The Australian : Murdered spy more James Bondage than James Bond

Murdered spy more James Bondage than James Bond

From: The Times | August 28, 2010

POLICE investigating the murder of a British spy found bondage equipment in his flat and evidence linking him to a male escort, The Times has learnt.

The find has raised questions over how Gareth Williams's private life slipped through the vetting procedures of the security services.

Senior security personnel are said to be "extremely concerned" that an employee with high clearance had a lifestyle that put him in danger of being compromised.

A source close to the investigation said evidence discovered in the London flat included bondage items, porn films and paraphernalia associated with sado-masochism. It is also understood Mr Williams, who was on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, the British government's top-secret listening post at Cheltenham, has been linked to a male escort.

Detectives have focused their investigations on the private life of Mr Williams, 30, since he was found on Monday murdered and stuffed into a sports bag in his flat in Pimlico, a short walk from MI6 headquarters in London.

It also emerged that Mr Williams travelled regularly to Washington DC on official business, raising further concerns about potential national security breaches because of the information to which he had access.

The national security agency refused to confirm or deny yesterday that Mr Williams, who is believed to have been an expert in codes, had worked for it.

The initial post-mortem examination has proved inconclusive and several tests, thought to include toxicology tests, are now being conducted.

The picture of Mr Williams that has emerged is that of a genius who led a solitary existence. Friends described him as athletic, kind and intelligent, but extremely private. Dylan Parry, a school friend, described him as academically gifted but socially naive, an isolated child fascinated by mathematics and computers. He was "the kind of person who found it difficult to engage with people on a normal level".

A former maths teacher said Mr Williams had "definitely the best brain" he had known. "It didn't surprise me at all that he was very interested in codes and ciphers and it didn't surprise me that he was recruited by GCHQ."

Online tributes mainly referred to his shy and quiet nature. One fellow Cambridge student said: "He seemed a shy and quiet chap, but had a peculiarly memorable laugh and smile that are haunting me somewhat today. I knew that Gareth had gone on to work at Cheltenham but would never have imagined his life culminating in this."

Keith Thompson, of Holyhead Cycling Club, said he had known Mr Williams since he joined the club at 17. "We were clubmates, but Gareth wasn't the sort to go the pub after a race so he didn't have any close friends in the group. I never spoke to him about his job or his private life."

Daily Post : Murdered Anglesey spy was a 'generous and loving' say family

Murdered Anglesey spy was a 'generous and loving' say family

by Our Correspondent, Daily Post | August 28, 2010

THE North Wales family of murdered British spy Gareth Williams last night paid tribute to a “generous, loving son, brother, and friend” as police continued to investigate the death of the GCHQ codes expert.

It came as Scotland Yard detectives revealed the 30-year-old was last seen alive in the capital on Sunday August 15 eight days before his decomposing body was found at his London home.

His relatives, who live in Valley, Anglesey, said in a statement: “Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person.

“He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music.

“His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward and assist the police inquiry.”

The mathematics genius, who was on secondment to MI6, was found dead in a sports holdall in the bath of his Government flat on Monday.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “We can confirm that Mr Williams was in London from Wednesday August 11, and what officers believe is the last confirmed sighting of him still alive in London was on Sunday August 15.”

Investigators have begun picking through his private life amid claims linking him to a male escort and suggestions that bondage equipment had been found at his home.

In the statement released by police, Mr Williams’ family said the “speculation” had been “very distressing”.

Sources close to the investigation have rejected the claims.

Relative William Hughes, 62, a councillor on Anglesey, insisted there was no evidence the allegations are correct.

Mr Hughes, a cousin of Mr Williams’ mother, Ellen, said: “I have spoken to Gareth’s parents and they are not doing well at all.

“They are in a state of shock and struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

“They have seen what has been in the papers and they are very, very upset about these untruths. I don’t see any evidence of it.

“It never crossed my mind that Gareth was that sort of person. He left home at a young age and what happened in his private life was his business.

“It is heartbreaking that he has died so young and his family have enough on their plate without having to read these stories.”

Mr Hughes said it was possible the Government, or another agency, might be attempting to discredit Mr Williams.

Police turned their focus to Mr Williams’ private life after colleagues discovered his body and raised the alarm.

He 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.

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

The mystery over his final hours deepened after a post-mortem examination failed to identify a cause of death.

A pathologist found Mr Williams was not stabbed or shot and there were no obvious signs of strangulation.

