Sun : Did al-Qaeda bump off suitcase spook?

Did al-Qaeda bump off suitcase spook?

By ANTHONY FRANCE, Crime Reporter, and JOHN KAY, Chief Reporter | August 25, 2010

DETECTIVES were last night investigating whether a spook whose body was found in a suitcase was assassinated by AL-QAEDA.

The body was discovered in the bath of the victim's penthouse flat - and may have been there for up to TWO WEEKS.

The spy, named locally as Gareth Williams, 31, worked as a communications officer for GCHQ, the top-secret eavesdropping base in Cheltenham, Gloucs.

But he was attached to MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service which gathers information about Britain's enemies abroad - triggering fears he could have been a terrorist target.

It was reported last night that Mr Williams's mobile phone and a number of SIM cards were laid out in a ritualistic manner at the murder scene in swanky Alderney Street, Pimlico, Central London - near to MI6 headquarters.

Another murder theory was that the young officer - described as a "mild-mannered" cycling fan - was killed over a sex triangle or some other aspect of his private life.

It is thought he advised MI6 — possibly about James Bond-style gadgets like listening devices. Police entered his £400,000 flat after worried friends reported him missing.

Last night men wearing protective clothing carried the body from the four-storey townhouse at 9.20pm.

'Coup'

It was taken away in a Mercedes private ambulance. Meanwhile, forensic experts combed the flat for clues.

Scotland Yard cordoned off the area and made door-to-door inquiries.

Sources stressed it was too early to say what the motive was behind the killing. One said: "All options are being looked at."

But a security expert said: "To kill any Government security worker would be an extraordinary coup for a terrorist organisation like al-Qaeda.

"It would not matter how junior the worker was — it would send shockwaves through Government and show that no one in Britain was 100 per cent safe."

Foreign Secretary William Hague, who is the overall boss of MI6, was being kept closely informed of the police investigation. It was not known how the victim, who was thought to have a doctorate in maths from Cambridge University, died.

His body was already decomposing when found on Monday. A post mortem is due tomorrow.

One neighbour said: "After he was found the street was full of suits, it wasn't your average police turnout. There must have been 30 officers."

A landlady who rented Mr Williams a flat in Cheltenham said: "He was polite and mild-mannered and wouldn't hurt a fly.

"He was forever off on bike rides but never really had friends round.

"He was an extremely intelligent person but would not talk about his job as it was a secret.

"Sometimes you would hear tapes whirring from his flat. It must have been cassettes he used for work. He never told me what they were."

A local resident, who asked not to be named, said last night: "A police officer came to my house and asked if we'd noticed anything suspicious in the last ten days, so I think that the body has been there for a while.

"There have been forensic people in and out since yesterday."

Last night a senior Foreign Office spokesman told The Sun: "There is an ongoing police investigation.

"We cannot say any more and we never comment on intelligence matters or confirm or deny them."

Mr Williams joined the University of Cambridge in 2000 to undertake a postgraduate certificate in advanced studies in mathematics but dropped out.

A spokeswoman said he was a member of St Catharine's College but left without completing the qualification the next year.

The course is described as "demanding" and normally only accepts students with first-class degrees in physics, mathematics or engineering.