Holyhead Anglesey Mail : Funeral for Anglesey MI6 code-breaker is held

Funeral for Anglesey MI6 code-breaker is held

September 29, 2010

TRIBUTES were paid to MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams as he was laid to rest on Anglesey.

More than 150 family, friends and colleagues including MI6 head Sir John Sawers silently entered Bethel Chapel in Holyhead on Friday to pay their final respects.

The 31-year-old spy’s body was discovered trapped in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London in August.

Mystery surrounds the death of the maths genius from Valley and police continue to investigate.

His tearful relatives clutched each other for support as they followed his wreath and tribute covered coffin into the Baptist Chapel led by his dad Ian, mum Ellen, and sister Ceri.

Ceri’s husband Chris Subbe paid tribute to Gareth inside the chapel, describing him as a "source of joy" for his family.

He went on to talk about meeting Gareth with Ceri at the Ritz Hotel in June, where they spent the afternoon laughing and joking.

He said: "The world was ours for the taking, yet here I am three months later, to the day, trying to describe your rich life with my poor words."

He added that Gareth had always provided subtle and thoughtful conversation.

"He was unbelievably gifted but remained so modest and humble, he was a source of joy to his family," he added.

The service was led by Rev John Rice Rowlands and a second tribute was also read out by Gareth’s former headteacher at Ysgol Gynradd Morswyn, Islwyn Williams.

He remembered the former pupil’s brilliance for maths which saw him attain GCSE at the age of 10.

Mourners sang Bread of Heaven and Craig yr Oesoedd, which was written by Samuel Jonathan Griffith (Morswyn), whom Gareth’s former primary school was named after.

After leaving the chapel his body was taken for burial at Ynys Wen Cemetery, Valley.

Outside the chapel MI6 head Sir John added his own tribute to Gareth.

He said: "My deepest sympathies go to the family. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Mr Williams worked as a communications officer at GCHQ in Cheltenham, but had been living in London after a secondment to the secret intelligence service.

He was due to return to Cheltenham a week after his body was found, after being in London for a year.

The Metropolitan Police have described the inquiry into his death as "complex".

Fitness mad Gareth had excelled at school and graduated from Bangor University with a First Class mathematics degree at the age of 19.

Donations in his memory received at the funeral were given to Llanberis, Aberglaslyn and Ogwen Mountain rescue.

News Of The World : Make-up riddle of dead spy

Make-up riddle of dead spy

September 26, 2010

THE M16 spy found dead in a padlocked sportsbag in his bath may have been with a woman before he died, police believe.

Cops found a £90 receipt for make-up in Gareth Williams' flat - but not the beauty products, which they think someone may have left with.

And the padlock key was missing, supporting the theory Gareth, 31, was not alone when he died in Pimlico, central London, last month.

The home was locked from outside and his house keys were still inside. But nothing seems to have been stolen.

Cops think someone with access may have locked him in the bag then left. They believe a Mediterranean couple, with him in the weeks before he died, may be able to help the inquiry.

A rainbow wig was in the flat. Cops say there is no evidence for claims he cross-dressed.

Test results are due next week but it's believed he suffocated.

Merchant News : FBI joins investigation of MI6 agent death

FBI joins investigation of MI6 agent death

by Tom Chiltton | September 26, 2010

The FBI is the latest government organisation to join the manhunt for the couple linked to an MI6 agent that was found dead in a London safe house.

Using face recognition technology, the US Federal Investigations Bureau will determine if MI6 spy Gareth Williams at any point traveled to the US with a couple that fits the description of the two individuals being sought after by Scotland Yard. The couple, described as Mediterranean in appearance, is believed to have visited Williams’ flat in June or July.

Scotland Yard has, so far, not been able to locate the couple, but detectives maintain that they are vital to the ongoing inquiry. Williams’, a maths prodigy, made frequent trips to the US to the US National Security Agency in Maryland working on secondment. Williams arrived back in London from Washington on Tuesday 10 August and his body was found in his flat on 23 August. On the 15th of August, Williams was caught on camera shopping at Harrods. The MI6 agent’s funeral was held Friday and attended by MI6 head Sir John Sawers.

FBI agents have searched the flat that Williams used while working at the NSA in the States and have interviewed several of his colleagues. They have also taken steps to investigate whether or not the couple could be linked to Williams small group of friends in the States. According to US intelligence sources, so far nothing compromising has been turned up during the investigation.

Williams was a key player in a joint team operation put together by MI6, NSA and GCHQ. He was working on defence schemes for cyber attacks for both Britain and the US at the time of his death. According to one source, Williams clearance was so high, he had access to more than 30 different categories of NSA information.

Independent : The enigma of a code-breaker's death

The enigma of a code-breaker's death

The reputation of a brilliant man who served his country will be for ever tainted by the failure to explain his demise

By David Randall | September 26, 2010

On Friday, in the Bethel Methodist Chapel in Angelsey, the funeral was held of Gareth Williams. In life, he was a mathematician and an encryption specialist so highly regarded that he was seconded from GCHQ in Cheltenham to work at MI6 in London. In death, he is an enigma, an infuriating mystery for most of us, a deeply upsetting puzzle to his parents; for, though his body is now laid to rest, the questions about the bizarre way he met his end show no sign of being buried. Yesterday brought another theory, something this saga has attracted as a September orchard does wasps.

The facts are these. Gareth Williams was 31, studied mathematics at Cambridge, was recruited by the government's listening and monitoring operation in Gloucestershire, and was lent for a year to MI6. He moved to London last September, lived in a five-storey security services safe house at 36 Alderney Street, Pimlico, worked on matters such as computer security involving the City, and led, as far as police can tell, a rather introverted existence – no known partners or lovers, and little socialising. His only enthusiasm beyond his work seems to have been cycling.

Last month, he took a holiday. He went to the United States, returned on 11 August, and was last seen alive on CCTV at Holland Park Tube station on 14 August, and shopping near Harrods the following day. Eight days later, when he failed to appear back at work, colleagues raised the alarm, and officers went to his home. His flat seemed undisturbed and unoccupied, but in the bath they found a red, outsized, zipped and padlocked North Face holdall. Inside were the decaying remains of Mr Williams. His body (he was 5ft 8in tall) was naked, curled up tightly, with his arms and legs contorted behind him. The bag had 140 litres of storage capacity, and was double-stitched. The flat's direct telephone link to MI6 had not been used, and its front door had been locked from the outside.

Subsequent tests have established that Mr Williams had not been drugged by any known substances and had not taken drink, and his body, the apartment and holdall showed no signs of a struggle. There were no scratches or bruises on his body. Initial examinations indicate that he died of suffocation, with dehydration contributing, but confirmation of this will have to wait for the results of two post-mortems, due in a fortnight's time.

As if these facts were not riddle or sensational enough in themselves, the speculation – by "sources" real or imagined, online or off – has added further layers of weirdness. Into the vacuum created by no swift explanation has rushed a large quantity of hot air and now discredited or denied theorising. He was a sado-masochist ("more James Bondage than James Bond", as The West Australian leeringly put it) with a flat full of porn and restraint equipment. Not true, say police. He had 12 gay lovers. Wrong again on several levels, apparently. He was poisoned "by a foreign power" or "terrorist group" (he had worked, briefly, on systems in both Northern Ireland and Afghanistan), possibly by being injected with polonium, the substance that did for Alexander Litvinenko. There is no evidence for this, either.

What has some credibility is the latest idea, floated by yesterday's Daily Mail, that "MI6 spook did not die alone". This was an answer to the stories that Mr Williams died as a result of a hazardous sex game, a form of auto-eroticism that involved him being able to confine himself in the holdall and then somehow close the zip and secure the padlock. A woman police officer had, according to previous reports emanating from the Mail group and others, re-enacted this scenario to a fully padlocked conclusion.

This theory, which left the locking of the front door from the outside somewhat unexplained, was now, however, pooh-poohed, and, according to the Mail, "He was padlocked into the bag by someone else... and was alive when he got into – or was forced into – the bag." Yet the sex game idea was not entirely abandoned, as it was now speculated that he may have been shut in the bag, his assistant (or assistants) locking it before departing the flat; they were due to return to release him but miscalculated and found him dead when they came back.

This line of thought, outré though it sounds, does lead back to the remaining known facts about Mr Williams' life in London. Both of them involve his association with a couple who have yet to be traced. It has been established, for instance, that, twice a week over a period of a few months, Mr Williams had gone to the Patisserie Valerie in Holland Park, ordered an americano and waited. After a while, a couple would appear, order nothing, talk to Mr Wiliams for some minutes and then leave. Then there is a couple, described as "of Mediterranean appearance" (which the couple in the café were not, eye-witnesses say), who had a key, or at least ready access to Mr Williams' MI6 flat. Neighbours say that this pair did not, as far as they casually observed, need to be "buzzed up" to the flat by Mr Williams.

