INTRODUCTION
SIS's history has attracted a great deal of attention over the years. Popular images of derring do, the fascination with secrecy and the Service's clandestine work on matters of national importance have contributed towards an appetite for information on SIS's past. But in order to protect its personnel and preserve the secrecy of its operations the truth about SIS's past has largely remained unwritten.
To mark the centenary of the Service in 2009, the Foreign Secretary has agreed to the preparation of a volume of SIS official history covering 1909 to the early Cold War. Professor Keith Jeffery of Queen's University Belfast has been appointed as the author and publication is planned for 2010
Whilst Professor Jeffery will have access to material in the SIS archive to allow him to complete his book, the archive itself will remain closed to the public. Furthermore, SIS's commitment to the protection of intelligence sources remains paramount and the book will not reveal operational details which remain sensitive.
