LONDON, (Reuters) – A British writer brought diamonds  from Russia into the UK disguised in a box of chocolate creams  to help fund communist propaganda after World War One, secret  files show.

Britain’s national security agency (MI5) found that poet  Francis Meynell had been channelling Russian funds into Britain  to support his left-wing Daily Herald newspaper where he was a  director.

Meynell’s file is among 140 secret files released yesterday  by Britain’s National Archives that detail stories of German  intelligence officers, communists and soviet agents.

The MI5 collection, which includes files from Hitler’s  deputy Martin Bormann and American actor Sam Wanamaker, covers  subjects from the pre-war period, World War Two and the post war  period.

“For any file, if the story is an interesting one, it is  part of a bigger jigsaw,” said Professor Christopher Andrew,  official historian of the Security Service.

Secret files on Wanamaker, who was responsible for the  recreation of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, show  detailed material from his theatre projects which were viewed as  vehicles for spreading left-wing ideas in Britain.

The files also reveal intimate details of British architect  Graeme Shankland’s homosexual relationship after the MI5  intercepted his personal mail in 1956.

Shankland, a member of the British communist party since  1941, was recorded as living with his partner Peter Thomas.