And so the mystery now lies, doomed – unless clarity is achieved soon – to churn for ever in the articles and websites of conspiracy theorists, leaving the name and reputation of a brilliant man in the service of his country tainted by the failure to explain his death adequately.

UPI : Dead MI6 agent also worked in Washington

Dead MI6 agent also worked in Washington

September 25, 2010

LONDON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The FBI is helping British police in their investigation into the death of an intelligence analyst who had worked in the United States, officials say.

Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, the British military intelligence agency, attended Gareth Williams' funeral Friday at the Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey, Wales, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Williams' body was found in his London apartment locked into a sports bag on Aug. 23. Investigators had not determined a cause of death.

Williams, 31, made several trips to the United States to work with the National Security Agency at Fort Meade in Maryland, the Telegraph said. He returned from his final trip on Aug. 10.

A couple reportedly visited Williams in London. The FBI has been using face recognition technology to determine if the couple were with Williams on any of his flights into or out of the United States.

Agents have also asked baggage handlers in Washington if they remember a bag like the one where the body was found and have searched an apartment where he stayed in the city, the Telegraph said.

UKPA : Police refuse comment on spy's death

Police refuse comment on spy's death

September 25, 2010

Police have refused to comment on a report that a spy found dead in a holdall could not have died alone.

Gareth Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month.

His naked body was discovered in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. They regard the case as "suspicious and unexplained".

The Daily Mail said police were certain he was padlocked into the large holdall by someone else.

It said he was alive when he got into, or was forced into, the bag, and died from suffocation.

There have previously also been reports elsewhere that Mr Williams died alone.

Scotland Yard declined to comment on the new claim, or a suggestion in the same story that the outer door of Mr Williams' Government flat in Pimlico, central London, had been locked from the outside.

The Yard has previously announced that it wants to identify a man and woman, both of Mediterranean appearance and aged between 20 and 30, who were let into the communal entrance of his flat late one evening in June or July.

The Mail reported that they are understood to have had a set of keys to the flat, though again the Yard had no comment.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Metro : FBI 'joins investigation' into MI6 worker's body in a bag death

FBI 'joins investigation' into MI6 worker's body in a bag death

September 25, 2010

The FBI has joined the investigation into the mysterious death of MI6 code breaker Gareth Williams, according to a report.

Mr Williams's body was discovered inside a sports bag in the bath at his London home on August 23rd, triggering a high-profile police operation.
MI6 worker Gareth Williams was laid to rest on Friday (PA) MI6 worker Gareth Williams was laid to rest on Friday (PA)

Despite the efforts of police officers and pathologists, it is still unclear how the 31-year-old died and his funeral took place on Friday with his family in the dark about the circumstances that led to his passing.

Reports on Saturday suggested the police have finally ruled out the possibility he died alone, having previously considered whether he may have climbed into the bag by himself as part of a sex game.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, police are now focusing their attention on the hunt for a couple of Mediterranean appearance who are believed to have visited Mr Williams during the summer.

The newspaper claims that British investigators have asked the FBI for help, as Mr Williams made regular trips to the US after spending time on secondment with the National Security Agency, including one less than a fortnight before his body was found.

FBI officers are said to have searched a flat used by the MI6 worker in the US, as well as using facial recognition software to study airport CCTV tapes and questioning baggage handlers.

It is thought that investigators on both sides of the Atlantic have concluded that Mr Williams's death had nothing to do with espionage.

His funeral in Holyhead was attended by Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, who praised the valuable work undertaken by Mr Williams during his time with the Secret Intelligence Service and GCHQ.

Independent : Police refuse to comment on suspicions surrounding spy's death

Police refuse to comment on suspicions surrounding spy's death

By Tim Moynihan, Press Association | September 25, 2010

Police today refused to comment on a report that a spy found dead in a holdall could not have died alone.

Gareth Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month.

His naked body was discovered in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. They regard the case as "suspicious and unexplained".

Today's Daily Mail said police were certain he was padlocked into the large holdall by someone else.

It said he was alive when he got into, or was forced into, the bag, and died from suffocation.

There have previously also been reports elsewhere that Mr Williams died alone.

Scotland Yard declined to comment on the new claim, or a suggestion in the same story that the outer door of Mr Williams' Government flat in Pimlico, central London, had been locked from the outside.

The Yard has previously announced that it wants to identify a man and woman, both of Mediterranean appearance and aged between 20 and 30, who were let into the communal entrance of his flat late one evening in June or July.

The Mail reported that they are understood to have had a set of keys to the flat, though again the Yard had no comment.

The report comes a day after Mr Williams' funeral in North Wales.

The head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey to support Mr Williams' family and represent the maths genius's colleagues who could not attend.

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John said it was not for him to say.

He insisted it was a police matter and said: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

"It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service.

"My deepest sympathies go to the family.

"Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

"He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Telegraph : FBI joins investigation into MI6 spy's death

FBI joins investigation into MI6 spy's death

By Gordon Thomas and Patrick Sawer | September 25, 2010

The FBI has joined the hunt for the mystery 'Mediterranean' couple linked to the death of the MI6 spy found dead in his London safe house.

The bureau has employed face recognition technology at US airports in a bid to establish whether Gareth Williams travelled in and out of the US any stage with a couple answering the description of two people Scotland Yard have appealed to come forward in connection with his death.

The couple, of 'Mediterranean' appearance, were thought to have visited Mr Williams's flat in Pimlico sometime in June or July. Scotland Yard believes the pair, in their thirties, were known to Mr Williams since neighbours do not recall buzzing them into the address.

So far no trace of the couple has been found and detectives believe they could be significant to the inquiry.

Mr Williams, a computing and maths prodigy whose funeral on Friday was attended by Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, had made regular trips to the United States, where he worked on secondment to the US National Security Agency (NSA) in Fort Meade, Maryland, helping to create defences against cyberattack on banking and infrastructure systems.

His last trip back to London from Washington was on Tuesday, August 10, following a holiday in the US. On August 15 CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods, eight days before his body was found at his flat in Pimlico.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that FBI agents have questioned baggage handlers at Washington's Dulles International Airport. None of them recall loading a large North Face holdall of the type in which Mr Williams's decomposing body was later discovered in the bath of his flat.

CCTV camera tapes at the airport have been subjected to FBI "Face Recognition" analysis to establish if Mr Williams arrived alone for his departure flight – or whether he was at any stage accompanied by the Mediterranean looking man and woman being sought by the Metropolitan Police.

Agents have also searched an apartment in the US used by Mr Williams close to the offices of the NSA, in a bid to establish if his death presents a threat to their own national security.

The 31-year-old, who had been on secondment to MI6 from the GCHQ listening centre in Cheltenham for a year, is understood to have lived in the flat while working at the NSA.

Agents have also interviewed a number of Mr Williams's colleagues and associates in the US in their attempt to discover if security has been disrupted by his death. The FBI has also checked with Internal Security at the NSA to see if the description of the couple fitted any of the small circle of friends which Williams had developed while working there.

Given his known enthusiasm for cycling the FBI has made checks along the trails through the popular Appalachian Mountains close to Washington, to see if Mr Williams had rented a bicycle in the area or travelled there during his visits.

Intelligence sources say nothing compromising has been found during either the search or the interviews, however the revelations have focused attention on Mr Williams's work in the US and his links to American security agencies.

Mr Williams is understood to have been a key member of a joint team assembled by MI6, GCHQ and the NSA at Fort Meade, where he was helping create defences for both Britain and the US against cyber attack by hostile countries.

He was given his own work station, equipped with a supercomputer with a secure link to GCHQ and MI6.

According to an intelligence source "his clearance was so high that he had access to over 30 categories of information which NSA had gathered". From Fort Meade he would also visit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defence.

Harry Ferguson, a former MI6 officer, said Mr Williams would have been a high-value asset if he had been recruited by a foreign agency.

It is understood that his remit at the NSA was to develop new defences that he would introduce to his post at GCHQ's Office of Cyber Security (OCS) on his return.

The FBI declined to confirm or deny whether its agents had searched Mr Williams's apartment. A spokesman at its Baltimore office, which covers the State of Maryland, said: "We don't discuss ongoing investigations."

Mr Williams's body was found in a state of advanced decomposition in the large North Face holdall, which had been padlocked from the outside and left in the bath of his flat at 23 Alderney Street, on August 23. Detectives have played down speculation that Mr Williams could have closed the padlock around the two zip handles from inside the bag. Officers are understood to believe someone else was involved in the death.

