Lecture | Falklands War: The Intelligence Story

Hugh Bicheno will continue our Falklands War lecture series with a keynote talk highlighting the intelligence story behind the background and the conduct of a war that would probably not have happened if Whitehall had not been so intent on forcing the islanders into the arms of an aggressively nationalist military Junta waging a murderous counter-terrorism campaign within Argentina. Whitehall’s policy of neglect of the islands, appeasement of Argentina and suppression of intelligence in order to mislead ministers emboldened the Junta and led to an invasion for which Britain was culpably ill-prepared, and during which no few British officials were more concerned with damaging the Thatcher government than with winning the war.

Hugh Bicheno is bi-lingual in English and Spanish having been born in Cuba to British parents. He attended schools in Cuba, Chile and Scotland before winning a scholarship to Cambridge University (Emmanuel College) where he was awarded a first-class degree in History.

He continued his studies as a postgraduate before joining the Secret Intelligence Service. Attached to the British Embassy in Buenos Aires he was well placed to observe and report on the political situation in Argentina leading up to the Falklands War. After leaving SIS he took up a second career as a security consultant specializing in kidnap negotiations. He lived in the United States for several years becoming a naturalised US citizen before returning to live in England.
He has written many historical books but is best known for his best-selling title “Razor’s Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War” which was praised by Major General Julian Thompson who commanded 3 Commando Brigade during the campaign as the best account of the war.