British Security Co-ordination

BSC operated from the 35th and 36th floors of the International Building, Rockefeller Center, New York during World War II

British Security Co-ordination (BSC) was a covert organisation set up in New York City by the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in May 1940 upon the authorisation of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

Its purpose was to investigate enemy activities, prevent sabotage against British interests in the Americas, and mobilise pro-British opinion in the Americas. As a 'huge secret agency of nationwide news manipulation and black propaganda', the BSC influenced news coverage in the Herald Tribune, the New York Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Radio New York Worldwide.[1] The stories disseminated from the organisation's offices at Rockefeller Center would then be legitimately picked up by other radio stations and newspapers, before being relayed to the American public.[1] Through this, anti-German stories were placed in major American media outlets to help turn public opinion.[2]

Its cover was the British Passport Control Office. BSC benefitted from support given by the chief of the US Office of Strategic Services, William J. Donovan (whose organisation was modelled on British activities), and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt who was staunchly anti-Nazi.[3]

  1. ^ a b William Boyd (19 August 2006), "The Secret Persuaders", The Guardian, retrieved 30 November 2013
  2. ^ Macintyre, Ben (8 October 2006). "The Spy Who Raised Me". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  3. ^ David Ignatius (1 October 1989). "'45 papers detail British spying in U.S.'". Toledo Blade. The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 November 2013.