Police have refused to categorise the death as a murder, despite the bizarre circumstances and say he may have died innocently.

Officers believe Mr Williams’ body could have lain undiscovered for many days and are examining his mobile phone and financial records.

Telegraph : John le Carré: 'We carried out assassinations during the Cold War'

John le Carré: 'We carried out assassinations during the Cold War'

By Olga Craig | August 28, 2010

British intelligence services carried out assassinations during the Cold War, John le Carré, the novelist and former secret agent, has said.

The writer, who worked for both MI5 and MI6 during the 1950s and 1960s, said: ''Certainly we did some very bad things. We did a lot of direct action. Assassinations. Although I was never involved.''

Mr le Carré, whose real name is David Cornwell, insisted, however, that there was a huge difference between the ways that Western intelligence agencies and their Soviet bloc counterparts operated during the Cold War.

"Even when quite ruthless operations are being contemplated (in the West) the process of democratic consultation was still relatively intact and decent humanitarian instincts came into play," he said. "Totalitarian states killed with impunity and no one was held accountable. That didn't happen in the West."

His comments come in the week that Gareth Williams, 31, an agent who worked for the GCHQ listening station in Cheltenham and was on secondment to MI6 in London, was found murdered in a Pimlico apartment.

In an interview in The Sunday Telegraph's Seven magazine Mr le Carré, 79, also reveals how he was recruited as a spy and why he turned down the opportunity to meet Kim Philby, the double agent.

He also describes how he risked the ire of Margaret Thatcher when, at lunch, he brought up the subject of the Palestinian cause, and speaks about his bizarre childhood, growing up with a con man father and a mother who deserted the family.

Telegraph : Family of dead spy in tribute to 'loving son'

Family of dead spy in tribute to 'loving son'

By Nick Collins | August 28, 2010

The family of Gareth Williams, the British spy found murdered this week, paid tribute to their ''generous, loving son, brother, and friend'' as police investigated whether the GCHQ codes expert had been living a secret double life.

The message came as detectives revealed that the last reported sighting of the 30-year-old was on Sunday, August 15 - eight days before his decomposing body was found at his London home.

His family said: ''Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person. He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music.

''His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward and assist the police inquiry.''

The mathematician, who was on secondment to MI6, was found dead in a sports holdall in the bath of his Government flat on Monday.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm that Mr Williams was in London from Wednesday August 11, and what officers believe is the last confirmed sighting of him still alive in London was on Sunday August 15."

Investigators have begun examining his private life amid claims linking him to a male escort and suggestions that bondage equipment had been found at his home.

In the statement released by police, Mr Williams' family said the "speculation" had been "very distressing".

Sources close to the investigation have rejected the claims.

Relative William Hughes, 62, a councillor on Anglesey, insisted there was no evidence the allegations are correct.

Mr Hughes, a cousin of Mr Williams' mother, Ellen, said: "I have spoken to Gareth's parents and they are not doing well at all.

"They are in a state of shock and struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

"They have seen what has been in the papers and they are very, very upset about these untruths. I don't see any evidence of it.

"It never crossed my mind that Gareth was that sort of person. He left home at a young age and what happened in his private life was his business."

Mr Hughes said it was possible the Government, or another agency, might be attempting to discredit Mr Williams.

Police turned their focus to Mr Williams' private life after colleagues discovered his body and raised the alarm.

He 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.

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

The mystery over his final hours deepened after a post-mortem examination failed to identify a cause of death.

Further tests will determine if the cycling fanatic was asphyxiated or poisoned, as well as if drugs or alcohol were present in his system.

A pathologist found Mr Williams was not stabbed or shot and there were no obvious signs of strangulation.

Police have refused to categorise the death as a murder despite the bizarre circumstances, and say he may have died innocently.

They were considering whether he became the victim of a sex game that went wrong.

Officers suspect he may have known his killer as there was no sign of forced entry at his top-floor flat in smart Alderney Street, Pimlico.

But questions remain over why his body was not discovered earlier.

Friends described Mr Williams as an extremely bright, quiet and determined man who did not discuss his private life.

Childhood friend Dylan Parry, 34, said he was academically gifted but socially naive and could be easily-led.

Telegraph : Murdered British spy was last seen alive eight days before his body was found

Murdered British spy was last seen alive eight days before his body was found

August 28, 2010

Gareth Williams, the murdered British spy, was last seen alive eight days before his body was found stuffed in a holdall at his flat, it has emerged.