Two separate autopsies have failed to establish the cause of death and tests for other rare toxins which may evade initial examination continued last week on Mr Williams's body. A Home Office pathologist has already established that he was not stabbed, shot or strangled.

The continuing mystery over Mr Williams's death – along with the speculation, often lurid, surrounding it – has made it difficult for his parents Ian and Ellen to come to terms with the loss of their son. Mr and Mrs Williams, along with his sister Ceri, led mourners at his funeral at the Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey before retreating their home in the village of Valley, overlooking the Irish Sea.

Mr Williams's uncle, William Hughes, a farmer and Plaid Cymru county councillor, said: "It's very tough for them at the moment. They are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. The fact no one yet seems to know how or why Gareth died makes it very difficult. He was a wonderful boy and Ian and Ellen were very proud of him."

Daily Star : MURDERED MI6 SPOOK GARETH WILLIAMS BURIED

MURDERED MI6 SPOOK GARETH WILLIAMS BURIED

By Daily Star Reporter | September 25, 2010

The funeral of MI6 spy Gareth Williams was held in his home town in Angelsey yesterday.

The codebreaker’s naked body was found zipped into a padlocked holdall in the bathroom of his London flat last month.

Metropolitan Police are still investigating his “complex” and “unexplained” death.

Hundreds gathered at the Bethel Chapel in Holyhead to pay tribute to the 31-year-old, who was described as a “quiet but happy person”. Mr Williams’ parents, Ellen and Ian were supported at the service by their daughter Ceri, 28.

Among the mourners were the Head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, and colleagues from GCHQ, the Government’s base in Cheltenham, and the Secret Intelligence Service.

His former headteacher Islwyn Williams, of Ysgol Morswyn primary school, also paid tribute to him.

Mirror : Head of MI6 joins mourners at the funeral of murdered spy Gareth Williams

Head of MI6 joins mourners at the funeral of murdered spy Gareth Williams

By Paul Byrne | September 25, 2010

The head of MI6 joined mourners at the funeral of murdered spy Gareth Williams yesterday.

Sir John Sawers took his place in the 115-year-old church with friends and family. But other security service colleagues were ushered in through a back door to protect their identities.

Mr Williams ' parents, Ellen and Ian, arrived with his sister Ceri, 28. Gareth, 31, was on secondment from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month inside a padlocked holdall in his London flat. Two postmortems were inconclusive and police are still investigating.

Outside the small chapel in Holyhead, Anglesey, North Wales, Sir John said: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

"I wanted to be here as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Mirror : A SPY'S GOODBYE

A SPY'S GOODBYE

By Paul Byrne | September 25, 2010

The head of MI6 joined mourners at the funeral of murdered spy Gareth Williams yesterday.

Sir John Sawers took his place in the 115-year-old church with friends and family. But other security service colleagues were ushered in through a back door to protect their identities.

Mr Williams' parents, Ellen and Ian, arrived with his sister Ceri, 28. Gareth, 31, was on secondment from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month inside a padlocked holdall in his London flat. Two postmortems were inconclusive and police are still investigating.

Outside the small chapel in Holyhead, Anglesey, North Wales, Sir John said: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

"I wanted to be here as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Daily Post : Funeral of Anglesey MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams

Funeral of Anglesey MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams

by Owen R Hughes, Daily Post | September 25, 2010

TRIBUTES were paid to MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams as he was laid to rest on Anglesey.

More than 150 family, friends and colleagues including MI6 head Sir John Sawers silently entered Bethel Chapel in Holyhead to pay their final respects.

The 31-year-old spy’s body was discovered trapped in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London in August.

Mystery surrounds the death of the maths genius from Valley and police continue to investigate.

Yesterday his tearful relatives clutched each other for support as they followed his wreath and tribute covered coffin into the Baptist Chapel led by his dad Ian, mum Ellen, and sister Ceri.

Ceri’s husband Chris Subbe paid tribute to Gareth inside the chapel, describing him as a “source of joy” for his family.

He went on to talk about meeting Gareth with Ceri at the Ritz Hotel in June, where they spent the afternoon laughing and joking.

He said: “The world was ours for the taking, yet here I am three months later, to the day, trying to describe your rich life with my poor words.”

He added that Gareth had always provided subtle and thoughtful conversation.

“He was unbelievably gifted but remained so modest and humble, he was a source of joy to his family,” he added.

The service was led by Rev John Rice Rowlands and a second tribute was also read out by Gareth’s former headteacher at Ysgol Gynradd Morswyn, Islwyn Williams.

He remembered the former pupil’s brilliance for maths which saw him attain GCSE at the age of 10.

Mourners sang Bread of Heaven and Craig yr Oesoedd, which was written by Samuel Jonathan Griffith (Morswyn), whom Gareth’s former primary school was named after.

After leaving the chapel his body was taken for burial at Ynys Wen Cemetery, Valley.

Outside the chapel MI6 head Sir John added his own tribute to Gareth.

He said: “My deepest sympathies go to the family. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security.”

Mr Williams worked as a communications officer at GCHQ in Cheltenham, but had been living in London after a secondment to the secret intelligence service.

He was due to return to Cheltenham a week after his body was found, after being in London for a year.

The Metropolitan Police have described the inquiry into his death as “complex”.

Fitness mad Gareth had excelled at school and graduated from Bangor University with a First Class mathematics degree at the age of 19.

Donations in his memory received at the funeral were given to Llanberis, Aberglaslyn and Ogwen Mountain rescue.

Express : MYSTERY OF DEAD SPY’S LOCKED FLAT

MYSTERY OF DEAD SPY’S LOCKED FLAT

By Chris Riches | September 25, 2010

THE MI6 spy whose naked body was found padlocked in a holdall did not die alone, detectives confirmed last night.

Police have still not ruled out the possibility that Gareth Williams, 31, died as the result of a sex game that went wrong.

But in an extra twist to the bizarre circumstances surrounding his death last month, it was revealed that the door to Mr Williams’s central London flat was locked from the outside when detectives arrived.

Yesterday the head of MI6 praised Mr Williams when he attended the funeral of the codebreaker.

Sir John Sawers said the maths genius had helped save lives. After the service in Holyhead, Anglesey, he said: “Gareth did very valuable work in the cause of national security. I wanted to be here as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service, to give support and offer sympathy to the family.”

About 200 mourners, led by Gareth’s parents Ian and Ellen and sister Ceri, gathered for the service.

Gareth, who worked for GCHQ at Cheltenham, Gloucs, was living in London on secondment to MI6.

Guardian : MI6 chief attends funeral of intelligence worker Gareth Williams

MI6 chief attends funeral of intelligence worker Gareth Williams

Sir John Sawers pays tribute to 'hugely talented person' who did 'really valuable work in the cause of national security'

Press Association | September 24, 2010

The head of MI6 has attended the funeral of Gareth Williams, the intelligence officer found dead in a padlocked holdall in his London flat.

Police are still investigating the death last month.

Sir John Sawers, the public face of the agency, took his place in the Methodist chapel in Anglesey through the front door – unlike some agents who used a back door to protect their identities.

Outside the church Sir John said Williams's death was a police matter, adding: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

"He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

In the church, tributes were led by Islwyn Williams, the headteacher of the code breaker and cipher specialist's primary school, Ysgol Morswyn.

Mr Williams said of all the children he taught, Gareth made the strongest lasting impression and was academically brilliant.

Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found.

CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station.

Police have not categorised his death as murder.Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in Vauxhall, London.

He was due to return to a rented flat in Cheltenham where Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, is based.

Williams also worked for the United States National Security Agency and made regular trips to Washington DC and Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

Daily Mail : MI6 spook did NOT die alone: Police certain he was padlocked in bag by someone else

MI6 spook did NOT die alone: Police certain he was padlocked in bag by someone else

By Stephen Wright | September 24, 2010

The MI6 spy whose naked body was found in a sports bag in his bath could not have died alone, police believe.

They are now certain he was padlocked into the large holdall by someone else.

Gareth Williams, 31, who was working on secondment for MI6, was alive when he got into - or was forced into – the bag and died from suffocation.

There were no injuries on his body to suggest a struggle and police have still not ruled out the possibility that his death was the culmination of a bizarre sex game that went wrong.

But in another mysterious twist, the Mail can reveal that the outer door to Mr Williams’s flat in Pimlico, Central London, had apparently been locked from the outside when police arrived on the scene.

