Daily Mail : MI6 spy Gareth Williams had 'no traces of foreign substances' in his body which was found zipped in a sportsbag

MI6 spy Gareth Williams had 'no traces of foreign substances' in his body which was found zipped in a sportsbag

By Daily Mail Reporter | October 28, 2010

Tests on the body of MI6 spy Gareth Williams have revealed no traces of any foreign substances that may have led to his death.

No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists, sources close to the inquiry said.

The 31-year-old GCHQ code-breaker's naked and decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23.

The mysterious circumstances of Mr Williams' death sparked an international frenzy of speculation earlier this year.

Police have been mystified since cycling enthusiast Mr Williams was found dead inside his £400,000 two-bedroom flat in Pimlico, half-a-mile from the MI6 HQ in Westminster.

The initial reaction of the police constable who discovered his body was: ‘This is a murder scene.’

There were also rumours that Mr Williams was the victim of a professional ‘hit’. Other theories included the suggestion that he had been murdered by Russian agents.

Tests on his body were ordered to establish whether he was poisoned, as happened when Polonium 210 radiation was used to murder exiled Russian secret agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

Initial toxicology tests showed no traces of alcohol or rec­reational drugs in Mr Williams’ system.

The MI6 agent’s family have angrily accused the Government of running a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign to blacken his name after reports that he was gay and a cross-dresser.

Police denied claims that gay magazines, bondage gear and the phone numbers of gay escort men were found in the apartment near his body.

Police also dismissed allegations of irregularities in his finances and that a top-secret laptop computer had gone missing from his flat.

Crucially, there was no evidence of violence and no cuts or bruises on Mr Williams’ body, suggesting there had been no struggle.

Coroner Dr Paul Knapman is due to review the case in private next Wednesday after opening an inquest on September 1.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Results from comprehensive further toxicology tests carried out in relation to the death of Gareth Williams have come back negative, showing no trace of any drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that would indicate cause of death.

'There are no plans to carry out any further tests of this type, but enquiries continue to try and establish a formal cause of death.

'Mr Williams' death remains suspicious and unexplained and enquiries into the circumstances continue.'