Detectives investigating the 30-year-old codebreaker's death say the last confirmed sighting of the MI6 worker was on August 15 in London.

They also say it could still be several days before they find out the exact cause of Mr Williams' death due to the complicated nature of the tests being carried out.

A post mortem examination undertaken earlier this week proved inconclusive and officers are still days away from determining if he was asphyxiated, poisoned or if drugs or alcohol were present in his system.

The inconclusive post-mortem has only served to deepen the mystery surrounding Mr Williams final hours.

The last confirmed sighting of Mr Williams, 30, was made on August 15 in London, officers said.

But police would not say whether the sighting was made on CCTV or came from another source.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm that Mr Williams was in London from Wednesday August 11, and what officers believe is the last confirmed sighting of him still alive in London was on Sunday August 15."

Meanwhile Mr Williams' family have hit out at rumours that suggested the dead man was involved in risky sexual practices.

In a statement they said speculation linking the secret service employee to a male escort and bondage equipment had been "very distressing".

The mathematics genius, who was on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, was found dead in a sports holdall in the bath of his Government flat on Monday.

As police continued to investigate whether the GCHQ codes expert lived a secret double life, his family paid tribute to the murdered spy.

They said: "Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person.

"He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music.

"His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward and assist the police inquiry."

Police turned their focus to Mr Williams' private life as they attempt to account for his death.

The investigation is being led by the Met's Homicide Command with the security-vetted Counter Terror Command (SO15) also playing a lesser role in proceedings.

Scotland Yard today played down reports that thousands of pounds had passed through Mr Williams' bank account shortly before his death as "pure speculation".

It was reported that three sums of £2,000 were paid into his account on consecutive days and then withdrawn on consecutive days.

The investigation is being led by the Met's Homicide Command with the security-vetted Counter Terror Command (SO15) also playing a lesser role in proceedings.

The 30-year-old 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.

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

Police have refused to categorise the death as a murder, despite the bizarre circumstances and say he may have died innocently.

They were considering whether he became the victim of a sex game that went wrong.

Officers are examining his mobile phone and financial records.

They suspect he may have known his killer as there was no sign of forced entry at his top-floor flat in smart Alderney Street, Pimlico.

But questions also remain over why his body was not discovered earlier.

Sun : MI6 murder: Was it a serial killer?

MI6 murder: Was it a serial killer?

By ANTHONY FRANCE, Crime Reporter | August 28, 2010

POLICE fear a gay serial killer murdered MI6 spook Gareth Williams.

Files on a dozen unsolved killings and rapes are being checked for clues.

Detectives are racing to solve the mystery of secret cross-dresser Mr Williams' death before the killer strikes again. A senior source said: "This is our No1 priority.

"We are checking all the files to see if there is a link. The fear is that this is the beginning or part of a series of attacks."

The murder team will also speak to cops who worked on the unsolved garotting of pre-op transsexual Kellie Telesford, 39, in South London in 2007.

Mr Williams' body was found in a suitcase at his flat in Pimlico, central London, on Monday - eight days after he was last seen alive. There was no sign of a break-in and it is believed he invited his killer in.

Codebreaker Mr Williams, a keen cyclist from Anglesey, North Wales, was on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, Britain's electronic eavesdropping base.

A post mortem failed to identify a cause of death. He was not stabbed, shot or strangled and further tests are planned.

Police denied reports of bondage gear, porn or escort contacts being found in the £400,000 flat.

His parents Ian and Ellen and 28-year-old sister Ceri were still in a state of shock yesterday.

Last night they issued a statement saying: "Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person.

"He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music.

"His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward and assist the police enquiry."

CNN : Police release new detail about dead British 'spy'

Police release new detail about dead British 'spy'

* Police say Gareth Williams was last seen alive August 15
* Police initially thought he had been dead for much longer
* Williams was reportedly found in a bag in his apartment this week

By Melissa Gray | August 28, 2010

London, England (CNN) -- A man who worked for a British intelligence agency and was found dead in London this week was seen alive much later than investigators earlier thought, police said Saturday.

London's Metropolitan Police initially said they thought Gareth Williams,30, had been dead for two weeks before his body was found in his apartment Monday. They now believe he was last seen alive August 15.

It is one of the few details police have released about the case. Police said they still don't know the cause or circumstances surrounding Williams' death.

British media reported Williams' body was found stuffed in a bag in the bathroom of his apartment with no obvious signs of foul play.