Detectives have now intensified their search for a Mediterranean couple known to have been with Mr Williams in the weeks before his death. They are understood to have had a set of keys to the flat.

The disclosures come after a month of frenzied speculation about what happened in the flat last month, including theories that Mr Williams committed suicide alone.

But as the head of MI6 attended Mr Williams’s funeral near his family home in North Wales yesterday, the Daily Mail can reveal that this line of inquiry has been discounted.

We can also reveal that there is no evidence to support claims that Mr Williams was a cross-dresser, that bondage equipment was found at his home, that a laptop was missing from the flat, or that he had reported to spy bosses that he was being followed.

Nor, as was claimed in one report, was any suspicious liquid found next to his body in the sports bag.

Police have also dismissed allegations of irregularities in his finances and there is no evidence that Mr Williams had committed any criminal acts.

Inquiries continue into his private life, which officers remain convinced will be the key to solving the case.

Mr Williams’s decomposing body was found inside a zipped and padlocked North Face bag in his flat on August 23.

Initially it was thought the cycling enthusiast had been murdered, but the case remains officially classified as ‘suspicious and unexplained’.

Detectives believe that whoever was present around the time of his death might have been too scared to come forward to explain what happened.

The revelation that the Mediterranean couple had their own keys emerged after the Daily Mail returned to the scene of Mr Williams’s death earlier this week and spoke to neighbours.

Detectives believe the man and woman, in their thirties, were known to Mr Williams because neighbours do not recall their being ‘buzzed’ into the address.

Despite repeated appeals, the couple – who visited the flat owned by the intelligence services in late June or early July – have not come forward.

Their reluctance to identify themselves has hampered ‘Operation Finlayson’, the code name given to the Metropolitan Police investigation into Mr Williams’s death.

The Mail can reveal that the results of two post-mortem examinations, carried out by respected pathologists Ben Swift and Dick Shepherd, are expected to be made public in the next fortnight.

Initial tests are understood to suggest that Mr Williams died of suffocation while in the bag. Toxicology tests showed no traces of alcohol or rec­reational drugs in his system.

Mr Williams’s body was found in an extra-large North Face bag, which features 140 litres of storage capacity, durable material, double stitching, twin haul handles and locking zips.

Claims that a WPC or escapologist of similar height and build to Mr Williams had locked the padlock while inside the same type of bag, during a ‘re-enactment’ of the possible events leading to his death, have been dismissed.

A former senior Met detective said: ‘Cases like this are not like an episode of CSI. They are not solved neatly in 45 minutes.’

The head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey for yesterday’s funeral to support Mr Williams’s family and represent colleagues who could not attend.

Mr Williams was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service from GCHQ in Cheltenham.

The mourners were led by his parents Ian and Ellen, his sister Ceri and her husband Chris Subbe.

A tribute was paid by Islwyn Williams, headteacher of Ysgol Morswyn, the primary school attended by the code-breaker and cipher specialist.

He said: ‘He accomplished more in three short decades than the rest of us do in a lifetime.’

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John insisted it was a police matter.

He said: ‘It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

‘Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security.’

Mr Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park Tube station.

Telegraph : Gareth Williams funeral: Head of MI6 pays tribute to 'hugely talented' spy found dead in bag

Gareth Williams funeral: Head of MI6 pays tribute to 'hugely talented' spy found dead in bag

September 24, 2010

The head of MI6 has attended the funeral of Gareth Williams, describing the spy found dead in a sports bag in the bath of his London flat as "hugely talented".

Sir John Sawers made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey to support Mr Williams's family and represent colleagues who could not attend.

Sir John, the public face of the agency, took his place in the 115-year-old church through the front door - unlike a number of others who were ushered into the building through a back door to protect their identities.

Williams, 31, a maths prodigy who worked for GCHQ in Cheltenham, was on a year's secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service in London when he was found dead last month.

His body was discovered trapped in a padlocked North Face holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate.

No trace of drugs or alcohol was found in the cycling enthusiast's body.

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John said it was a matter for the police.

''It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died, " he said.

''It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service.

''My deepest sympathies go to the family.

''Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

''He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security.''

In the church, tributes were led by Islwyn Williams, who was the future code breaker's head teacher at primary school.

Mr Williams said of all the children he taught, the spy made the strongest lasting impression and was academically brilliant.

The teacher applauded his pupil for transferring to secondary school at age 10 and passing his maths GCSE at age 13.

''He accomplished more in three short decades than the rest of us do in a lifetime,'' he said.

Tearful relatives followed the pine coloured coffin into church with his parents Ian and Ellen and sister Ceri, whose husband Chris Subbe also paid tribute to Williams during the service.

The dead man's brother-in-law said he and his wife last saw him three months ago.

Williams had taken the pair for tea at the Ritz hotel to celebrate their second wedding anniversary.

''As the sun was setting the world was ours for the taking,'' said Mr Subbe.

Williams' parents issued a short statement saying: ''Ellen, Ian, Ceri, Chris and all the family wish to thank everyone for all the sympathy and kindness shown to them in their bereavement.''

Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found.

CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station.

Police have refused to categorise his death as murder.

Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in Vauxhall, London.

He was due to return to a rented flat in Cheltenham where Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, is based.

Williams also worked for the United States National Security Agency and made regular trips to Washington DC and Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

Sun : Tributes at dead spy's funeral

Tributes at dead spy's funeral

By NEIL MILLARD | September 24, 2010

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was laid to rest today weeks after the bizarre circumstances of his death rocked the intelligence community.

The head of MI6 Sir John Sawers attended the service at the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey, North Wales, to support his devastated family.

Mr Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service, from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month.

His body was padlocked in a holdall and placed in the bath at his flat in London's exclusive Pimlico.

Mystery still surrounds the death -- no trace of drugs or alcohol was found in the cycling fan's body -- and the police investigation is ongoing.

Outside church, Sir John, the public face of MI6, said it was not for him to say if cops would ever get to the bottom of his death.

He said: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

"It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service.

"My deepest sympathies go to the family.

"Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

"He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Islwyn Williams, headteacher at the code breaker's former primary school, led tributes inside the church.

He said he had made the strongest lasting impression on him and was academically brilliant.

Williams had moved up to secondary school aged just ten and passed his maths GCSE aged 13.

He added: "He accomplished more in three short decades than the rest of us do in a lifetime."

The pine-coloured coffin was accompanied into church by his parents Ian and Ellen and sister Ceri.

Mr Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found.

He was seen shopping at Harrods on CCTV and at Holland Park tube station.

Cops have refused to label the death as a murder.

Mr Williams died just days before he was due to complete the one-year secondment to Britain's foreign intelligence service in London's Vauxhall.

Daily Mail : 'Spooks' in mourning: Head of MI6 attends funeral of spy found locked in sports bag

'Spooks' in mourning: Head of MI6 attends funeral of spy found locked in sports bag

By Daily Mail Reporter | September 24, 2010

Spy Gareth Williams, who was found dead in a sports bag in a Central London flat, has been laid to rest in a service attended by the head of MI6.

Sir John Sawers made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey on Friday to support Mr Williams's family and represent the maths genius's colleagues who could not attend.

Sir John, the public face of the agency, took his place in the 115-year-old church through the front door - unlike a number of other spooks ushered into the building through a back door to protect their identities.

Mr Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month.

His body was discovered trapped in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. No trace of drugs or alcohol was found in the cycling enthusiast's body.

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John said it was not for him to say.

He insisted it was a police matter and said: 'It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

'It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service.

'My deepest sympathies go to the family. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

'He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security.'

Tearful relatives followed Mr Williams's pine-coloured coffin into church with his parents Ian and Ellen and sister Ceri, whose husband Chris Subbe also paid tribute to Mr Williams during the service.

Mr Williams's parents issued a short statement saying: 'Ellen, Ian, Ceri, Chris and all the family wish to thank everyone for all the sympathy and kindness shown to them in their bereavement.'

In church, tributes were led by Islwyn Williams, the headteacher of the code breaker and cipher specialist's primary school, Ysgol Morswyn.

Mr Williams said of all the children he taught, the spy made the strongest lasting impression and was academically brilliant.

The teacher applauded his pupil for transferring to secondary school at age 10 and passing his maths GCSE at age 13.

'He accomplished more in three short decades than the rest of us do in a lifetime,' he said.

Mr Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station.

Police have refused to categorise his death as murder.

Mr Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in Vauxhall, London.

He was due to return to a rented flat in Cheltenham where Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, is based.

