add this to the GR background stew

[pynchonoid]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2522115.stm

Britain 'bombed itself to fool Nazis'
 
'Mutt' and 'Jeff' worked undercover for Britain

British intelligence officials in World War II allowed
double agents to bomb targets in the UK to protect
their cover, newly declassified documents show. 

A power station and a food dump were fire-bombed to
keep up the pretence that the two agents were working
for the Germans. 

It was obvious that if the case were to be kept going
a faked act of sabotage would have to be committed 

MI5 file on 'Mutt' and 'Jeff' In fact the pair -
code-named Mutt and Jeff - were secretly employed by
MI5. 

One of the papers released commented that deception of
"friends as well as enemies" was crucial for the
double agents. 

The security documents are held at the Public Records
Office at Kew in London and have finally been made
available for general viewing. 

They tell of how two Norwegians, Helge Moee and Tor
Glad, arrived in a rubber dingy on a Scottish beach in
April 1941. 



The pair gave themselves up to British police as
German spies but were persuaded to change sides by
MI5, which used them to send false information back to
Germany. 

Weekly wage 

In their new identity as 'Mutt' and 'Jeff' they led
the Germans to believe that Britain intended to invade
Norway. 

For this they were paid a weekly wage of 30 shillings,
plus £12 expenses. 

But to maintain their cover the agents had to commit
acts of sabotage. 

One of the documents released on Thursday said: "It
should be recognised that friends as well as enemies
must be completely deceived." 

 
The Norwegians learned morse code for Germany

It went on: "It was obvious that if the case were to
be kept going a faked act of sabotage would have to be
committed and the decision was therefore reluctantly
made to attempt an explosion in a food store." 

Bombing raids were carried out on the power station -
in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk - plus a food store but
the papers make clear that they agents took
precautions to ensure they did not cause serious
damage. 

Files on the Norwegian agents included sketch maps of
bomb targets. 

Their details are among several files released on
Thursday. 

Oliver Hoare, from the Public Records Office said many
of the subjects were a "bizarre lot of people". 

"If you look at the files the people MI5 were
investigating are colourful characters," he told BBC
News. 



 


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