Williams' family released a statement Friday calling him a "generous, loving son, brother and friend" who loved cycling and music.

"His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information ... come forward and assist the police enquiry," the statement read. "The continued speculation in the press about his private life has been very distressing."

Williams worked at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain's intelligence agency for monitoring communication and keeping government data secret, the agency told CNN. He was widely reported to have been on loan to MI6, the foreign intelligence service, in London.

Police said they are treating Williams' death as "suspicious and unexplained," and they appealed for anyone with information about Williams' final days to contact them.

Herald Sun : Police play down money, sex allegations in British spy death

Police play down money, sex allegations in British spy death

August 28, 2010

BRITISH police have played down as “pure speculation” reports that thousands of pounds had passed through the bank account of a British spy shortly before he was found dead in his London apartment.

Three sums of £2,000 ($3,477) were said to have been paid into Gareth Williams' account on consecutive days, then withdrawn on consecutive days, prior to the discovery of his body stuffed into a sports bag in the bath at his London home.

Scotland Yard also denied a series of sexual allegations made against Williams by the security services sources who claimed that he was gay, a transvestite, possessed bondage paraphernalia and was linked to male escorts.

Investigators, led by the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command with the security-vetted Counter Terror Command in a lesser role, dismissed outright many of those allegations.

There was no evidence of contact with male escorts, and no S&M gear was found in his apartment. Claims that Williams was stabbed and dismembered were also untrue, they said.

The claims, from usually reliable intelligence sources, and the vehement counter-claims of the police, led Williams’ family to believe that he is the victim of an MI6 smear campaign.

In a statement released Friday night, his family said the speculation was “very distressing.”

“Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person. He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music,” they said.

“His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward and assist the police inquiry.”

An autopsy proved inconclusive. He had not been shot, nor were there any obvious signs of strangulation.

Further tests on his body will take place to determine whether he was asphyxiated or poisoned, and whether he had alcohol or drugs in his system.

The possibility that his death was related to issues of national security had not been ruled out, but was low on the list of detectives’ priorities, police said.

Mirror : Spy death: Family fury at 'lurid' Gareth Williams lies

Spy death: Family fury at 'lurid' Gareth Williams lies

By Jon Clements | August 28, 2010

The grieving family of codebreaker Gareth Williams fear "dark forces" are at work to smear their son's name over his role in the war on terror.

Devastated parents Ian and Ellen Williams have endured a string of sordid allegations about his life and demanded answers from security services and police.

They fear lurid claims the MI6 worker was gay and his flat was strewn with bondage gear could be an attempt to discredit him to hide the true cause of his death - possibly in the interests of national security.

His uncle Michael Hughes said: "There has been a concerted effort to discredit Gareth that leaves us asking ourselves why?" He said "dark forces" were at work, adding: "We are increasingly concerned that one of the reasons may be to take attention away from other truths about what happened.

"One of those possibilities is that he may have been killed because of his work.

"His job was a sensitive one. Perhaps the way the conspiracy works is that if Gareth's reputation can be destroyed, then any subsequent claims relating to his professional life can be discredited, too. If we're right, then Gareth has been stitched up by the very people he devoted his whole life to." Keen cyclist Gareth, 31, described as a maths genius, played a crucial role in deciphering codes crucial to foiling al-Qaeda plots and regularly flew to America to work with National Security Agency officials. Last night his parents spoke for the first time about his death in a statement from their home near Holyhead, Anglesey. Ian and Ellen said: "Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and a very private person. He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music.

"His loss has devastated us and we would ask anyone with information to come forward and assist the enquiry."

Police, who have no idea how he died, will investigate if he was the victim of a professional hit or even if it was a bizarre accident or drugs overdose, given the clinically clean nature of his flat in Pimlico, Central London.

Sources said his phone SIM cards had not been left "ritualistically" but had probably been arranged like that by the spy, who was known to be fastidiously neat.

Police also revealed he was last seen alive on August 15 and there were no signs of forced entry or disturbance at his flat.

And claims that bondage gear was found on Alderney Street, where his body was discovered in the bath in a sports holdall, were described as "totally untrue". An insider said: "The inquiry is focusing on the basics starting with 'How did he die?' It will then work its way outwards."

Police had also found nothing to suggest that Mr Williams was gay but his sexuality was still a part of the investigation.

But his uncle added: "We're a close family and Gareth made regular trips back. We'd have known if he was gay. We wouldn't have treated him any differently. He was just a nice, ordinary lad. Exceptionally bright, but in every other way a normal young man."

