Spies: Fact or Fiction

With a panel consisting of former head of M15 turned crime writer Stella Rimington, BBC Radio 4 presenter James Naughtie, former Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox and spy novelist Tom Rob Smith, chaired by Guardian foreign correspondent and Snowdon Files author Luke Harding, this dissection of the business of espionage hardly could have been other than interesting and informative. Ranging from the metaphorical uses of spying as a fictional motif and the pros and cons of setting spy novels in different eras to the philosophical and ethical issues surrounding the boundaries of surveillance and the balance between secrecy and accountability, Spies: Fact or Fiction was a fascinating and thought provoking discussion about a very current issue.

Brighton Dome Concert Hall, 25 May 2014

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