How MI5 and MI6 handle their press officers
 

Fascinating article basically confirming what you might suspect - MI5/6 have press officers who conduct deniable off-the-record briefings of pet journalists at the major papers who, in return for the privilege, behave nicely.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics...ence-briefings

I can guess the BBC ones and I know the Telegraph's Con Coughlin has long been wedged up MI6, but who are the others?

Re: How MI5 and MI6 handle their press officers
 

It's sort of the same thing (although not directly involving the intelligence service), but A friend of mine used to work for BBC News (she was a researcher).

She said at the time that the Police usually did give the BBC access to all the evidence in major criminal cases, partially because the BBC can help in those cases, and partly because if they know everything about a case, they can control the flow of information..