The family are also angry they were given no warning by officials that rumours of his "secret gay life and love of sado-masochism" would be splashed across newspapers. He said: "Clearly someone briefed the press about his sexuality. It's completely false."

Mirror : Intelligence expert Crispin Black says a spy’s life includes danger, hard graft and a dash of glamour

Intelligence expert Crispin Black says a spy’s life includes danger, hard graft and a dash of glamour

By Crispin Black | August 28, 2010

Discretion and the principle of “need to know” govern every aspect of an intelligence officer’s life.

They are allowed to reveal to their families their real job although this is a relatively recent concession.Selected close friends are also allowed to be in on the secret but only in the most generalised terms.

To the rest of the world spooks assume a false identity usually pretending to work for the Foreign Office or the Ministry of Defence.

Whatever the cover story it is well backed up. If a spook is pretending to work as a commercial attaché his or her name will appear in the Diplomatic List as just that.

There are three intelligence ­agencies. The first, MI6 or the Secret Intelligence Service, deals with acquiring intelligence abroad.

Usually, they operate from “stations” inside British embassies – speaking their own jargon. The senior spook is Head of Station or H.

Sir John Scarlett, who was at the centre of the controversies over the Iraq dossiers was famously “H Moscow”, smuggling a top defector out of Russia in the boot of an embassy car under the very noses of the very angry KGB.

After the invasion of Iraq Tony Blair promoted him to be Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service or C. Its biggest stations are now in Islamabad and Kabul, where conditions are tough. Elsewhere the James Bond lifestyle is still maintained.

The second agency, MI5 or the Security Service, is responsible for security at home. The job is more high-level complex police work than anything else. The most difficult and demanding aspects of the job are the surveillance operations mounted on unfolding terrorist plots.

If an intelligence officer is part of such a team he may not see friends and family for weeks on end and will subsist on coffee and takeaways.Things have improved slightly over the past few years as MI5 has developed regional stations with proper accommodation for its agents.

The third agency, GCHQ, are the listeners – direct descendants of the talented folk who broke codes at Bletchley Park in the Second World War. They have a hi-tech headquarters in Cheltenham known as the Doughnut because of its shape.

Tasked with breaking enemy codes and protecting our own electronic secrets they stare for long hours at computer screens trying to make sense of garbled conversations in foreign languages. They are serious and secretive people but they do let their hair down at Cheltenham Races, especially on Gold Cup Day.

Life in all three agencies is about detailed hard work. On every desk there are reminders of its importance. The most secret intelligence is contained in brightly coloured folders. As in nature, where the most dangerous animals are brightly coloured, the brighter the colour the more secret the intelligence. The ones for the Prime Minister and the Queen are bound in scarlet and gold.

In the dark hours all three agencies take comfort in the reflected glory from their fictional counterparts. James Bond was/is an MI6 agent. Traditionally every Bond film has a For Spooks Eyes Only premiere.

Film magnates and spies mingle at a cocktail party beforehand. In 1999 at the first showing of The World Is Not Enough the audience cheered as their Vauxhall Cross HQ was blown up. Senior management was apparently not amused.

MI5 are lucky enough to have the BBC TV hit Spooks which has done wonders for recruitment and morale. There was always a feeling before that they were in some way “poor relations” to their counterparts south of the river.

Their real Albert Embankment HQ is even more hi-tech and glossy than the BBC studio mock up. But officers tend to dress down in case they have to drop everything and hit the street on some urgent surveillance.

GCHQ has its own heroes from the past – principally the Bletchley Park geniuses who broke the secret German codes so vividly brought to life in the film Enigma.

But it is not all hard work. One of the most glamorous parts of being a spy is the visits to the US. MI5 go to FBI headquarters in downtown Washington and MI6 to the CIA base in Langley. No alcohol is served at Langley dinners – except when the British are in town.

The closest relationship is between GCHQ and the National Security Agency who have a formal arrangement splitting responsibility for the world. There is a constant stream of British visitors to its Fort Meade HQ in Maryland, known as the Puzzle Palace.

The world’s most powerful computers are there and the most brilliant mathematical minds. Gareth Williams visited often and would no doubt have been at home with his fellow maths whizz-kids.

The exchange of information is free and frank. He would have been privy to US as well as British secrets.

That is why the Americans are taking such a strong interest in his death.

