Harold Wilson, MI5, and the Cold War Business of East-West Trade

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Explaining History, Nick explores the murky relationship between British intelligence, the Labour government, and the "gentleman capitalists" of the post-war era.

Why was Harold Wilson, the most electorally successful British Prime Minister of the 20th century, targeted by paranoid elements within MI5 as a potential Soviet spy? We delve into Wilson's time at the Board of Trade in the late 1940s, where he forged controversial deals with the Soviet Union to secure timber for Britain’s reconstruction.

From the rise of corrupt tycoons like Rob...