London
(ANI):
Newly
released
Security
Service
files
have
shown
that
the
MI5
had
suspected
the
screenwriter
of
a
James
Bond
film
to
be
a
communist
agent.
Cyril
Wolf
Mankowitz,
who
wrote
the
screenplay
for
the
unofficial
Bond
film
'Casino
Royale'
in
1967
and
was
also
involved
in
the
film
'Dr
No',
was
according
to
the
MI5
file
monitored
for
more
than
a
decade.
He
was
born
in
London's
East
End,
and
attended
Cambridge
University
where
he
joined
the
University's
Socialist
Society
and
met
his
wife
Ann,
a
Communist
Party
member.
MI5
first
became
interested
in
Mankowitz
in
1944,
when
he
and
his
wife
were
mentioned
in
a
letter
from
suspected
communist
David
Holbrook,
prompting
the
agency
to
ask
Newcastle
police
to
investigate
them.
Holbrook
had
written
that
the
couple
were
'avoiding
National
Service
and
doing
themselves
well'
earning
6
pounds
a
week
lecturing
for
the
left-wing
Workers'
Educational
Association.
In
their
report
to
MI5,
the
Newcastle
police
said
Mankowitz
'is
known
to
frequently
discuss
the
theories
of
Marxism
with
his
friends
whilst
in
lodgings'.
Mankowitz,
who
then
enlisted
with
the
Territorial
Army,
was
described
by
his
commanding
officer
as
a
'highly
strung
individual
of
nervous
temperament'
who
was
awaiting
an
interview
with
a
psychiatrist.
But
he
doubted
he
was
a
subversive
influence,
as
he
did
not
possess
the
personality
or
strength
of
character
to
pass
them
on
to
his
fellow
soldiers.
"There
is
no
evidence
that
he
has
attempted
to
air
these
views
whilst
with
this
unit," the
BBC
quoted
the
officer
as
having
written.