# MI5, MI6 and Scotland Yard
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 9, 2002, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696 "2002-09-09T19:33:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@quicken78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quicken78)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2002, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696/1 "2002-09-09T19:33:14Z")
What is the exact nature of the relationship between these three organisations. I am trying to establish who would be responsible for investigating and busting an Italian mob in London. I imagine that MI6 would be less relevant unless they were, for example, receiving funding from outside the UK.
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### Author:  [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696/2 "2002-09-09T19:50:35Z")
New Scotland Yard is home to the [Metropolitan Police Service](http://www.met.police.uk/about/index.htm), the largest force responsible for policing London. [MI5 (the Security Service)](http://www.mi5.gov.uk/th4.htm) are responsible for maintaining the UK’s internal security against terrorism, espionage and so on. [MI6 (the Secret Intelligence Service)](http://www.fas.org/irp/world/uk/mi6/) is responsible for external intelligence-gathering and is by far the most secretive.
Information on MI6’s role is very hard to find. MI5, however, make plain their involvement in serious crime:
> [@](#):
>
> “The 1996 legislation makes it clear that the primary responsibility for work against serious crime remains with law enforcement agencies. Close working relationships with those agencies, including the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) are therefore central to the way that the Service carries out its work in this area. The legislation requires there to be arrangements governing how the Service fulfils its role in serious crime work. Under these arrangements, the Service is tasked to take on investigations on a case-by-case basis, where it is agreed that its particular skills, knowledge or capabilities are likely to help the investigation. The Service will then bring to bear its investigative capabilities as required, with a view to assisting the law enforcement agency to collect the necessary intelligence.”
Basically, the [1996 Security Service Act](http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/1996035.htm) gives MI5 a clear mandate for fighting crime. MI6 does not make public similar references, but then again it’s not an organisation that makes public _any_ information. When MI5 is involved in crime-fighting the Act requires the appointment of a former chief officer of a police force to co-ordinate operations.
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### Author:  [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696/3 "2002-09-10T14:25:35Z")
To elaborate a bit…
Scotland Yard is the HQ of the Metropolitan Police, the London police (except for the City of London - a tiny section downtown around the financial district, which has its own police force). The Metropolitan Police comes more directly under the UK central government than other UK police forces, and it’s the biggest force, so it sometimes assists other police forces. It’s popularly referred to as “Scotland Yard” after its address (strictly speaking “New” Scotland Yard).
MI5 is the domestic counter-espionage agency. Since the end of the Cold War it has managed to acquire extra responsibilities such as anti-terrorism and even drug/immigration and other law-enforcement duties, in the classic manner of bureaucracies without enough work to do.
Both the above functions overlap to some degree with the FBI/ATF/DEA in the US.
MI6 is the overseas intelligence gathering agency. Like the CIA. (The UK also has an electronic signals “eavesdropping” agency - GCHQ - roughly parallel to the NSA in the US).
The relatively good news is that these bodies are very small by US standards and actually cooperate, more or less.
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696/4 "2002-09-10T21:31:05Z")
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think M15 does not have any powers of arrest . This is where MI5 and the FBI differ in their powers. When it becomes necessary to do this ,then they hand the case over to the ordinary police force to make the arrests. To coordinate the work of MI5 and the police ,most police forces have a " Special Branch " to act as a link between the two organisations .
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2002, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696/5 "2002-09-10T21:36:48Z")
I have just found this link which explains the role of the Special Branch . As can be seen its work follows very much the role of MI5
```
http://www.met.police.uk/so/special_branch.htm
```
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### Author:  [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2002, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696/6 "2002-09-11T11:26:55Z")
Didn’t the UK just recently establish an FBI type national crime fighting organization?
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### Author:  [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2002, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mi5-mi6-and-scotland-yard/127696/7 "2002-09-11T11:51:15Z")
We do have the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) who are aimed at organised crime, drugs and (for God’s sake why?) Football Hooligans.
It isn’t an FBI type organisation, but a way of forces pooling their intelligence on criminals who operate accross force boundaries.
As to the listening station GCHQ, it is part of Echelon an information sharing system between UK, US (and I think Aus and NZ), so it also serves the NSA who have a huge base at Menwith Hill too.