BBC : Tests on dead MI6 man Gareth Williams 'to take days'

Tests on dead MI6 man Gareth Williams 'to take days'

August 28, 2010

Investigators are several days from discovering what killed an MI6 worker found dead in his London flat, police have said.

Gareth Williams, 30, from Anglesey, was found in a holdall in the bath of his home in Pimlico on Monday.

A post-mortem examination was inconclusive, and complex tests could carry on into late next week.

Officers are trying to find out whether Mr Williams was asphyxiated or poisoned and if he had taken drugs or alcohol.

Police have said that Mr Williams was in London from 11 August and that the last sighting of him was on 15 August.

They have refused to confirm the nature of the sighting.

Mr Williams' family has issued a statement which said: "Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person.

"He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music. His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information come forward and assist the police enquiry."

The Metropolitan Police has not classified his death as murder but is treating it as "suspicious and unexplained".

Mr Williams, a keen cyclist, was on secondment to MI6 from his communications officer's role at GCHQ.

A brilliant mathematician, he graduated with a first class degree in maths from Bangor University aged 17.

Daily Star : SPY FOUND DEAD HAD LINKS WITH USA

SPY FOUND DEAD HAD LINKS WITH USA

By Jerry Lawton | August 28, 2010

THE CIA is probing the bizarre death of a real life James Bond after it emerged he had been on secret missions to the United States.

American intelligence officers are poring over MI6 spy Gareth Williams’ work to see if US national security has been compromised.

The 31-year-old code cracker flew to the National Security Agency, the listening post for the Pentagon, up to four times a year. He had returned from his latest trip only a week before he was found dead.

A Brit intelligence agency source said: “The Americans are as concerned as we are about what has happened.

“The police will understandably want to know details of everyone with whom he had recent contact.

“Discovering who was behind this is the key to determining if national security has been breached.’’

Mr Williams was found dead in a sports bag in his flat in Pimlico, central London, on Monday.

Youth worker Raphael L’Hoste-Morton, 32, of Cheltenham, Glos, listed as living at the same London address and who reportedly worked at GCHQ, says any alleged links made between the pair were “purely coincidental” as he had never met Williams.

UK Wired : Tests on dead MI6 man Gareth Williams 'to take days'

Tests on dead MI6 man Gareth Williams 'to take days'

August 28, 2010

Investigators are several days from discovering what killed an MI6 worker found dead in his London flat, police have said.

Gareth Williams, 30, from Anglesey, was found in a holdall in the bath of his home in Pimlico on Monday.

A post-mortem examination was inconclusive, and complex tests could carry on into late next week.

Officers are trying to find out whether Mr Williams was asphyxiated or poisoned and if he had taken drugs or alcohol.

Police have said that Mr Williams was in London from 11 August and that the last sighting of him was on 15 August.

They have refused to confirm the nature of the sighting.

Mr Williams' family has issued a statement which said: "Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person.

"He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music. His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information come forward and assist the police enquiry."

The Metropolitan Police has not classified his death as murder but is treating it as "suspicious and unexplained".

Mr Williams, a keen cyclist, was on secondment to MI6 from his communications officer's role at GCHQ.

A brilliant mathematician, he graduated with a first class degree in maths from Bangor University aged 17.

Independent : Family pays tribute to spy found dead in flat

Family pays tribute to spy found dead in flat

August 28, 2010

British code-breaker Gareth Williams was last seen alive eight days before his corpse was found stuffed in a bag at his flat, police revealed.

A confirmed sighting of the 30-year-old was made on August 15 in London, officers said as they continued to probe his suspicious death.

Meanwhile Mr Williams' family hit out at rumours that suggested the dead man was involved in risky sexual practices.

In a statement they said speculation linking the secret service employee to a male escort and bondage equipment had been "very distressing".

The mathematics genius, who was on secondment to MI6, was found dead in a sports holdall in the bath of his Government flat on Monday.

As police continued to investigate whether the GCHQ codes expert lived a secret double life, his family paid tribute to the murdered spy.

They said: "Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person.

"He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music.

"His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward and assist the police inquiry."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm that Mr Williams was in London from Wednesday August 11, and what officers believe is the last confirmed sighting of him still alive in London was on Sunday August 15."

Independent : MI6 officer last seen eight days before his body found

MI6 officer last seen eight days before his body found

By Lewis Smith | August 28, 2010

The last confirmed sighting of the MI6 officer found murdered in his London home was eight days before his body was discovered, police said last night.

Gareth Williams, a GCHQ codes expert on secondment to MI6, is last known to have been alive on Sunday 15 August in London.

