BRADFORD'S City Hall was cordoned off to visitors this afternoon as filming of Official Secrets, starring Keira Knightley, took place.

The film, the cast of which also includes Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith, Indira Varma and Tamsin Greig – tells the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun who, during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, leaked a top secret National Security Agency memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council.

The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war.

Filming of the Entertainment One production has been taking place around the district, including on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

It is the latest in a series of high profile television dramas and films to be made locally in the last few years.

Other productions shot in the area include Gunpowder, The Great Train Robbery, Funny Cow, Peaky Blinders, Testament of Youth, Lies we Tell, and Swallows and Amazons.

David Wilson, director of Bradford City of Film, said: “This is a major feature film starring A-list names. Our reputation is growing in terms of our reach for this kind of production.

“We have worked closely with the production team on this film, and they have been very impressed with things like access to buildings and where they have been able to park location vehicles. We are truly a film-friendly city.”