No blue plaque for Enigma hero

AS the wartime spy chief who supervised the operation to crack the Nazi Enigma code at Bletchley Park, the place of Sir Stewart Menzies in history is assured.

But English Heritage has decided Sir Stewart, pictured, is not important enough for his home in central London, where he lived while running MI6 during the Second World War, to be given a blue plaque.

The organisation’s rejection letter stated that ‘his overall historical profile was not quite strong enough for his name to be added to the shortlist’.

But Nigel West, author of books on intelligence, said: ‘Without him Bletchley Park simply wouldn’t have happened.’ Only about 12 blue plaques are awarded a year.