Mr Williams also worked for the United States National Security Agency and made regular trips to Washington DC and Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

Canadian Press : Head of MI6 attends funeral of British spy whose body was found in bag in his bathtub

Head of MI6 attends funeral of British spy whose body was found in bag in his bathtub

By The Associated Press (CP) | September 24, 2010

LONDON — The head of Britain's MI6 spy agency has attended the funeral of an intelligence officer whose body was found inside a padlocked sports bag.

The 31-year-old code-breaker Gareth Williams was found dead last month inside his London apartment. He worked for the eavesdropping agency GCHQ, and was on secondment to the foreign spy service, known as MI6, when he died.

His death sparked speculation and theories ranging from assassination to a sex game gone wrong. Police say only that it remains unexplained.

Williams was laid to rest Friday in his home town of Holyhead, north Wales.

MI6 chief John Sawers paid tribute to Williams for doing "really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

UKPA : MI6 chief attends funeral of spy

MI6 chief attends funeral of spy

UKPA | September 24, 2010

Spy Gareth Williams, who was found dead in a flat in central London, has been laid to rest in a service attended by the head of MI6.

Sir John Sawers made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey on Friday to support Mr Williams's family and represent the maths genius's colleagues who could not attend.

Sir John, the public face of the agency, took his place in the 115-year-old church through the front door - unlike a number of other spooks ushered into the building through a back door to protect their identities.

Mr Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month. His body was discovered trapped in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. No trace of drugs or alcohol was found in the cycling enthusiast's body.

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John said it was not for him to say. He insisted it was a police matter and said: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

"It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service. My deepest sympathies go to the family. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Tearful relatives followed Mr Williams's pine coloured coffin into church with his parents Ian and Ellen and sister Ceri, whose husband Chris Subbe also paid tribute to Mr Williams during the service. Mr Williams's parents issued a short statement saying: "Ellen, Ian, Ceri, Chris and all the family wish to thank everyone for all the sympathy and kindness shown to them in their bereavement."

Mr Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station. Police have refused to categorise his death as murder.

Mr Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in Vauxhall, London. He was due to return to a rented flat in Cheltenham where Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, is based. Mr Williams also worked for the United States National Security Agency and made regular trips to Washington DC and Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

UKPA : Funeral of MI6 man found dead in bag

Funeral of MI6 man found dead in bag

September 24, 2010

The funeral of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams, whose body was found in London, is to take place.

The 31-year-old's naked body was found padlocked shut in a holdall in a bath at his London flat on August 23.

Scotland Yard is treating his death as "unexplained".

He died while on secondment to the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from his work at Government Communications HQ (GCHQ) in Cheltenham.

The public funeral will be held at 1pm at the Bethel Chapel, Holyhead, Anglesey.

Mr Williams's parents, Ian and Ellen, asked for donations in the keen cyclist's memory to go to their local mountain rescue service.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Daily Post : Funeral for MI6 code breaker from Anglesey

Funeral for MI6 code breaker from Anglesey

by Dan Beavan, Daily Post | September 22, 2010

THE funeral of MI6 code breaker Gareth Williams, who was found dead in a sports bag in his London flat, will take place this Friday.

The 31-year-old’s unclothed body was found in a holdall in the bathroom of his Pimlico home by police on August 23.

Metropolitan Police are still investigating the "unexplained" death of Mr Williams, who came from Valley on Anglesey.

The family yesterday announced that his funeral will be held at Bethel Chapel in Holyhead on Friday at 1pm. He will then be laid to rest at Ynys Wen Cemetery, Valley.

Mr Williams worked as a communication officer at GCHQ in Cheltenham, but had been living in London after a secondment to the secret intelligence service.

He was due to return to Cheltenham a week after his body was found, after being in London for a year.

The Metropolitan Police have described the inquiry into his death as "complex".

An inquest was opened at Westminster Coroner’s Court earlier this month. It revealed his body was found in a zipped and padlocked red North Face holdall, which was in an empty bath in the en-suite bathroom.

There had been no forced entry into his flat and no property was missing.

Earlier this month the investigating team released CCTV images of Mr Williams, captured on August 14 and 15 in London.

Tributes have been paid locally to the fitness mad MI6 worker who had excelled at school and graduated from Bangor University with a First Class mathematics degree at the age of 19.

Donations in his memory received at the funeral will be given to Llanberis, Aberglaslyn and Ogwen Mountain rescue.

Independent : Funeral date for MI6 man found dead in bag

Funeral date for MI6 man found dead in bag

By Mike Hornby, PA | September 22, 2010

The funeral of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams will take place on Friday.

The 31-year-old's naked body was found padlocked shut in a holdall in a bath at his London flat on August 23.

Scotland Yard is treating his death as "unexplained".

In a death notice in the North Wales Daily Post, his family announced that the public funeral will take place at 1pm on Friday at the Bethel Chapel, Holyhead, Anglesey.

The notice went on to pay tribute to Mr Williams, saying he was the "beloved" son of Ellen and Ian and the "adored brother and best friend" of sister Ceri and her husband Chris.

The family of Mr Williams, a keen sportsman, has asked for donations to the local Mountain Rescue Service in his memory.

UKPA : Funeral date for MI6 man found dead in bag

Funeral date for MI6 man found dead in bag

September 22, 2010

The funeral of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams, whose body was found in London, will take place on Friday.

The 31-year-old's naked body was found padlocked shut in a holdall in a bath at his flat on August 23.

Scotland Yard is treating his death as "unexplained".

In a death notice in the North Wales Daily Post, his family announced that the public funeral will take place at 1pm on Friday at the Bethel Chapel, Holyhead, Anglesey.

The notice went on to pay tribute to Mr Williams, saying he was the "beloved" son of Ellen and Ian and the "adored brother and best friend" of sister Ceri and her husband Chris.

The family of Mr Williams, a keen sportsman, has asked for donations to the local Mountain Rescue Service in his memory.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

UK Wired : Anglesey funeral for MI6 worker Gareth Williams

Anglesey funeral for MI6 worker Gareth Williams

September 21, 2010

The funeral of MI6 worker Gareth Wyn Williams who was found dead in his central London flat is to take place on Anglesey.

His unclothed body was found in a bag in a the bathroom of his Pimlico home by police on 23 August.

The funeral of the 31-year-old from Valley on the island will be held at Bethel Chapel in Holyhead on Friday.

Metropolitan Police are still investigating the "unexplained" death.

Mr Williams worked as a communication officer at GCHQ in Cheltenham, but had been living in London after a secondment to the secret intelligence service.

The Metropolitan Police have described the inquiry into his death as "complex".

A post mortem examination was unable to confirm a cause of death.

His body was found in a zipped and padlocked red North Face holdall, which was in an empty bath in the ensuite bathroom.

There had been no forced entry into his flat and no property was missing, officers said.

Earlier this month the investigating team released CCTV images of Mr Williams, captured on 14 and 15 August in London.

A newspaper announcement said the public funeral service for Mr Williams at 1300 BST will be followed by burial at at Valley where he was from.

Donations in his memory will be given to the Llanberis, Aberglasglyn and Ogwen Mournain rescue services.

Wales Online : Funeral date for M16 worker Gareth Williams

Funeral date for M16 worker Gareth Williams

September 21, 2010

The funeral of M16 worker Gareth Williams will take place this Friday in Anglesey.

The service for the 31-year-old, who was found dead in August, will take place at Bethel Chapel, Holyhead.

Mr Williams' death at his Pimlico home is still being investigated by Metropolitan police.

He died while on secondment to the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from his work at Government Communications HQ (GCHQ) in Cheltenham.

This Is London : Spy 'died in holdall after sex game'

Spy 'died in holdall after sex game'

Atex Feed | September 20, 2010

Detectives investigating the death of MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams are searching for a second person who they believe may have been present when he died.

Police suspect the agent may have been engaged in a sex game that went wrong and are moving away from the possibility that he was murdered. One theory is that the 31-year-old had engaged in a sadomasochistic game.

His naked body was found in a holdall bag in his Pimlico flat last month.

The First Post : MI6 man ‘locked himself in his holdall’. Oh yes?

MI6 man ‘locked himself in his holdall’. Oh yes?

Latest theory about the death of Gareth Williams is preposterous, say security experts

By Jack Bremer | September 20, 2010

National security experts reached by The First Post last night have reacted with a mixture of astonishment, ridicule and suspicion to the idea that Gareth Williams, the MI6 agent found dead in a London flat last month, padlocked himself in a zip-up holdall in search of a sexual thrill and then suffocated because he couldn't get out again.

"With all due respect to Williams and his family, I haven't stopped laughing since I read the paper at breakfast," one former agent said. "It's more than unlikely - it's preposterous."

The hypothesis was reported by the Sunday Times, quoting anonymous "security sources".

