Here is the explanation for one of the enduring mysteries of wartime London, how and why the 1943 disaster at the Bethnal Green tube shelter in the east end happened and how it was then muffled and concealed from the public. It was among the most terrible accidents of modern times In Britain and it occurred when people expecting an air raid swarmed on to the single darkened staircase that lay between the street and the sanctuary below. They became tangled, fell and were crushed and asphyxiated. Some managed to struggle free but 173 people perished. This book reveals that the local authority foresaw the tragedy long before it happened and asked the controlling authority, London Civil Defence, for permission to erect a crush barrier. The request was refused by a single low-ranking official as a waste of money. When compensation claims were made from bereaved relatives, the councillors were silenced by the Official Secrets Act and ended up taking the blame. This narrative is based on long-hidden official documents, newspaper archives and official reports. The affair was managed by Herbert Morrison, the minister of home security in the wartime coalition but the decision to suppress the truth behind the story was taken by the Prime Minister Winston Churchill. .