100 Places You Will Never Visit

LOCATION Millbank, London, England

NEAREST POPULATION HUB London

SECRECY OVERVIEW Operations classified: home of the UK Security Service.

Thames House in Millbank, situated on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, is the imposing headquarters of MI5, the British Security Service. As the spiritual home of Britain’s community of spooks, its spectacular facade can be enjoyed by all, but its inner workings are destined to remain unknown to the vast majority of us.

MI5 is the popular name for the Security Service, which is responsible for the United Kingdom’s internal security, counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence activities. Falling under the jurisdiction of the Home Secretary, it was established in 1909 to counter infiltration of British organizations by foreign powers at a time when Europe’s nations were ferociously jockeying for power and influence. The service underwent a number of reorganizations in the lead up to the First World War, when it formally became the War Office Directorate of Military Intelligence, Section 5. Despite being renamed as the Security Service in 1931, the MI5 moniker stuck.

The Service played a vital role in countering espionage during both World Wars, in the inter-war period and then in the Cold War. However, among its successes were notable failures, such as the one that saw the “Cambridge Five” spy ring passing secrets unhindered to the Soviet Union for years. From the late 1960s, the Service became increasingly active in counter-terrorist work as the Northern Irish Troubles flared. Despite relative peace in Northern Ireland in recent times, the growth of Islamic extremist terrorism (resulting in attacks on the London transport system in July 2005 that killed 56) has ensured that the Service has been busier than ever in the last decade.

MI5 was previously based in buildings on Curzon Street and Gower Street, but by the 1980s it was increasingly clear that these were no longer meeting requirements. Thames House, meanwhile, stood empty in Millbank, on a stretch of the Thames that extends roughly from Vauxhall Bridge to Parliament Square.

The Millbank area can trace its modern incarnation to the devastating Thames Flood of 1928. Amid the extensive damage caused by a disaster that claimed 14 lives, some 25 meters (80 ft) of the Chelsea Embankment was washed away. The area where Millbank stands today had hitherto been filled with run-down dwellings and warehouses.

One positive outcome of the flood was the area’s regeneration, spurred by the construction of assorted new office and apartment blocks.

Thames House was designed by Sir Frank Baines, and constructed during 1928 and 1929 on the corner of Millbank and Horseferry Road. Baines produced work in the imperial neoclassical style, and was greatly influenced by Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), the architect responsible for projects such as the Cenotaph war memorial in Whitehall, and much of the Indian capital, New Delhi. On the Portland stone façade of Thames House are patriotic sculptures of Britannia and St. George, created by Charles Sargeant Jagger.

Among the building’s early occupants were the industrial giant ICI and the International Nickel Company of Canada. Former Prime Minister David Lloyd George also had an office here. By the 1980s, the building housed ICI in one of its two main blocks and the Department of Energy in the other. After Thames House was sold to the British government in the late 1980s, it was earmarked as the new headquarters for MI5. Among the most significant changes made during an extensive overhaul was the addition of a new block that connects the two existing wings and lies behind the building’s iconic archway. MI5 eventually moved in during 1994.

HOUSE OF SECRETS The imposing Millbank entrance to Thames House shows evidence of the extensive development work undertaken in the 1990s, linking the main wings of the original building in preparation for the arrival of MI5.

While it is a less obvious citadel than the sprawling Vauxhall Cross building across the river (headquarters of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service involved in espionage abroad), Thames House underwent numerous structural alterations to improve security at an estimated cost of £227 million. The fabric of the building was strengthened to resist attack, and all windows have secondary glazing for bomb blast protection. Glass panels behind the windows in the lower floor make it impossible for anything to be left on the sills. Car parking is in a secure underground garage and there is an armed police presence, along with the expected array of surveillance equipment, secure entry systems and electronic defenses.

As MI5’s classified work carries on inside, there are those who fear that the activities commissioned from Thames House are not always in the national interest. For instance, in 2006 it emerged that the organization held 272,000 files on British citizens. Norman Baker, a Liberal Democrat MP, commented: “I don’t believe there are 272,000 people in this country who are subversive or potentially subversive. It suggests to me that there are files being held for not very good reasons.” The British public will probably never know one way or another.

1 CLASSIC BEAUTY A view across the river reveals Thames House in all its glory. John Mowlem & Co. undertook much of the original building work, using the plans of Sir Frank Baines. The company had previously worked on such notable projects as Liverpool Street Station and Admiralty Arch.

2 SPY TOWERS Situated on the opposite side of the river from Thames House, Vauxhall Cross is home to MI6. Sometimes referred to as “Legoland,” it is the modern face of the security services, while Thames House recalls an age of less brash architecture.