His family released a statement paying tribute to him as "a generous, loving son, brother, and friend". It added: "His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward."

Earlier, William Hughes, a cousin, had said the family were deeply upset at "untruths" suggesting bondage equipment had been found in the dead man's flat and that he was linked to a male escort.

Daily Mail : Riddle of murder spy's money trail: Why, for three days in a row, was £2,000 paid into his account and then taken out?

Riddle of murder spy's money trail: Why, for three days in a row, was £2,000 paid into his account and then taken out?

By Charlotte Gill, Emily Andrews, Tom Kelly and James Tozer | August 28, 2010

Thousands of pounds mysteriously moved through the bank account of murdered MI6 spy Gareth Williams in the fortnight before his death.

Police sources say they are investigating three sums of £2,000 paid into his account on consecutive days, then withdrawn on consecutive days with the last transaction happening on the eve of his killing.

It is understood to have been established that the sums did not come from his £42,000 salary, and officers are trying to discover who supplied the money and why.

One theory being explored is that the movement of cash could indicate 31-year-old Mr Williams was a victim of blackmail and had transferred money from a savings account into his current account before using it to pay off his tormentor.

Another possibility is that he could have been selling information and was paid the money before transferring it into another account or passing it on to another informant.

There could also be a perfectly innocent explanation, with perhaps a friend or relative repaying the cipher and codes specialist for a loan and him putting the money in a different account.

It is understood that an internal row has broken out between the police and both the intelligence and security services, with ‘spooks’ effectively being accused of sabotaging the police operation.

A source claimed detectives have been ‘blocked’ from interviewing several potentially crucial witnesses.

Mr Williams’s ‘best friend’, a female colleague at the Government’s listening post, was posted to work for an intelligence agency linked to Pentagon in the U.S. five weeks ago.

The 25-year-old woman and her husband, who also knew Mr Williams, both worked at GCHQ in Cheltenham and were ‘suddenly’ transferred to Denver, Colorado, on secret duties.

Murder squad detectives are keen to speak to her in case she can offer any clues to why someone would want Mr Williams dead.

But they were informed this week by the security services that she was ‘unavailable’ for interview.

A second key security services witness, so far unnamed, who also knew Mr Williams, has also been put ‘off limits’ to the frustrated detectives.

The body of Mr Williams, a loner who loved cycling, was found stuffed in a sports bag in the bath at his £400,000 apartment half a mile from MI6 headquarters in London by officers on Monday afternoon.

He had been on secondment to MI6 for a year but was due to return next week to his position at the government listening post, GCHQ in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

The Daily Mail revealed yesterday that he had flown to the National Security Agency, the Pentagon’s listening post nicknamed the ‘Puzzle Palace’, up to four times a year and returned from his last U.S. trip only weeks before his murder.

Investigators are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to discover if poison, drugs, alcohol or suffocation caused his death.

There are no outward signs of violence and Scotland Yard continues to describe his death as ‘suspicious and unexplained’.

One police source said: ‘There is near mutiny among the team.

‘The investigation is in complete disarray because most of the team thinks there should be a public appeal to garner potentially crucial information about Gareth Williams’s movements.

‘But they are being told "No", without any explanation or debate. It is assumed that it’s an order from on high.’

A second source added: ‘It is absolutely bizarre because SO15 (Counter Terror Command) are not conducting the inquiry – it is being handled by homicide command.

’It’s very strange but it explains why the spooks are blocking them. Officers in SO15 are security vetted but the homicide detectives are not.

‘The security services are not going to want to trust them with top-secret information. ‘They would only trust the SO15 officers. This guy may only have been a cipher but he clearly had access to secret material, and they won’t want ordinary police officers tramping all over it.’

Questions are now being asked over why the inquiry was given to murder squad detectives in the first place, rather than security-vetted counter terror officers.

One theory was that this was specifically demanded by the security services. The source added: ‘It’s clearly a big cover up, for whatever reason. The security services obviously don’t want the police to pry too deeply into this one.

‘So by insisting the inquiry is carried out by ordinary officers, who don’t have security clearance, they have an excuse to block them from access to sensitive information and key witnesses.

‘It makes it easier for the whole thing to be swept under the carpet. Why, we can only guess at.’ Publicly, the Metropolitan Police said the notion of any dispute was ‘absolute rubbish’ and said that ‘organised and well established procedures are in place to ensure collaborative and supportive working’.

