Crispin Black
Encyclopedia
Crispin Nicholas Black MBE (born 1960) is an intelligence
consultant
and commentator on terrorism
and intelligence, after a previous career as a British Army
officer. He is a veteran of the Falklands War
and an Associate Fellow
of Chatham House
, and is retained by the BBC
as an expert on terrorism.
and at St John's College
at the University of Cambridge
, followed by the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
.
as a second lieutenant
. He commanded a platoon
in the Falklands War
of 1982, surviving the bombing of RFA Sir Galahad
, and was promoted lieutenant
on 25 January 1984, captain
on 11 October 1987, and major on 30 September 1991. He had three tours of Northern Ireland
, where one of his roles was as an intelligence officer
in Republican
West Belfast
, and he also served with the British Army of the Rhine
and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
. After attending the Staff College
, Black specialised in intelligence. In the 1997 New Year Honours, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for his Defence Intelligence Staff
work in connection with the break-up of Yugoslavia
.
Black was promoted lieutenant colonel on 30 June 2000. He was on intelligence duty on the night of 11-12 September 2001, and retired the service on 1 July 2002, his last posting being a secondment to the Cabinet Office
as an intelligence adviser to the Prime Minister
, the Joint Intelligence Committee and COBRA (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A).
In the early 1990s, he and his Welsh Guards were the subject of a BBC
television documentary
by Molly Dineen
called In the Company of Men. In the course of that, Black said that if John Birt
(then Director-General of the BBC
) had been a member of his regiment, he would have had him sacked, and one commentator described him as the "suavely telegenic star" of the documentary.
, The Guardian
, and The Independent
.
In July 2004, Black wrote of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
that George W. Bush
and Tony Blair
had "cooked the intelligence books on both sides of the Atlantic". He has been critical of all three major British political parties on Afghanistan
, writing in 2010 "The Iraq War was a two-party stitch-up between the Labour government and an eager Conservative opposition. This time round on Afghanistan it's a three-party stitch-up." He has also suggested that the outcome in Afghanistan remains a gamble and questioned whether politicians with no military experience should be left to take such decisions.
His 2006 book 7-7 The London Bombs – What Went Wrong? examines the intelligence and other failures leading up to the 7 July 2005 bombings in London
. On that subject, he has commented "MI5
director general Jonathan Evans
's persistent unwillingness to accept that his agency could have thwarted the 7/7 bombers if they had been more on the ball shows the petulance of a losing football manager".
Crispin Black has praised the brutal murder of the Lybian ex-dictator claiming it is a necessary convenience. Wonder what he teaches his students. Ethics?
and Cambridge
, where he spent a year at St John's College
on a defence fellowship, and has lectured at both.
candidate in South West Wiltshire.
and Wiltshire
. His brother is an attorney
in Las Vegas
, USA.
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
and commentator on terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and intelligence, after a previous career as a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer. He is a veteran of the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
and an Associate Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Chatham House
Chatham House
Chatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
, and is retained by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as an expert on terrorism.
Education
Black was educated at the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and at St John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, followed by the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
.
Military career
On 11 April 1981, Black was commissioned into the Welsh GuardsWelsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
. He commanded a platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
in the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
of 1982, surviving the bombing of RFA Sir Galahad
RFA Sir Galahad (1966)
RFA Sir Galahad was a Round Table class landing ship logistics vessel belonging to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was first managed for the British Army by the British-India Steam Navigation Company, before being transferred in 1970 to the RFA, part of the British fleet, .-Design and...
, and was promoted lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
on 25 January 1984, captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
on 11 October 1987, and major on 30 September 1991. He had three tours of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, where one of his roles was as an intelligence officer
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
in Republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
West Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, and he also served with the British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus was established in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and a return to normal conditions...
. After attending the Staff College
Joint Services Command and Staff College
Joint Services Command and Staff College is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving officers of other states.-History:JSCSC combined the single...
, Black specialised in intelligence. In the 1997 New Year Honours, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for his Defence Intelligence Staff
Defence Intelligence Staff
Defence Intelligence is a key member of the United Kingdom Intelligence Community but differs from the agencies in that it is not a stand-alone organisation but is a constituent part of the Ministry of Defence . The organisation employs a mixture of civilian and military staff and is funded...
work in connection with the break-up of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
Black was promoted lieutenant colonel on 30 June 2000. He was on intelligence duty on the night of 11-12 September 2001, and retired the service on 1 July 2002, his last posting being a secondment to the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
as an intelligence adviser to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, the Joint Intelligence Committee and COBRA (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A).
In the early 1990s, he and his Welsh Guards were the subject of a BBC
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
television documentary
Television documentary
Documentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
by Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen is a BAFTA and Royal Television Society award winning UK television documentary director, cinematographer and producer....
called In the Company of Men. In the course of that, Black said that if John Birt
John Birt, Baron Birt
John Birt, Baron Birt is a former Director-General of the BBC who was in the post from 1992 to 2000.After a successful career in commercial television, first at Granada and then at LWT, Birt was brought in as deputy director-general of the BBC in 1987 for his current affairs expertise...
(then Director-General of the BBC
Director-General of the BBC
The Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC.The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC and is now appointed by the BBC Trust....
) had been a member of his regiment, he would have had him sacked, and one commentator described him as the "suavely telegenic star" of the documentary.
Author and journalist
Black is a frequent contributor to major British newspapers on terrorism and intelligence matters, including The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
.
In July 2004, Black wrote of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
that George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
had "cooked the intelligence books on both sides of the Atlantic". He has been critical of all three major British political parties on Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, writing in 2010 "The Iraq War was a two-party stitch-up between the Labour government and an eager Conservative opposition. This time round on Afghanistan it's a three-party stitch-up." He has also suggested that the outcome in Afghanistan remains a gamble and questioned whether politicians with no military experience should be left to take such decisions.
His 2006 book 7-7 The London Bombs – What Went Wrong? examines the intelligence and other failures leading up to the 7 July 2005 bombings in London
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
. On that subject, he has commented "MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
director general Jonathan Evans
Jonathan Evans (MI5 officer)
Jonathan Evans is the Director General of the British Security Service, the United Kingdom's domestic security and counter-intelligence service...
's persistent unwillingness to accept that his agency could have thwarted the 7/7 bombers if they had been more on the ball shows the petulance of a losing football manager".
Crispin Black has praised the brutal murder of the Lybian ex-dictator claiming it is a necessary convenience. Wonder what he teaches his students. Ethics?
Lecturer
Black has degrees from the universities of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where he spent a year at St John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
on a defence fellowship, and has lectured at both.
2010 general election
At the UK general election of 2010, Black stood unsuccessfully as an IndependentIndependent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
candidate in South West Wiltshire.
Private life
Black is married, with two small daughters, and lives in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. His brother is an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, USA.