The paper claimed police had established that Williams, a single man, had a record of engaging in autoerotic practices, and that the greatest likelihood was that he had died as result of an experiment going wrong.

According to the Sunday Times' source, police recently invited an escapologist to show them whether it was possible to lock oneself in a holdall and get out again. The escapologist duly climbed into the bag, padlocked it from the inside and then unzipped it using a sharp-tipped pen.

Convinced by this - and without addressing whether a 31-year-old codebreaker would necessarily have the skills honed over the years by a seasoned escapologist - the police were apparently persuaded that Williams must have got into the bag and then suffocated in the August heat before he could release himself.

"The emerging background is something almost certainly autoerotic," a "senior official" told the paper.

The "emerging background", to coin a phrase, for those observing this case unfold, is that the police are at a total loss as to how Williams died.

This is either because forensics are revealing nothing - it is possible he was murdered by an enemy using undetectable poison, for instance - or because someone somewhere has succeeded in throwing the police off the scent.

According to The First Post's security sources, there are good reasons why government agencies might want this investigation to "go away". These include the possibility that what Williams was working on - and what might have led to his murder - is simply too sensitive to be allowed to go public. It is also possible that his employers slipped up in some respect.

One security consultant who spoke anonymously to The First Post said he had been surprised from the start at the considerable delay - at least a week, longer according to some reports - before anyone was alerted to Williams's absence.

This did not tally with our source's experience of working for British intelligence: he said the slightest hiccup in established routine would bring instant inquiries.

Another source was puzzled by the differing messages being leaked - mainly to the Sunday Times - by those claiming to be close to the investigation. "One minute we're looking for a suspicious couple of Mediterranean appearance, the next we're being told he could have been poisoned by polonium-210 like Alexander Litvinenko - now we're expected to believe that he locked himself in a suitcase."

The facts are that Gareth Williams was a GCHQ codebreaker on secondment to MI6, where his work made him privy to highly classified anti-terrorism material. On August 23, at least a week after he had last been seen, his body was found in a North Face holdall in the bath at his top-floor apartment in Pimlico, a short walk from MI6 headquarters.

Yes, there are instances of auto-asphyxiation fetishists accidentally killing themselves. But invariably these cases involve hanging, not climbing into airtight suitcases.

As Crispin Black wrote for The First Post a week ago, the discovery of Gareth Williams's corpse bore all the hallmarks of a murder by someone who had killed before.

The perpetrator had prepared the victim for transport, put the bag in the bath where any final traces of the crime could most easily be washed away, and was then presumably interrupted before being able to remove the body for disposal.

Irish Independent : Naked spy found dead in a bag 'was probably playing sex game'

Naked spy found dead in a bag 'was probably playing sex game'

By Duncan Gardham in London | September 20, 2010

THE spy whose naked body was found in a sports bag in an empty bath was probably involved in an unusual sex game, police now believe.

Officers have ruled out almost every other possibility. They have come to the view that Gareth Williams probably died after climbing into the bag which was then locked by another person. It is unclear whether he did so on instructions from the other person or was locked in at his own request.

However, detectives believe that he was probably indulging in a sadomasochistic game in which he got a thrill from being helpless.

It is likely that once locked and left in the bag, he died from a combination of causes, including suffocation and dehydration -- difficult to identify in a post-mortem inquiry. The red holdall was made from a laminate material and had reinforced seams, making it hot and almost impossible to escape from.

Mr Williams's top-floor flat in Pimlico, central London, is likely to have been hot in the August weather, causing him to pass out.

The North Face bag was padlocked from the outside and officers believe another person was supposed to return to the flat to release him. But when they came back they found his dead body. Scotland Yard is still seeking a Mediterranean couple aged between 20 and 30, who were let into the spy's flat late one evening in June or July.

"They haven't come forward and we have to ask ourselves why that would be," one source said. Officers have been unwilling to ascribe motives to the killing before investigating all the options. (© Daily Telegraph, London)

- Duncan Gardham in London

Irish Independent

The Australian : Sex-game spy Gareth Williams suffocated

Sex-game spy Gareth Williams suffocated

From The Sunday Times | September 20, 2010

BRITISH spy Gareth Williams suffocated because he was unable to escape after padlocking himself inside a bag, officials say.

The code-breaker, whose naked body was found in a locked bag in his London flat, had not been murdered but died during a bizarre "autoerotic" experiment, security sources have disclosed.

Government officials monitoring the police case say they believe Williams, 31, suffocated because he was unable to get out of the bag.

Williams worked on highly classified anti-terrorism material at GCHQ, the government's eavesdropping centre at Cheltenham, southern England, and had moved to London for a one-year assignment with MI6, the overseas intelligence service.

Officials said they uncovered evidence that Williams had a record of engaging in autoerotic practices, and that he died when a sex game went wrong.

"The emerging background is something almost certainly autoerotic," said a senior official who has been briefed on the Scotland Yard investigation.

Numerous conspiracy theories regarding the reason for Williams's death have circulated since his body was discovered on August 23.

Telegraph : MI6 spy found in sports bag had been playing sex game, police believe

MI6 spy found in sports bag had been playing sex game, police believe

The spy whose naked body was found in a sports bag in an empty bath in Pimlico was probably involved in an unusual sex game, police now believe.

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | September 19, 2010

Having ruled out almost every other possibility, officers have come round to the view that Gareth Williams probably died after climbing into the bag which was then locked by another person.

It is unclear whether he did so on instructions from the other person or was locked in at his own request, but detectives believe that he was probably involved in some sado-masochistic game in which he got a kick from being helpless.

It is likely that once locked and left in the bag, he died from a combination of causes including suffocation and dehydration, which have been difficult to identify in a post-mortem.

The red North Face holdall was made from a laminate material and had reinforced seams, making it both hot and almost impossible to escape from. The top floor flat is likely to have heated up in the August weather, causing Mr Williams to pass out.

The bag was padlocked from the outside and officers believe the other person was supposed to return to the flat to release him but when they did so, they found him dead.

Scotland Yard is still seeking a Mediterranean couple aged between 20 and 30, who were let into the spy’s flat in Alderney Street, Pimlico, central London, late one evening in June or July.

“They haven’t come forward and we have to ask ourselves why that would be,” one source said.

Officers have been unwilling to ascribe motives to the killing before investigating all the options, which included the possibility that Mr Williams was murdered to prevent him continuing vital work into intercepting and decrypting messages sent by foreign powers.

But continuing toxicology tests have so far failed to find any signs of poisons in his system and previous tests have ruled out alcohol and recreational drugs. No bruising was found on the body, making strangulation unlikely.

Detectives from Scotland Yard’s Homicide Task Force investigating the case say they did not find any other signs of a sexual fetish at Mr Williams’s flat, although investigations continue into his internet and telephone use.

They have been keen not to jump to conclusions in the interests of pursuing all possible leads but they now believe he took off his own clothes and see a sex game as the most likely scenario.

So far investigators have failed to positively identify whether someone else was in the flat around the time of the death but further fingerprint and DNA analysis is being conducted.

One source close to the inquiry told the Daily Telegraph: “We began with a variety of less probable scenarios, eliminating each one until we ended up with the most likely. “Human beings are funny things and they have all kinds of predilections. These bags have warnings about keeping them away from children because they can cause suffocation.”

Mr Williams, 31, a keen cyclist and maths prodigy from Anglesey, North Wales, was found dead in the MI6 flat where he lived while he was on secondment from GCHQ.

He had returned from a holiday in the US on August 11 and was last seen alive on CCTV footage at Holland Park tube station on August 14 and shopping in Harrods in Knightsbridge the following day.

The post mortem results suggest he died soon afterwards but his body was not found until eight days later when colleagues raised the alarm.

CCTV cameras are not routinely fitted to the homes of the 2,200 spies employed by MI6, sources said.

This Is Gloucestershire : GCHQ man 'died in sex game' - claim

GCHQ man 'died in sex game' - claim

September 19, 2010

GCHQ codebreaker Dr Gareth Williams died during a bizarre "autoerotic" experiment, according to a report.

Dr Williams, who worked at the Government base in Cheltenham for 10 years, was found dead inside a bag in his London flat on August 23.

Now, The Sunday Times has reported an unnamed security official as saying detectives believe his death may have been self-inflicted.

The paper quotes its source as saying: "The emerging background is something almost certainly autoerotic."

WorldNetDaily : Toxins investigated in spy's death

Toxins investigated in spy's death

Analyst: 'Look east: Chinese have history of creating poison'

September 17, 2010

Scientists at Porton Down, Britain's chemical and biological warfare establishment on the edge of Salisbury Plain, have ruled out that Gareth Williams, the GCHQ spy, was poisoned by polonium, the lethal radioactive poison that killed Alexander Litvinenco, a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin confirms.

