Express : MURDERED SPY GARETH WILLIAMS ‘WAS BEING TAILED’

MURDERED SPY GARETH WILLIAMS ‘WAS BEING TAILED’

By James Murray | September 5, 2010

MURDERED spy Gareth Williams feared he was being followed by two men and told bosses at MI6 he thought he was being targeted by foreign agents.

His superiors were not convinced, however, and took no action to discover the identity of the men, said to be white and in their 40s.

Superfit cyclist Mr Williams, 31, also raised his concerns with officials at GCHQ, the Government’s communications headquarters.

He had been on secondment to M16 from GCHQ when he was found dead inside a padlocked sports bag in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, west London, on August 23. There were no signs of forced entry. The sensational new claims come from a source close to the investigation.

Scotland Yard and GCHQ declined to comment yesterday, saying they would not confirm or deny the allegations.

The source said: “About six months ago Mr Williams complained to people at M16 that he thought he was being followed.

“He said he kept seeing the individuals near his home, at bus stops and hanging around shops where he was staying. He was told they could just be local people, but he felt there was more to it.

“He became frustrated by the response from the people at M16 and so he raised it with his colleagues at GCHQ. He was concerned that people at M16 were not taking his claims seriously.”

Scotland Yard detectives are now going through hours of CCTV footage from the Pimlico area to see if they can spot the men Mr Williams thought were tailing him. However, if Mr Williams was being trailed by foreign spies it is likely they would have taken steps to ensure they were not caught on CCTV.