Britain has one of the most extensive systems controlling the flow of information of any Western democracy. In this book Britain Clive Ponting discusses the passing of the 1911 and 1920 Acts, and famous prosecutions brought under these Acts including Compton Mackenzie, the Crossman Diaries, Sarah Tisdall, Spycatcher and Ponting himself. The author charts the growth of secrecy institutions in Britain in non-security areas, the development of the secret state and its apparatus, and the growing pressure for reform over the past 20 years.