MI5 B Branch

B Branch is the division of MI5 responsible for personnel, security and training.Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.865.
==History==
In 1929, an early incarnation of B Branch was responsible for 'investigations and inquiries'.Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.127.
Following a 1938 re-organisation, B Branch acquired responsibility for counter-espionage and counter-subversion.Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.134.
In Dick White's 1953 re-organisation of the service, B Branch became responsible for personnel and establishments.Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.327.
==Organisation==
===Directors===
*John Marriott - c.1955.Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.333.
*Denis Payne - C.1973Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, Britain's Secret Propaganda War 1948-1977, Sutton Publishing, 1998, p.157.
*Robert Holden - C.1981-83.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
===B1===
Recruitment and security of MI5, including vetting of staff, according to Stephen Dorril.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485. Protective security for MI5 including building security and staff vetting, according to Nick Fielding and Mark Hollingsworth.Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding, Defending the Realm: Inside MI5 and The War on Terrorism, André Deutsch, 2003, pp.320-321. 
*Anthony Simkins - section head c.mid 1950s.Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.330.
*Keith Thomas - Section head c.1981-83.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
===B2===
Personnel management and welfare.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
*Martin McOnachie - Section head, c.1981-83.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
*Stephen Lander - Deputy section head, c.1985.Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.561.
===B3===
Management services, personal and physical security of MI5 officers and building, according to Stephen Dorril.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
*Michael Knight - section head, c.1981-83.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
===B4===
Responsible for Finance.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
*Stan Brashier - Section head, c.1981-83.Stephen Dorril, The Silent Conspiracy: Inside the Intelligence Services in the 1990s, Mandarin, 1994, p.485.
===B7===
Training and recruitment, according to Hollingsworth and Fielding.Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding, Defending the Realm: Inside MI5 and The War on Terrorism, André Deutsch, 2003, pp.320-321.
===Position not known===
*Bill Foulkes c.1953Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.330.
==Notes==
Category:SpooksCategory:MI5