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[Music]
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in June 1974 a very very strange thing
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happened in Britain Heathrow Airport
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then as now the busiest airport in the
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UK and one of the most important in the
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world was suddenly invaded in a fast
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operation for 400 British military
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personnel plus police began to isolate
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the airport using armored vehicles to
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set up checkpoints and roadblocks while
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armed soldiers and police began checking
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vehicles and drivers
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documents the managers of Heathrow had
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not been forewarned and soon one of the
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world's largest and busiest airports was
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basically under military
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jurisdiction the official reason given
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to the Press was that this was an
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anti-terrorist operation the 1970s
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suffering badly with terrorist outrages
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globally however when news of this
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action codenamed operation marmian
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reached 10 Downing Street the home of
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the British prime minister it caused
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considerable alarm in the prime
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minister's
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office the Prime Minister Harold Wilson
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had not been informed of such an
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operation Jews to take place this was
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unprecedented to Wilson Maron signaled
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that his fears which had been growing
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forever several years were Justified to
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Wilson and others around him it seemed
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as though the Army was sending a signal
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to Downing Street it was flexing its
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power to show how it could if necessary
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stage a coup and take
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power ludicrous though this statement
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may seem to us over 50 years later the
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Army's takeover of Heathrow Airport
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deeply concerned the government of the
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day a government that was becoming very
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unpopular in some quarters and the Prime
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Minister Harold Wilson suspected at the
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time was being intrigued against by a
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group of right-wing political
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intelligence and military leaders that
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were seemingly debating direct action to
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remove Wilson and the labor party from
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Office the story began dur Wilson's
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first period as prime minister in the
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1960s in October 1964 Wilson managed to
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form a labor government with only a
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majority of four
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MPS and in March 1966 Wilson decided to
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hold a fresh general election hoping
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this time to win a larger majority
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Wilson was quite a popular figure at the
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time very good on television and famous
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for his pipe and gx's raincoat his warm
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workingclass accent contrasting with the
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usual privately educated politicians
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that Britain had become accustomed
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to Wilson defeated conservative party
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leader Edward Heath securing 363 seats
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in the House of Commons against two 253
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for the conservatives and 12 for the
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liberal party but despite having a large
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majority the country was in crisis
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mostly economic in nature with falling
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exports and strike actions the value of
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the pound continued to fall and it was
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clear that by the end of 1967 there
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would be a massive trade deficit with an
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increasing drain of Britain's gold
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reserves in November 1967 Wilson
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devalued the pound from $280 to2
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$40 through 1968 Wilson cut government
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spending by 750 million and raised
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tariffs on cigarettes alcohol and petrol
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and at the same time the trades unions
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demanded wage increases with significant
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strike action amongst Dockers and car
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workers Wilson failing to reform the
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unions unemployment continued to rise
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and key Industries such as coal mining
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ship building Tex styes and Railways
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continue to contract the gravity of the
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situation faced by the country caused
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some elements to look to a solution
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outside of the usual Democratic Avenues
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on the 8th of May 1968 the secret
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meeting took place in London it was
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arranged on the request of cesil King
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chairman of Daily Mirror newspapers and
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the international publishing Corporation
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and a director of the bank of England
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King also had a very good relationship
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with the the British intelligence
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Services MI5 and 6 and with the CIA in
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America at the meeting also were Hugh
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cudlip a chairman of the international
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publishing group and the other two men
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present were sir suly zakan the British
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government's Chief scientific adviser an
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admiral of the fleet the first Earl
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Mount baton of Burma a World War II hero
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who had been Supreme Allied Commander
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southeast Asia and the last vicroy of
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India and from 1959 to 65 chief of the
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defense staff and he had also been first
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sealord the head of the royal
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Navy great uncle and mentor to the then
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Prince Charles King outlined his views
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on the situation facing the country
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under Wilson's labor government and
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Wilson's shortcomings as prime minister
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MI5 the British Security Service had
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maintained a file on Wilson for decades
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under the code name Henry Worthington
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and indeed in 196 4 shortly before
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Wilson had won the election James
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Angleton head of Counter Intelligence at
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CIA had told MI5 that according to
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information he had received Harold
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Wilson was a KGB agent Angleton asked
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MI5 to keep the allegations out of
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political circles which it did MI5 also
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received further information from two
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czechoslovak defectors alleging that the
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labor party had been infiltrated by
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Soviet intelligence providing a list of
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Labor MPS and trade unionists who were
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allegedly Soviet
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agents this information may have been
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leaked to certain figures on the right
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in Britain including newspaper
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Proprietors and we know for example that
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King had strong links to both British
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and US
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intelligence at the London meeting in
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May 1968 King said that he foresaw a
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crisis just around the corner Wilson's
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government would disintegrate there
