From the 1930s until 1980s, theBBC kept a number of clandestine files on applicants accused byMI5 of politicalsubversion, in particular those deemed to becommunists orfellow travellers of communism, and also members offar-right organisations. They were marked with a distinctive upward-facing green arrow, which bore resemblance to aChristmas tree and had the effect ofblacklisting a number of applicants for roles in the BBC. Knowledge of the files was made public in 1985 after being reported on byThe Observer. By that time, the practice had ceased but a number of files remained. They were destroyed in the 1990s following the end of theCold War.
From the late 1930s until 1984,MI5 stationed anintelligence officer at theBBC to vet editorial applicants. DuringWorld War II, those deemed to bepolitical subversives, in particular suspectedcommunists orfellow travellers of communism, were banned from working at the BBC. The personnel records of anyone suspicious were stamped with the legend "SECRET", a distinctively shaped green upward-facing arrow resembling aChristmas tree.[1] Only a handful of BBC staff knew what the tag meant.[2] The practice was secret and was officially denied until it became public knowledge whenThe Observer wrote about the practice in 1985, following leaked information fromMike Fentiman. The officer in charge of vetting at that time wasRonnie Stonham.[3]
The "Christmas tree" scheme was dropped in 1984.[4] Mike Fentiman claimed that the Christmas tree symbol was used because the Christmas carol "O Tannenbaum" had the same tune as thesocialist song "The Red Flag".[5] However, in 2020, on the BBC programmeQI, it was claimed that the "Christmas tree" symbol was merely anarrow, indicating that a file should be referred upwards.[6][better source needed] Michael Hodder, who worked for the vetting unit in the 1980s, toldThe Times that all files were destroyed in the early 1990s as the Cold War ended.[7]
The BBC's policy was to not employ someone in Category A, although this did happen sometimes.[4]
Membership of these groups was not necessary forblacklisting;guilt by association was assumed.[4]
In 1940,Hugh Greene – who later becameDirector-General of the BBC – was one of the first to undergo its security vetting, as MI5 mistakenly suspected Greene was a communist.[1] Other people who underwent vetting and gained the "Christmas tree" tag on their file included: