Wednesday, September 5, 2007
George Orwell spied on ...
...by MI-5! Orwell first came to the attention of the intelligence community when MI-6 (Britain's foreign intelligence service) noted that he apparently offered to work as the Paris correspondent for the Workers Life publication. They monitored this socialist writer for more than two decades, labeling him a communist. "This man has advanced communist views and several of his Indian friends say that they have often seen him at communist meetings. He dresses in a bohemian fashion both at his office and in his leisure hours." (?!) In 1930s Orwell fought against Franco in the Spanish civil war and was talked about as someone who "has been a bit of an anarchist in his day and in touch with extremist elements." The MI-5 officer questioned what that meant. It emerged that Orwell - referred to in the documents by his real name Eric Blair - was thought to be an "unorthodox communist" who did not agree fully with Communist Party views...
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