GCHQ has opened its headquarters and outstanding collection of confidential data to the public for the first time.
Anyone who pays the £1.50 entrance fee plus 50p Gift Aid donation is free to wander around the iconic circular building near Cheltenham, messing with whatever they like.
GCHQ director Dr Helen Archer said: “We’ve been keeping ourselves a secret for too long.
“We’ll set up a proper tour at some point with velvet ropes to keep the kids off the decryption engines, but for now it’s a free-for-all.
“Visitors can choose to monitor Chinese state cables, watch drone footage of CIA biological warfare testing or read the truth about Diana’s death.
“Attendance at our lunchtime Meet the Spies! sessions in the subsidised canteen is soaring, and for a real thrill just type your own name in and read about all the times we’ve watched you for nothing but our own amusement.”
Father-of-three Bill McKay, visiting the facility with his children, said: “What is it? GHCQ? Never heard of it.
“We only came in because it was raining.”
