Why spies withholding intelligence from the home secretary would be nothing new

Doubts about the reliability of minsters such as Priti Patel have always been harboured, fairly or not, writes Sean O’Grady

Intelligence chiefs are reported to have withheld information from home secretary Priti Patel (PA)

Did the spooks avoid showing Priti Patel certain items of vital intelligence?

The Sunday Times insists security chiefs did precisely that – because MI5 “do not trust” the home secretary. An extraordinary state of affairs, you might think. A “source” stated: “The spooks find her extremely difficult to deal with. She doesn’t grasp the subtleties of intelligence. It’s not black and white. They don’t have confidence in her abilities.”

In response, Ms Patel and her permanent secretary at the home office say it is not true – but then again, how would they know? The thing about the secret services (or others) restricting the access of minsters to any given bits of intelligence is that it is impossible to prove.