There is a crisis within both MI5 and MI6 following the scandals on both sides of the Atlantic with dodgy dossiers and false, or as some believe, created, intelligence reports that gave support to George Bush's pursuit of Iraq, now admitted to protect its oil reserves that the US relies upon so heavily.

The current crisis is much worse than that of the 1960's created by the 'Ring of Five' (Blunt, Maclean, Philby, Blake and Hollis) and the exposure of the first four and suspicions about Hollis.

Today neither side of the Atlantic is trusting intelligence from the other and both are resorting to more mechanical/electronic forms of surveillance and covert operation. Physical protection measures are a priority because of the weaknesses in mechanical/electronic surveillance.

Whilst the US have tried to exert 'bully boy' tactics upon the UK Intelligence communities they have not succeeded, and the flow of intelligence between the two nations has all but dried up.

One of the difficulties created by this split of the two international communities is that, despite intense recruitment to MI5, the tensions and difficulties caused by fundamental Muslims, have depleted the Service of manpower. MI5 officers have been transferred to MI6 to cover gaps caused by the lack of trust of the US, MI5 officers and new recruits are concentrating on the Islamic communities, and traditional problems such as the Russian's activities on our soil, and our home grown dissidents, radicals and subversives are now largely ignored.

The problems this will cause will be manifest and immense in the near future.

There will also be a knock on effect with the number of long-term agents being recruited by MI5. Security lapses by these agents (generally unpaid 'spies' within an organisation) with a lack of experienced handlers means that they could expose themselves and suffer retribution.

It is time that both civil servants and politicians were forced to butt out of the work of the Intelligence Services and leave them alone, and independent, to do their work. The alternative is more fiascos, like the Iraq debacle, with decades of knock-on effects.