In the Shadows

Winner of the Best Non-Fiction by a Parliamentarian category at the Parliamentary Book Awards 2023 With a Foreword by Lord Hague of Richmond The Intelligence Corps is one of the smallest and most secretive elements of the British Army. It has existed in various guises since the early twentieth century, but it was only formally constituted in July 1940. In this book, Michael Ashcroft tells the astonishing stories of some of its most courageous and ingenious figures, who have operated all over the world from the First World War to the present day. Whether carrying out surveillance work on the street, monitoring and analysing communications, working on overseas stakeouts, receiving classified information from a well-placed contact or interrogating the enemy in the heat of war, a hugely diverse range of people have served in the Corps, often supplementing their individual professional skills with original thinking and leadership in the name of the Crown. This book pays tribute to them and shows why, in the words of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, 'No war can be conducted successfully without early and good intelligence.'

LORD ASHCROFT KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. He is a former treasurer and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. He is also honorary chairman and a former treasurer of the International Democrat Union. He is founder and chairman of the board of trustees of Crimestoppers, vice-patron of the Intelligence Corps Museum, chairman of the trustees of Ashcroft Technology Academy, a senior fellow of the International Strategic Studies Association, a former chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University and a former trustee of Imperial War Museums. His books include Call Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron; White Flag? An Examination of the UK's Defence Capability; Jacob's Ladder: The Unauthorised Biography of Jacob Rees-Mogg; Unfair Game: An Exposé of South Africa's Captive-Bred Lion Industry; Going for Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak; Red Knight: The Unauthorised Biography of Sir Keir Starmer; Falklands War Heroes: Extraordinary True Stories of Bravery in the South Atlantic; Life Support: The State of the NHS in an Age of Pandemics and First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson.