Einladung DBGAnnieMachon

Die Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft
lädt Sie herzlich ein zu einem Vortrag in englischer Sprache von
Annie Machon
„Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers“
or
“Why I moved to Germany”
Thursday 23 August 2012 at 7 pm
Goethe-Museum, Schloss Jägerhof, Jacobistraße 2, 40211 Düsseldorf
Annie Machon will talk about her personal experiences of being recruited and working for MI5
(the UK domestic Security Service) and discuss some of the problems and crimes that made her
ex-partner David Shayler blow the whistle on in the 1990s, along with the history of having to go
“on the run” around Europe, living in exile, and surviving two high-profile court cases. All this
was a steep learning curve for her – not least the complicity of the mainstream media when it
failed to hold the authorities to account.
The primary focus of her talk will be looking at how easy it can be for democracies to slide in the
direction of totalitarianism, with out-of-control police-state powers – the UK being a prime, if
somewhat unaware, example. In the UK there are endemic CCTV cameras on the street; in some
towns they are interactive and talk at the people; and some police forces are even beginning to
use spy drones in the sky. Not to mention the electronic eavesdropping capabilities of 800 public
bodies, wide-ranging powers of surveillance and arrest of political activists.
Annie Machon read classics at Cambridge University, began a career in publishing, and in 1991
was recruited by MI5, where she was posted to their political and counter-terrorism departments.
She is now a public speaker, media pundit, writer, international tour and event organizer,
political campaigner, and PR consultant.
In 2011 she said,” I am very happy to have moved to Düsseldorf”.
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Im Anschluß an die Veranstaltung bitten wir zu einem Umtrunk.
Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e. V.
Schirmherr: Malcolm Scott, Britischer Generalkonsul und
Direktor der Britischen Wirtschaftsförderung in Deutschland
Geschäftsführung: Dr. Christel Jenkner, Birkenweg 4, 40627 Düsseldorf,
Fon: 0211 / 201 560, Fax: 0211 / 201 522, [email protected]; www.debrige.de
Vorstand: Peter Brock (1. Vorsitzender), Dr. Christel Jenkner (2. Vorsitzende),
Thomas Stein (Schatzmeister), Prof. Dr. Albert-Rainer Glaap, Peter Schweinhage,
Prof. Dr. Therese Seidel, Dr. Barbara Suchy