He was also willing to send in the boys to "persuade'' peace protesters to stay at home.

Mussolini's payments were authorised by Sir Samuel Hoare, an MP and MI5's man in Rome, who ran a staff of 100 British intelligence officers in Italy at the time.

The US has similar cases of one day on the payroll, the next, an enemy: Manuel Noreiga, Saddam Hussein, and Osama bin Laden come to mind.