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First, it was the Security Service, MI5; then the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6; now GCHQ has approved an authorised history.
GCHQ was the most secretive of Britain’s security and intelligence agencies. Its eye-catching modern headquarters, widely referred to as “the doughnut”, is now the best-known building in Cheltenham, a spa town in southwest England.
GCHQ has more than 7,000 staff – many of them computer wizards, mathematicians and linguists – excluding Royal Air Force, Navy and Army signals experts working with the agency. It takes up the lion’s share of Britain’s £3-billion plus secret intelligence budget.
The initials GCHQ, which not so long ago could only be whispered, are prominently displayed on local bus routes. GCHQ’s books of puzzles are popular Christmas gifts.