They were jealous, capricious, closely informed about our daily lives.
The files show how, as the top MI6 man in Washington, Philby was kept closely informed by his bosses in London about the investigation into his fellow spy.
This time, too, Barack Obama was reportedly kept closely informed of the progress of the Somali plan, and of the almost simultaneous operation in Libya.
"The Football League have been kept closely informed of developments and I am continuing to work closely with them so that the process of transferring the share can begin".
While this allegation was entirely untrue in its specifics, in a wider sense his work has always been closely informed by, and intertwined with, Nigerian politics as well as with its culture, history and literature.
Cameron has been kept closely informed of the state of the framework talks being conducted by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, which are due to conclude in April.
His statement would have acknowledged the gravity of the situation, confirmed that US president Barack Obama had asked to be kept closely informed, and provided an emotional centre around which the nation could huddle until the next development.
"You need to ensure the public understands how the East African Community secretariat works, build strong links between capitals and keep the people closely informed so that they appreciate both the gains from working together as a bloc and the risks if it falls apart".
I started to see how very precisely Tey had adapted the Canning story to meet the conservative middle-class concerns of the time, how closely informed the novel is by the specific moral panics - about "problem" children and juvenile delinquency, for example - of postwar life.
Goldsmith was kept out of the high-level discussions despite his office telling Sir David Manning, Blair's foreign policy adviser, on the day after the 22 October 2002 meeting that "it will be important for the attorney to be kept closely informed of developments".
