Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office: Central Intelligence Machinery: Joint Intelligence...

CAB 179

1956-1966

This series contains reviews, summaries and surveys presented to the Joint Intelligence Committee. They comprise Weekly Reviews of Current Intelligence, Summaries of Current Intelligence, and Weekly Surveys of Intelligence.

In 1956 the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) was issuing Weekly Summaries of Current Intelligence (derived from Reviews of Current Intelligence presented at JIC meetings and discussed and amended during the meetings).

From May 1956 a new system for the production and dissemination of current intelligence was introduced during 1956. The Weekly Summary of Current Intelligence was discontinued in May 1956 and replaced with two weekly publications - the Weekly Review of Current Intelligence (the Grey Book) and the Weekly Survey of Intelligence (the Red Book). The Grey Book was intended for a fairly wide distribution. The Red Book expanded on selected items of current intelligence at higher levels of classification and had a correspondingly limited distribution.

The Grey Book was discontinued at the end of 1966 and from January 1967 the Red Book was split into Part I (items for Ministers) and Part II (additional items and expanded versions of items in Part I). This two-part division of the Red Book ended in 1970 and the Red Book was then published as a single document until 1974. From October 1974 the Red Book assumed a three-part format; Part I provided an overview of current intelligence with more detail in Part II (items releasable to Allies) and Part III (items with national caveats).

For minutes of the post war JISC see CAB 159

For minutes and papers of the JISC 1939-1946 see CAB 81

For memoranda of the post war JISC see CAB 158

For minutes and memoranda of the pre-war JISC see CAB 56

WRCI, JIC(WSI)

Public Record(s)

English

• Cabinet Office, Joint Intelligence Committee Secretariat, 1957-1957
• Ministry of Defence, Joint Intelligence Committee, 1948-1957

12 file(s)

Cabinet Office

Open Document, Open Description

Topics

Intelligence

Armed Forces (General Administration)

1956-1963

All surviving weekly reviews and summaries have been selected for permanent preservation

In January 1936 the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) approved the formation of an Inter-Services Intelligence Committee. In July 1936 its name was changed to the Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee (JISC). The CID lapsed on the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the JISC, subordinate to the Chief of Staff Sub-Committee (COS), became part of the War Cabinet Committee structure.

The JISC became a Ministry of Defence (MOD) committee following the establishment of the MOD in 1947, within the COS committee structure and in January 1948 its name was modified to the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).

In October 1957 as a reflection of the broadened scope and role of intelligence the JIC was brought back into the Cabinet Committee structure.