But they have identified a number of lethal fast-acting toxins which would have left no trace in his body long before it was found inside a padlocked holdall inside his MI6 safe house in Pimlico, London.

Porton Down has a special unit housed in the building where government microbiologist Dr. David Kelly had his own research laboratories. The unit specializes in analyzing poisons used by foreign intelligence services.

Last week it was reported that the Russian government had given the Foreign Office a "guarantee" that its intelligence service, SVR, had not murdered Williams. The Foreign Office has refused to discuss the matter. But MI6 insist the Russians were not involved.

An intelligence source close to the Williams investigation suggested "look east: The Chinese have a long history of creating the perfect poison."

China's scientists work in laboratories inside the Ministry of State Security, MSS, complex. Their department is known as the Investigative Bureau, and near the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The bureau has ultimate control over all China's intelligence operations. These including recruiting double agents and paying the fees of Chinese students to study abroad. Graduates are urged to find jobs in the defense industries like Britain and the United States.

© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Channel 4 : Did MI6 spy Gareth Williams commit suicide?

Did MI6 spy Gareth Williams commit suicide?

By Jonathan Rugman | September 14, 2010

One of the greatest mysteries of recent weeks has been the unexplained death of an MI6 employee found in a padlocked and zipped up bag in the bath of his flat. Channel 4 News' Jonathan Rugman analyses the possibility of suicide.
Gareth Williams, one of the last pictures taken of the MI6 spy, who was found dead padlocked into a sports bag (Image: Reuters)

The circumstances of his passing are so bizarre that no conspiracy theory can be ruled out - and nor will anything be ruled out until the police investgation is complete - but one theory currently in play is suicide.

This may sound extraordinary, but when you look at what we know, suicide may be no more extraordinary than any other aspect of this remarkable spy-novel case, which the police are still not confident enough to call murder.

Gareth Williams was found dead by police in Pimlico on August 23rd. The door of his flat was double-locked and a forensic sweep of his Alderney Street flat has not, as far as we know, revealed signs of forced entry.

Police toxicologists have concluded that drugs or alcohol did not contribute to his death, though more toxicology tests may be required. Police have appealed for information about a "Mediterranean couple" - a phrase which surely should be consigned to the novels of Agatha Christie or Eric Ambler - who apparently visited the flat a few weeks before.

But this may just be due diligence on the part of an investigative team duty bound to keep an open mind. From the very beginning, there has been no suggestion from the corridors of Whitehall that a national security breach has occurred.

Conspiracy theorists will argue that this is a cover up by the Secret Intelligence Service or SIS, but for now I don't buy that.

First off, we know that Mr Williams travelled to the US listening centre in Maryland where he also worked, but he did not have any dealings - that we know of - with governments or foreign intellligence agencies potentially hostile to Britain.

Nor is there any reason to think that the Talibans or Al Qaeda, in their many franchises, knew who he was. And if terrorists killed him, surely they would have told us by now?

There is no evidence - again, that we know of - that anything like a laptop or mobile phone was taken from Williams' flat. In fact, we know that his phone SIM cards were neatly laid out on a table.

At first this was interpreted as a sign of a ritualistic killing, but with hindsight it may have been just the punctiliousness of a very private man - ideal for his job, I would have thought. Mr Williams was on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ in Cheltenham and was due to return to Gloucestershire imminently.

This fact - that he was going back to his former place of employment - is the only potential "trigger moment" we have which could provide a clue to the puzzle of his death. In the week the police found the body, I reported for Channel 4 News the theory that the code expert's "sexual preferences" may have had something to do with his death.

Two days later, The Sunday Times reported that it had spoken to two witnesses who had seen Mr Williams on the gay scene in South London.

All this apparently appalled the dead man's family in Wales - only beginning to come to terms with his tragic death - and both they and the police let it be known that this was not a useful line of enquiry. One outraged family member suggested that this could be an orchestrated "dirty tricks" campaign by British Intelligence. What would be the merits of MI6 falsely describing its employee as gay?

MI6 employs gay people, and like every other branch of the civil service it cannot discriminate against them. What it may not be able to tolerate is the security risk of an employee being a closet gay - leading a double life on top of their double life as a spy - in case this leaves an employee open to blackmail.

A "dirty tricks" campaign unfairly suggesting that Williams was a closet homosexual in fact does the reputations of GCHQ and MI6 few favours, because it makes it obvious that their supposedly rigorous vetting procedures failed. In other words, it is an "own goal" for SIS. So why suggest it if it wasn't true?

To disguise the fact that the Russians or the Iranians or Mafia hit men killed him, when they could have killed him in myriad and far less bizarre ways if they had wanted to, assuming they had even known who he was? Which brings us back to the body in the bag.

A padlocked bag in a flat which was double-locked with no sign of forced entry that we know of. Could the bag have been padlocked from the inside?

It has been reported that it could. Which leads us to the theory - and that is all this is - that an act of "erotic self-asphyxiation" or sex game caused Gareth Williams' death, either by accident or on purpose.

And if it was on purpose and involved no one else, what was the trigger? Perhaps it was his imminent departure from the bright lights of London and his return to his old life in Cheltenham.

I repeat that this is just a theory based on the little that we know; but Gareth Williams lived in a world of secrets, and perhaps the secret of his private life was, for him, one secret too many.

Daily Rosetta : US Expert to Solve Gareth Williams Death Mystery

US Expert to Solve Gareth Williams Death Mystery

by Violeta Bahin | September 14, 2010

Concern is growing within the intelligence community that the MI6 spy Gareth Williams, who was found dead in his London flat, may have been the victim of a professional hit man by a foreign power.

Now, a leading pathologist from US may fly this week to try to unravel the mystery behind the mystery death of Williams after a post-mortem examination failed to reveal the cause of death as detectives remain puzzled over his death. The said expert has been trained in CIA and FBI techniques to look for sophisticated methods of assassinations using hard-to-detect substances.

Reports claimed that Williams had told his bosses he believed he was being followed by two men. On Monday police discarded this idea then admitted they wanted to trace the mystery couple.

“I would appeal to anyone who may have seen or had contact with Gareth in the period between August 11 and 23 to come forward and speak with us at the Incident Room on 0208 358 0200, or to remain anonymous by calling Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111,” Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline Sebire of Homicide and Serious Crime Command, who is leading the investigation, said.

Williams was discovered dead at his home on August 23. His naked remains were found inside a locked sports bag. He was working on systems to defend British banks and transport infrastructure from cyber attack and to eavesdrop on terrorist communications. He had been on assignment with the MI6 spy agency. He also played an important role creating equipment to listen to Taliban communications in Afghanistan and had helped to fit out three aircraft with the equipment, making them airborne-listening stations.

This Is London : Mystery over couple who visited ‘spy in bag’ case flat

Mystery over couple who visited ‘spy in bag’ case flat

Justin Davenport, Crime Editor | September 13, 2010

A COUPLE appear to have vanished after calling at the flat of MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams whose body was found locked inside a bag in his bath, police said today.

Detectives say they have failed to trace the “Mediterranean couple” who visited the flat — owned by the intelligence services — in June or July despite appeals for them to come forward.

They believe the couple, in their thirties, were known to Mr Williams as neighbours do not recall buzzing them into the address. Detectives believe they could be significant to the inquiry.

The body of the GCHQ codebreaker and maths genius was found inside a zipped and padlocked North Face hold-all three weeks ago today.

The bag had been placed inside the flat's ensuite bath and may have been there for up to eight days. Police have been baffled by the death because there were no signs of violence, and toxicology tests showed Mr Williams had not taken drugs or alcohol. There were also no signs of a struggle or a forced entry at the flat in Alderney Street and nothing appeared to have been stolen.

Tests are unable to suggest if Mr Williams was dead or alive when he entered the bag. Reports that the 5ft 8in Mr Williams could have closed the padlock around the two zip handles from inside the bag have been played down by detectives, who have been unable to find a method for doing it.

They view it as extremely unlikely that he padlocked the bag himself.

That suggests Mr Williams was either forced into it against his ill, co-operated with a second party in a possible sex game or was already dead when he was placed inside the holdall.

The results of further tests for the possible presence of a rare toxin are being awaited. Police do not believe the mystery couple is the same as one Mr Williams met regularly at Patisserie Valerie in Holland Park, who were not Mediterranean in appearance.

