Get email updates with the day's biggest stories Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice The secret London base of UK's spy agency GCHQ has been publicly revealed for first time ever. In an unremarkable, drab-looking building, sandwiched between a Starbucks and a pub, intelligence officers have worked to protect national security for the past 65 years. Now the site, on Palmer Street, opposite St James's Park Tube station in Westminster, has finally been unmasked. The organisation known as Britain's listening post has only now been able to confirm the location after it moved out of the base. (Image: PA) GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said: "As we depart our Palmer Street site after 66 years, we look back on a history full of amazing intelligence, world-leading innovation, and the ingenious people who passed through those secret doors. "Then, as now, it's a history defined by the belief that with the right mix of minds, anything is possible." GCHQ was established on November 1 1919 as a peacetime "cryptanalytic" unit made up from staff from the Admiralty's Room 40 and the War Office's MI1(b). During the Second World War, GCHQ personnel moved to Bletchley Park where they decrypted German messages, most famously by breaking Enigma communications. (Image: PA) In the early 1950s, the service moved its headquarters from the London suburbs of Eastcote to Cheltenham, meaning a suitable location was needed in the centre of the capital for the handling of secret paperwork and as a regular base for its director. After a search, the Ministry of Works provided a newly built, Government-leased building on Palmer Street. GCHQ moved into its secret London home in the spring of 1953, housing a range of different teams there over the following decades. The agency said: "The Palmer Street hub has played its part in significant events over the years, such as the 2012 London Olympics, working with our partners, MI6, MI5 and the Metropolitan Police to counter terrorist activities and serious and organised crime whilst keeping ministers up to date with security briefings." (Image: PA) The future plans for the building, which has been sold privately, are not known. While no longer operating from the Palmer Street site, GCHQ will maintain a London presence. As well as its Cheltenham HQ, the agency has offices in Bude in Cornwall, Scarborough, Lincolnshire and Harrogate. Later this year, it will open a new secure facility in Manchester. GCHQ works alongside MI5, MI6 and law enforcement to protect the UK from threats including cyber attacks and terrorism. (Image: PA) It has embarked on a transparency drive in recent years after coming under intense scrutiny in the wake of Edward Snowden's revelations about intelligence techniques. In 2016, GCHQ became the first of the country's spy agencies on Twitter . It expanded its social media presence last year by opening an Instagram account. The agency is marking its centenary throughout this year.<doc-sep>NEW A vastly improved search engine helps you find the latest on companies, business leaders, and news more easily.<doc-sep>Hidden in plain sight, GCHQ’s secret former London office has been confirmed as a nondescript postwar block close to the centre of power in Westminster. As the monitoring agency moves to another location in the capital, it has disclosed that for more than half a century its staff worked at a site in Palmer Street, opposite a busy entrance to St James Park underground station and close to the Ministry of Justice. Palmer Street had been identified as a GCHQ location before but the agency has never previously confirmed the location as one of its own. GCHQ, which now styles itself as the Intelligence, Cyber and Security Agency, has its main headquarters in Cheltenham. The codebreakers left Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes, after the second world war. The director of GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming said: “As we depart our Palmer Street site after 66 years, we look back on a history full of amazing intelligence, world-leading innovation and the ingenious people who passed through those secret doors. Then as now, it’s a history defined by the belief that with the right mix of minds, anything is possible.” GCHQ no longer operates from the drab red brick and stone building. It has maintained a London presence at another location and is extending its network of sites, with a secure facility in Manchester due to open later this year. GCHQ also has offices in Bude in Cornwall, Scarborough, Lincolnshire and Harrogate. In 2017, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, opened its headquarters near Victoria in London. A boardroom at the GCHQ office in Palmer Street. Photograph: GCHQ/PA This year, the Queen commemorated GCHQ’s centenary by unveiling a plaque at Watergate House, the first home and birthplace of the organisation. The Government Code & Cypher School (GC&CS), as it was known at the time, was established on 1 November 1919 as a peacetime cryptanalytic unit made up from staff from the Admiralty’s Room 40 and the War Office’s MI1(b). In 1939, it was renamed the Government Communications Headquarters in order to disguise its mission. During the second world war, GCHQ staff moved to Bletchley Park, where they decrypted German messages including those encrypted on Enigma machines. Breaking the codes made a significant contribution to the eventual Allied victory. In the early 1950s, after briefly moving its headquarters to the London suburbs of Eastcote, GCHQ was transferred to Cheltenham. That meant it required a central London location to handle secret paperwork and provide a regular base for its director close to the heart of government. A corridor in the Palmer Street office. Photograph: GCHQ/PA The Ministry of Works provided a newly built, government-leased building on Palmer Street. GCHQ moved into its new London home in 1953, and a number of different teams operated from the building over the following decades. The Palmer Street site was used during security operations connected to the 2012 London Olympics and provided a base for cooperation with MI6, MI5 and the Metropolitan police to counter terrorist activities and serious and organised crime. It also enabled officials to liaise with ministers regularly. The agency has released a series of photographs of the Palmer Street building, showing white-walled internal corridors, a central spiral staircase and a boardroom with sleek metal and leather chairs.<doc-sep>
For the last 66 years, millions of people will have walked past an unremarkable building in central London, unaware that it was a secret home to one of the UK's intelligence agencies. Since 1953, Palmer Street, tucked behind St James's Park tube station, was the London HQ for the government's cyber security listening post GCHQ. The covert Westminster office - sandwiched between a Starbucks and a pub - played a key role in keeping the capital safe during the 2012 Olympics and has worked closely with MI6 and MI5 during terror attacks on the UK. Palmer Street enabled GCHQ officers and analysts to brief ministers in Westminster all the while remaining a closely guarded secret for more than half a century. The revelation is only possible now that GCHQ has moved out of the building to a new location in London. Image: The revelation is only possible because GCHQ has moved out of the building Image: This year marks GCHQ's centenary. Pic: GCHQ Commenting on the move, the current director of GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming, said: "As we depart our Palmer Street site after 66 years, we look back on a history full of amazing intelligence, world-leading innovation, and the ingenious people who passed through those secret doors. "Then, as now, it's a history defined by the belief that with the right mix of minds, anything is possible." GCHQ, or the Government Code & Cypher School (GC&CS) as it was known at the time, was established on 1 November 1919 as a peacetime cryptanalytic unit made up from staff from the Admiralty's Room 40 and the War Office's MI1(b). Image: Unknown to the public, intelligence officers have worked in Palmer Street since 1953 Image: Palmer Street is tucked behind St James's Park tube station in Westminster During WWII, GCHQ staff moved to Bletchley Park where they decrypted German messages, most famously by breaking Enigma-encrypted communications, making a significant contribution to the Allied victory. In the early 1950s, GCHQ moved its headquarters from the London area of Eastcote to Cheltenham, meaning a suitable central London location was needed for the handling of secret paperwork and as a regular base for the director. After a substantial search, the Ministry of Works provided a newly-built, government leased building on Palmer Street. GCHQ moved into their new secret London home in spring 1953. Image: GCHQ has left Palmer Street for a new London location Image: Palmer Street enabled GCHQ officers and analysts to brief ministers in Westminster This year marks GCHQ's centenary which is being celebrated with a series of events throughout the year, including a visit by the Queen to Watergate House, the birthplace of the agency. GCHQ is also opening a new hub in Manchester to extend its UK network. This will be in addition to its headquarters in Cheltenham and offices in Bude, Scarborough, Lincolnshire and Harrogate. The National Cyber Security Centre is a partner organisation and based in Victoria, London.