The day the sun set on the Empire

Article Abstract:

The fall of Singapore in 1942 marked the start of Britain's decline as an empire. It was lost for a combination of reasons: underestimation of the Japanese based on racist assumptions, Churchill's decision that Singapore was dispensable along with Australia, and wartime propaganda designed to mollify people at home. Britain's inadequate protection of Singapore caused Australia to complain of betrayal, but this was dismissed by Churchill. Singapore, caught off-guard and complacent, was destroyed by the Japanese.

United Kingdom, History, Singapore, British foreign relations, World War II, 1939-1945, Singapore foreign relations

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Everyone's got it wrong: Mrs Norwood is not a traitor, but a national hero

Article Abstract:

Melita Norwood, who was revealed in information from KGB archives smuggled out of the former Soviet Union by defector Vasili Mitrokhin to have spied for the KGB, has attracted considerable media attention. Some observers have accused her of having permitted the Soviet Union to develop the nuclear bomb earlier than the West anticipated. It can be argued that this was actually a good thing, ensuring that a balance of power was established and that neither side therefore felt able to use nuclear weapons.

Column, Influence, Records and correspondence, Spies, Soviet Union. KGB, Norwood, Melita

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