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Friends & Foes - A Narrative History of Diplomacy

Friends & Foes - A Narrative History of Diplomacy: Embassy Spooks

Embassy Spooks

BBC Radio 4 - Friends & Foes - A Narrative History of Diplomacy, Embassy Spooks

David Rothkopf on the 105 Soviet diplomats expelled from Britain for spying in 1971.

David Rothkopf discovers how modern history has changed the face of diplomacy: 1971 – Soviet spying in Britain. From 2017.

In 1971, 105 Soviet diplomats were expelled from Britain in the biggest ever action taken against Moscow by any Western Government. 

The diplomats were accused of spying in a notorious example of the frequent blurring of the lines between diplomat and spy. 

Professor David Rothkopf hears from George Walden, the foreign office diplomat who spearheaded Operation Foot, the plan to get rid of the diplomats. He examines the diplomatic ramifications of taking actions like this. 

We also hear from former covert CIA Operative Marti Petersen on what it was like operating in the American embassy in Moscow while playing courier to one of the Cold War's greatest spies. 

A Kati Whitaker production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.

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Professor David Rothkopf charts the transformation of modern international diplomacy.

Professor David Rothkopf charts the rapid and radical transformation of modern international diplomacy.

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