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would be Bloodshed in the streets and
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the armed forces would be
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involved King said the people would look
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to someone like Lord mount baton a
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respected national hero and propos that
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mount baton should become the temporary
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leader of a new Administration to take
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charge of the country to restore order
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and public confidence backed by other
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intelligent and capable men King then
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asked Mount baton if he would agree to
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become that leader of a new
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Administration under such circumstances
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Mount baton asked zakan for his advice
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zakan said the plan amounted to treason
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and he left the meeting Mount baton also
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agreed that it was treason and departed
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cesil King then took the interesting
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step of overriding the editorial
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Independence of the Daily Mirror
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instructing the paper to publish a front
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page article he had written that
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demanded Wilson be removed through some
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sort of extra parliamentary action the
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board of the international publishing
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corporation which owned the Daily Mirror
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met and demanded King's resignation he
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refused and he was dismissed by the
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board on the 30th of May
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1968 interestingly King did have some
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support including from the Times
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newspaper its editor William Reese MOG
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calling for a coalition governance of
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Britain on the 8th of December 1968 in
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an article titled the danger to Britain
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Lord mount batton's part in any putative
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plot appears to have been deeper than
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let on by many books and
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newspapers the meeting was held in Mount
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batton's London residence in
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Belgravia though Mount baton reportedly
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backed away from involvement in a coup
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researched by my literary agent the
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renowned biographer Andrew Looney
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suggest that the queen was aware of the
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coup plot and Man batton's part in it
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the queen was reportedly quote
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desperately worried over the whole
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situation and denounced the coup as
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quote rank treachery she basically
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talked Mount baton out of any further
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involvement the threat posed to the
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British Monarchy by such a plot was
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obvious if such an undemocratic thing
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were to occur in Britain headed by a
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member of the royal family it could have
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precipitated a constitutional crisis and
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the queen of course knew this man baton
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was the mentor and great uncle of the
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Future King Charles the monarchy itself
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could have been brought down by such
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Association
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if a plot existed it seems to have been
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according to several authors and
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journalists and Intelligence Officers
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lodged within MI5
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itself Harold Wilson had become leader
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of the labor party in 1963 following the
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unexpected and sudden death of leader
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Hugh Gates skull in the controversial
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book spycatcher published in 1987 and
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initially banned under Thatcher's regime
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in the UK the former deputy head of MI5
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Peter Wright recalled that Gates
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school's doctor had contacted MI5
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shortly after Gates school's death
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reporting the death as
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suspicious the head of Soviet Counter
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Intelligence at MI5 had interviewed the
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Doctor Who told him that Gates skull had
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died from a disease called lupus
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disseminata which attacks the body's
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organs it was rare in temporate climates
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like Britain's and there was no evidence
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that Gates school had been anywhere
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where he could have caught such a dis
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Seas MI5 sent Peter Wright to talk to
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the chief doctor at Porton down
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Britain's top secret chemical and
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biological warfare establishment the
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doctor stated that he and his staff had
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absolutely no idea how Gat school could
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have contracted the disease MI5 already
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suspicious of Harold Wilson's loyalties
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hence their file on him suspected that
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Gates skull might have been assassinated
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by the KGB to ensure that Wilson became
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labor party leader and led the party
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into a general election with a good
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chance he would become Prime Minister
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Wilson had visited the USSR multiple
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times when he worked for an East West
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trading organization and Mii feared that
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he had been compromised in some way by
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the KGB to work for Soviet interests it
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would not have been the first time that
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the KGB had entrapped or framed Western
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visitors to the USSR Wilson also
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maintains several friendships with
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Eastern European igra business men some
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of whom were also being watched
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intensely by
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MI5 the 1968 plot involving Lord mount
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baton and others appear to have gone no
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further but in fact plotting continued
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at a very high level notably it appears
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within MI5 itself with Harold Wilson
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returned to office as prime minister in
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1974 following a general election and as
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Peter Wright noted in his book
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spycatcher quote as events moved to
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their political climax in early 1974
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with the election of a minority labor
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government MI5 was sitting on
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information which if leaked would
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undoubtedly have caused a political
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Scandal of incalculable
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consequences the news that the Prime
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Minister himself was being investigated
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would at the least have led to his
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resignation the point was not lost on
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some MI5 officers end quote Wright noted
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that some of his colleagues held a very
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dim view of Wilson he quot quotes one of
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the younger officers saying to him in
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1974 Wilson's a bloody Menace and it's
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about time the public knew the truth end
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quote Wright states that some MI5
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officers did leak details of the
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intelligence gathered on leading labor
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party figures including Wilson to
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sympathetic persons some 30 MI5 officers
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were known to have approved of this