Anyone with information should call 020 8358 0200, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

MercatorNet : Lonely life, lonely death

Lonely life, lonely death

The mysterious death of a British spy in the heart of London shows the hazards of the profession.

by Michael Coren | September 13, 2010

The British have a dark, sardonic sense of humour. It’s what got them through depressions, Nazi bombing raids and even socialist governments! So it took only a day or two late last month for the joke to circulate that the British intelligence services were so clever that their agents could commit the most extraordinary suicides in the world. The reference was to Gareth Williams, a young man seconded to MI6, whose body was found in a padlocked and sealed sports bag in the bath of his apartment.

Not funny for his friends and family of course. The 31-year-old was actually an employee of GCHQ, the Government Communications Headquarters based in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. It is part of three main branches of British intelligence along with MI5 (domestic intelligence) and MI6, also known as the SIS or Secret Intelligence Service (foreign intelligence). GCHG is, as it were, the least glamorous of the trio and most of its work involves listening to and monitoring communications and – vital work – deciphering what potential threat targets are saying to each other.

Williams had been seconded to MI6 in London, based on the south bank of the River Thames just down the road from the Houses of Parliament and from MI5, both establishments across the river over Lambeth Bridge. He lived nearby in Pimlico, which is where his body was found. It’s likely that he wasn’t a field agent but a mathematical genius recruited from university and employed to work on codes. He was an isolated figure, a passionate cyclist, quiet, reliable and with few if any friends. It is also claimed that his body was found two weeks after he was killed, that there were no signs of struggle or even of how he died and that various identity cards were arranged in his home as if to leave some sort of signal.

I say “claimed” because there is no way to know if any of this is true. Would even a low-level member of the intelligence community not be searched for by colleagues if he had not checked in for work for two weeks? Front-line agents have to call in under a secret code at regular, usually daily intervals but even ordinary staff members are scrutinized. The police still claim to have no leads and the story is no longer receiving much coverage in the British press but all sorts of questions remain unanswered.

One being why there were suggestions of sexual violence – the implication being of a homosexual variety – made within 24 hours of the story breaking. There was never any evidence of this but some newspapers ran with the report that bondage equipment was founded in Williams’ home. According to local police officers who later spoke to the press this was utter nonsense. As was the idea that the poor man cruised gay bars – there is a gay bathhouse directly across the road from the MI6 offices – or that he had some sort of guilty and clandestine double life.

This is British intelligence for goodness sake. They know about double lives and investigate every person who works for them. Gay men and women are openly employed by MI6 and MI5 – it is the possibility of blackmail and not sexual preference that determines the suitability of an applicant. In other words, as long as there is nothing to hide there is nothing to worry about. in any case, his relatives have furiously denied that he was a homosexual and say that he is being smeared by the government.

Was it MI6 who discredited Williams or was it a foreign agency? Was his death political and if so was he killed by a friend or an enemy? We may know eventually but likely not for some time. There is and always has been a reciprocal if not symbiotic relationship between the intelligence services and the media in Britain – less a case of the “spooks”, as they are known, exploiting the press than the intelligence people letting it be known that if journalists want good stories and leaked information they need to do what they’re told at other times.

When I was at university in England one of my professors, an avuncular and kindly man, told me that I was “Intelligent and lazy. You’ll make a good journalist or a good spy.” I laughed, went on my way and eventually became a journalist. I realize now that he was probably making preliminary recruitment inquiries. A talent spotter. Not that I was very talented. A fellow student who was studying Russian did eventually join the MI5 – something he did not tell his friends until he had left. He refused to say very much about what went on – “boring really, just lots of listening to the radio and reading Soviet newspapers” – but did tell us that what surprised him was how untidy the offices always were.

“Thing is, you see, it’s quite difficult to do thorough security checks on people who clean offices and empty the bins. So the cleaning up is left to the people who work there and we resented doing it. Always argued about whose turn it was to do it. So most days it was a mess. Not as glamorous as I’d hoped.”

Not glamorous at all for the unfortunate Gareth Williams but British intelligence still enjoys a fine reputation and, apart from a bad period during the cold war, has performed its tasks extremely well. The problems of double-agents working for Moscow in the 1940s, 50s and early 60s was that many of the men and women who has done such excellent work spying on and monitoring the Nazis and their supporters during the 30s and the Second World War had a sympathy for Communism based on their hatred of fascism. Thus their loyalties became clouded once the war was over. It led to betrayal and to lack of faith on the part of the always more bellicose CIA.

The intelligence war against Irish extremism, the modern hard left and small far right was and is far more successful but today an estimated 70 percent of the efforts, energy and finance of the security services is devoted to Islamic fundamentalism. Mosques are certainly infiltrated, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu speakers recruited and trained and a whole network of informants and intelligence-gatherers maintained. The country is on a permanent “high alert” level and it’s estimated that more than a dozen serious and up to a hundred potential Islamic terror attacks have been prevented by MI5, MI6 and their support group within the police – Special Branch.

So whatever happened to the unfortunate Mr Williams – may he rest in peace – is fascinating but has no effect on the work of a constantly challenged and, apparently, untidy British intelligence service. Will all of the secrets eventually be revealed? Don’t bet on it. The river Thames that back on to MI6 hides its treasures darkly and deeply; so do the spies who work next to it.

Las Vegas Sun : Police hunt for 2 people in slain UK spy case

Police hunt for 2 people in slain UK spy case

The Associated Press | September 13, 2010

Police investigating the mystery death of a British spy say they are hunting for two people seen entering his apartment block.

Gareth Williams was discovered dead at his home on Aug. 23. Officers said he had been dead for some time, and his naked remains were found inside a locked sports bag. No cause of death has been established.

The 30-year-old worked for GCHQ, Britain's eavesdropping service, and had been on assignment with the MI6 spy agency.

Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline Sebire said on Monday that police are searching for a man and a woman seen entering the apartment block one night in June or July.

Police said there was no sign of forced entry, and no property was stolen.

Sun : Dead holdall spy 'zipped himself in'

Dead holdall spy 'zipped himself in'

By CHRIS POLLARD | September 13, 2010

A SPY found dead inside a padlocked holdall may have zipped HIMSELF in for sexual kicks, it emerged yesterday.

Police are still trying to explain how MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams came to his end.

According to Met sources, a female officer climbed into the £150 North Face bag to re-enact possible events leading to his death. She zipped it up and padlocked it from the inside.

Cops now think the fitness fanatic, 31, may have done the same for sexual gratification and suffocated when he could not reopen it.

A padlock key was alongside his naked body inside the bag, which was found lying in his bathtub last month.

Erotic asphyxiation is the deliberate restriction of oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal.

Gareth had a small frame and fitted easily in the 32 x 19ins bag. Tests showed last week there was no trace of alcohol or drugs in his system.

His flat, in Pimlico, central London, did not appear to have been disturbed prior to his discovery.

Officers are still trying to trace a couple who visited the spy's flat weeks before he died.

A Met source said: "We remain baffled."

Mr Williams' body is being tested for radioactive poison polonium - used by Russian agents to kill ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

But Whitehall officials insist espionage or terrorism is not yet suspected.

Daily Mail : MI6 spy 'could have died in sex game that went wrong'

MI6 spy 'could have died in sex game that went wrong'

By Charlotte Gill | September 13, 2010

Police investigating the death of an MI6 spy have not ruled out the theory that he may have died in a bizarre sex game gone wrong.

Gareth Williams's naked body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his flat.

And as part of the police investigation, a woman officer similar in size, climbed into a replica bag and managed to zip it up, then squeeze her hand through a small gap and padlock it from the inside.

There is a suggestion Mr Williams may have done something similar - possibly for sexual pleasure - then panicked and suffocated when he could not reopen it.

It has been reported that the key to the padlock on the red North Face bag containing his body, was found alongside him.

Erotic asphyxiation is defined as the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal.

The practice killed Tory MP Stephen Milligan whose body was found in 1994 with a bag over his head and an orange in his mouth.

Detectives remain puzzled over the death of Mr Williams, a cipher and codes expert for GCHQ, on secondment to MI6. His body was found on August 23, in Pimlico, London.

A post-mortem examination failed to reveal a cause of death and officers are awaiting the results of toxicology tests which may offer more information on how he died.

Alcohol and routine or recreational drugs did not contribute to his death. Tests are ongoing to find out if a rare drug or poison were used.

Though murder is highly likely, it remains a possibility the 31-year-old's death was not foul play.

Mr Williams's parents of Anglesey, North Wales, are frustrated the investigation seems no further forward.

They were horrified at claims of their bachelor son's supposedly wild homosexual lifestyle and fear that lurid allegations surrounding his private life - since denied - were part of a 'dirty tricks' campaign.