Inside secret underground ‘spy city’ beneath London filled with nation’s secrets – and it could be opened to the public
AN underground “spy city” beneath London filled with the nation’s secrets could be opened to the public.
A mile-long series of tunnels dug during the Blitz in World War 2 is being lined up to become a multi-million-pound tourist attraction.
An Australian banker has pledged to invest £220million on transforming the underground dwellings once used by British spies.
Angus Murray, in charge of the project, said he wanted to create a tourist lure which could rival the London Eye in popularity.
He told The Times: “No other tunnel experience has the same scale and combined rich history.
Many passers-by might be unaware what lies beneath the front door of 39 Furnival Street, on the edges of the City of London.
But everything stored there underground now looks closer to being revealed after no longer being subject to the Official Secrets Act.
The tunnels were first constructed during WW2 to meet a demand for more bomb shelters, to help ease the pressure on London Underground stations.
Work started in 1941 and they were finished two years later, but with the worst of the bombing then over.
Intelligence agents from the Special Operations Executive moved in instead, including gadget-makers along the lines of fictional spy James Bond‘s technical whizz Q.
The Public Record Office occupied the underground base between 1945 and 1949, with 4,000 tonnes of sensitive documents moved there for safe keeping.
The spaces were later taken over by the General Post Office, which became BT.
Engineers developed telephone networks taking in the hotline passing between the White House in Washington DC and the Kremlin in Moscow amid US–Russia tensions at the height of the Cold War.
And until the 1980s there was also a fully-stocked bar, said to be the deepest in the capital – featuring snooker tables and fake windows.
But the tunnels were put up for sale in 2008 and new buyers have now sealed a deal after three years of wrangling.
The firm London Tunnels say they hope to open in 2027 and aim to then attract 2million people each year, including 10,000 schoolchildren allowed in for free.
Mr Murray added: “In the same location visitors will be able to explore the inspiration for Q Branch from James Bond and an actual deep-level shelter to protect the British against German bombing.”
Spymasters at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ recently advertised a team of Q-style tech geeks to help put together Britain’s next generation of 007 gadgetry.
Q has been played in the Bond films by Desmond Llewelyn and more recently Ben Whishaw opposite Daniel Craig as 007.
Real-life “Q” boffins are crucial to keeping Britain secure against any threats from China, an ex-MI6 head has said.