guide
The government us mad...the government is mad.
He got a fine for breach of the peace, and ten years for revealing a state secret.
Yes me.
He's not exactly revealing secret documents, they are publicly available at the National Archives. There will be interesting material some of which has only recently been made generally available.
Much of it I bet, has been covered in other documentaries. But I'll record it and give it a go.
Yes, I'm sure Henry VIII's shopping list will have huge swathes of it redacted with black felt tip.
What is this Portillo and the 39 Steps
I can't see Diane Abbot running across the Scottish Highlands myself.
I don't think you get what I'm talking about at all. It's about more publicity to things, yeh things are 'generally available' but that doesn't mean you hear about them.
It would seem naive to think the government doesn't have influence on broadcasters. Why hasn't there been some fashion for shows exposing the tax loopholes and huge frauds of the super rich and their lifestyles and habitats instead of making programs on other groups of people who the government sees as being a useful diverting tactic or scapegoat? The public are always so gulible.
What you want to get into has got nothing to do with this thread/program about recently released or interesting snippets from the Archives.
Tax loopholes, I've never heard of these tax loopholes, the BBC, Reuters or AP never mention Tax loopholes, where do I find more about this hidden and unreported subject?
There's already been a thread about why there are so many shows with Benefit in the title, nothing to stop you creating another thread though.
The 1936 Olympics will be interesting to see what the "secrets" said over that, particularly concerning the black athlete Jesse Owens. Because i've read Owens account.
I'm surprised it isn't titled, "Michael Portillo's Search For Great British State Secrets." An often used title for programmes that find nothing particularly new if anything of interest at all.
Our great great great grandchildren may learn something about what went on chez Windsor especially over Diana. Why did Harold Wilson suddenly resign
I'm not so sure we ever learn the "whole truth," after all, there will have been decades for the information to have been "sanitised"
Those who might be able to attest to this could probably be long dead.
Were it not for Ed Snowden, do you think GCHQ/NSA would have released what they were really up to now in 100 years time, let alone 40.
In later years he suffered from dementia and it is rumoured he resigned as he was aware of the early onstage of it. Whether this is true though is another matter.
Pink blazer with yellow trouser combo is a particular favourite of mine
The GCHQ/NSA business i doubt anyone will ever get the absolute truth about. We have our laws regarding state security, America has theirs. GCHQ is run by and responsible to the UK. Menwith Hill is run by the NSA, built and operating on UK land leased to the US. It's undoubtedly the most sophisticated and powerful intercept station in the world.
Because we consider America as 'our friend' GCHQ will most certainly have an 'unwritten arrangement' with the NSA which at times may have taken them outside the jurisdiction of UK laws.
I wondered if he was just seeing how far he could push the envelope, or simply being extraordinarily naive!
I think he was being daring myself
I thik hes genuinely interested in people and he makes them the star rather than himself. I also like th way he always says hello Im Michael rather than assuming everyone knows him .He has really grown on me and i watch all the railways programes despite never having had any interest in them before
I doubt whether it will make any difference. The name Snowden will just be remembered with all the other traitors like Philby, Burgess, MacLean etc.