Download or read book The Origins of the Vigilant State written by Bernard Porter and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 1991 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Special Branch of the London Metropolitan Police has been a hidden but important part of Britain's political life for a hundred years. Opinions on its role have varied between those who saw it as protecting Britain from terrorism, revolution or worse and those who regarded the Special Branch as a threat to Britain's civil liberties. The truth has never been easy to establish, mainly due to the obsessive secrecy of the Branch.