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scheme the June 1974 sudden takeover by
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elements of the British army of Heathrow
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Airport cause Wilson genuine alarm was
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it a warning shot against the Prime
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Minister letting him know that if it
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chose the military was more than capable
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of taking control of the country further
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Evidence has emerged that senior retired
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military leaders were involved in
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creating private militia type groups in
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the UK to assist in a domestic matters
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should the need arise effectively
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private
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armies General s Walter Walker who had
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proved extremely successful in Britain's
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campaign against communist terrorists in
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Malaya and until 1972 was commander-in
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Chief Allied Forces northern Europe
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argued publicly that there was a quote
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communist trojan horse in our midst with
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its fellow Travelers wriggling their
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maggoty way inside its belly end
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quote another outspoken opponent of
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Wilson was David Sterling the legendary
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founder of the SAS in World War II
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Sterling said the the left had quote a
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stead encroachment on the public
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enterprise system together with the
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forcing of Trade union members onto the
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executive Boards of companies and was a
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realizable threat of a magnitude this
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country has never faced before end
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quote Sterling also argued for a
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volunteer organization to be in place in
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case of a
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crisis another man urging for some
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direct intervention in political Affairs
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was Brian croia a journal IST and a
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senior staff member of the secretive
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information research Department part of
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the British foreign office during the
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Cold War a propaganda Department croia
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gave talks to serving army officers
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discussing the benefits of military
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coups Allied to the plotting and
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operation Maron the heo airport takeover
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which incidentally was repeated again in
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July and September 1974 again under the
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cover of anti-terrorist operations there
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was Operation Clockwork Orange named for
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the Stanley kubric film which occurred
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from 1973
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onwards Northern Ireland at this time
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was a top political topic the province
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in a state of Civil War from 1969
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between the IRA on the one side and the
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loyalist paramilitaries on the other
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with the British army stuck in between
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trying to keep the peace many felt that
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Harold Wilson was not handling Northern
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Ireland properly particularly many
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serving and former army officers and
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Intelligence Officers believe Britain
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should be acting with a heavier hand
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against the IRA and
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others in secret right-wing members of
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the security services launched a
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disinformation campaign at British MPS
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and journalists the Clockwork Orange
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group possibly included a unit of SAS
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made up of specially trained Northern
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Ireland
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Personnel journalists from foreign news
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organizations would be given briefings
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and shown forged documents that
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purported to show that certain labor MPS
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were speaking at Irish Republican
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rallies or were receiving secret
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deposits in Swiss bank accounts it was a
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smear campaign or what is called black
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propaganda and it continued until 1975
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throughout the period when operation
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Maron was launched three times by the
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Army within England now of course
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ordinary soldiers taking part in these
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operations against heo airport genuinely
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thought they were taking part in
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anti-terrorist drills as did the police
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but of course at the most senior level
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there must have been orders coming from
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the plotters
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themselves operations Marian and
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Clockwork Orange made Wilson fearful
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that he was being targeted for a
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military coup later he would tell
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journalists that an element within MI5
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was behind the coup and had work to
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force his
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resignation Wilson spoke of two military
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coups plotted against him one in the
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late late 1960s and the other in the mid
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1970s and as we have seen it seems to be
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so and then Wilson was
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gone his second term in office had been
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a mixed bag economically in 1974 the top
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rate of income tax was
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83% in 1975 unemployment continued to
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rise passing 1 million in April there
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was a global recession and stagflation
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caused by the 1973 oil crisis Wilson did
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manage to help ward off some of the
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worst of this by increasing pensions and
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introducing rent and price controls and
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also transport
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subsidies regarding Northern Ireland he
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secretly offered Libya's dictator
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Colonel Gaddafi £14 million of taxpayers
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money to stop supplying arms to the IRA
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but Gaddafi demanded more this didn't
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become public until
00:17:26
2009 on the 16th of March 19 76 Wilson
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announced that he would resign as prime
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minister effective on the 5th of April
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he was 60 years old and claimed he was
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exhausted both physically and mentally
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many have argued that the secret
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scheming against him and rumors of coup
00:17:44
plots were the real reason for his going
00:17:46
so dramatically and
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suddenly he was replaced as prime
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minister by James Callahan whose
00:17:52
government would struggle on until 1979
00:17:55
with the election of Margaret Thatcher
00:17:58
the period of Labor government under
00:18:00
Callahan was marked by further economic
00:18:02
problems leading to the famous winter of
00:18:05
discontent bodies being unburied rubbish
00:18:08
piled up in the streets and endless
00:18:11
industrial action by the
00:18:13
unions however it is interesting to note
00:18:15
that Margaret Thatcher became leader of
00:18:17
the conservative party in
00:18:20
1975 her policies aligning very much
00:18:23
with the coup plotters and the general
00:18:25
Outlook of the center right and
00:18:27
traditional elements of British
00:18:29
political and Military
00:18:31
Society it looked as though these groups
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would get what they wanted without
00:18:35
having to revert to staging a military
00:18:37
coup to remove a sitting prime minister
00:18:39
and indeed Thatcher won a landslide
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victory in 1979 and would rule for the
00:18:44
next 11 years as for Harold Wilson he
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died from cancer and Alzheimer's disease
00:18:50
in May 1995 at the age of
00:18:54
79 many thanks for watching please
00:18:56
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00:19:00
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