Information Research Department
The
Information Research Department, founded in 1946, was a department of the British
Foreign Office set up to counter
Russian propaganda and infiltration, particularly amongst the western labour movement.
John Rennie, who subsequently served as head of
MI6, was head of the department between 1953 and 1958.
The department was closed down by then
Foreign Secretary,
David Owen, in 1977. The last head of the IRD was
Ray Whitney, later a
Conservative member of parliament and junior minister.
*
Death of the department that never was from
The Guardian,
January 27, 1978
*
Ups and downs of a maverick, book review from
The Spectator
