Express : SPY’S BODY WAS COVERED IN ‘FLUID’ TO SPEED DECAY

SPY’S BODY WAS COVERED IN ‘FLUID’ TO SPEED DECAY

By John Chapman | September 6, 2010

DETECTIVES investigating the “perfect murder” of MI6 spy Gareth Williams are no closer to solving the riddle of his mystery death, it emerged yesterday.

The decomposing body of the code-breaker was found padlocked in a sports holdall in a bath at his flat in Pimlico, central London.

One theory being explored is that the body was submerged in “fluid”.

The disclosure he was covered by liquid – not thought to be blood or water – has raised fears a substance was used to accelerate decay and complicate toxicology tests. His body was described as being in fluid by the first officers at the scene.

It was claimed yesterday that he had the highest security clearance available to an intelligence officer.

Williams, 31, was allegedly part of team that created devices to steal data from mobiles and laptops. He was last seen alive eight days before his corpse was found on August 23.

The investigation is being led by the Met’s Homicide Command with the Counter Terror Command playing a back-up role. A pathologist found Williams was not stabbed or shot and there were no obvious signs of strangulation.

Amid fears that he was the victim of a “professional hit”, police are still baffled by the cause of death. The keen cyclist was days from completing a one-year secondment to MI6 in Vauxhall, London.

Williams, from Anglesey, north Wales, worked as a cipher and codes expert for the Government’s listening centre GCHQ in Cheltenham. He spent time on secondment to MI5 and it was claimed he had been on a secret mission to Bulgaria.