Family's disgust at slurs about his private life

The family of Gareth Williams are ‘furious’ at lurid allegations circulating about his lifestyle and fear they could be a government smear campaign to discredit him and divert attention from the security services.

His uncle William Hughes, said the spy’s parents Ian and Ellen were ‘very, very upset about these untruths’.

Speculation has been rife that the spy was a transvestite who was murdered by a gay lover or killed in a sex game gone wrong.

The lurid reports were made in a series of newspapers but police chose not to issue a denial until last night.

Only after staying silent on the claims for three days did Scotland Yard finally state that there was no truth in reports of a link to a male escort and said that no bondage equipment or gay paraphernalia had been found at the London apartment where he was found dead.

Mr Hughes, who lives near Mr Williams’s parents in Anglesey, North Wales, said: ‘Someone, somewhere is trying to discredit Gareth with these untrue claims about his private life.

‘The family are concerned that it may be part of an attempt to put false and unkind personal details about Gareth’s private life into the public domain to diminish him and take attention away from the security services he worked so loyally for.

‘They are very, very angry. It is completely false. The lad had been away from home for a long time - we did not know much about his private life but it has never crossed any of our minds that he could be gay. It’s not the picture they have of their son.’

Mr and Mrs Williams are being supported by their daughter Ceri at the family home in Valley, Anglesey.

Mr Hughes, 62, said: ‘I have spoken to Gareth’s parents and they are not doing well at all. They are in a state of shock and struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

‘They have seen what has been in the papers and they are very, very upset about these untruths. It never crossed my mind that Gareth was that sort of person. He left home at a young age and what happened in his private life was his business.

‘When you have these rumours in the papers, it is most distressing. It is heartbreaking that he has died so young and his family have enough on their plate without having to read these stories.’

The spy’s former landlady, who for ten years rented a self-contained flat to him in the annexe of her home in Cheltenham, said he never brought anyone, male or female, back in the time he lived there.

Jenny Elliott said: ‘I would do his washing and hang it out to dry. I never noticed anything funny like that. He never came across as gay. Any time I went into his flat I never noticed anything untoward. I would even fold up his washing and put it into drawers.’

Friends too said there was no suggestion he could be gay. One schoolfriend, Dylan Parry, said: ‘Gareth was introverted and socially awkward. He wasn’t dashing or cavalier or a charmer, although he was extremely nice in a quiet way.

‘There has been a lot of speculation about his sexuality, but he was so introverted as to be asexual. He wasn’t able to form relationships because he was so obsessed with his maths studies.’

Express : OUR MURDERED SPY SON WAS NOT GAY – THIS IS A SMEAR, SAYS HIS FAMILY

OUR MURDERED SPY SON WAS NOT GAY – THIS IS A SMEAR, SAYS HIS FAMILY

By John Twomey and Padraic Flanagan | August 28, 2010

THE FAMILY of murdered British spy Gareth Williams hit out yesterday at the Government for ­running a “dirty tricks” campaign to blacken the MI6 agent’s name.

Ellen and Ian Williams, his parents, are outraged by allegations surrounding their son’s private life, including claims he was gay, a transvestite or a sadomasochist.

“It is completely false,” said ­William Hughes, the codebreaker’s uncle, after he visited the parents in Holyhead, in north Wales where they are trying to come to terms with their son’s murder. They are very, very angry,” he said. “The lad had been away from home for a long time – we did not know much about his private life, but it has never crossed any of our minds that he could be gay.

“It’s not the picture they have of their son,” added Mr Hughes, 62. "Maybe it’s the Government or somebody trying to discredit him.”

Williams, 31, a gifted mathematician, was on secondment to MI6 from his regular job as a codebreaker at the Government’s listening post, GCHQ, when he was found dead in a sports bag in the bath of his flat on Monday. Scotland Yard detectives are investigating whether the bachelor lived a secret double life.

However, sources close to the inquiry dismissed reports that bondage gear and sadomasochistic equipment had been found alongside gay pornography at Mr William’s flat in Pimlico, central London.

It was also claimed Mr Williams had links to a male escort. People who knew the cycling enthusiast said he never gave any indication of being homosexual. A former landlord, who rented a flat to him for 10 years, never saw him bring anyone – male or female – back to his home.

Mr Hughes added: “I have ­spoken to Gareth’s parents and they are not doing well at all. They are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. They have seen what has been in the papers and they are very, very upset about these untruths. It never crossed my mind that Gareth was that sort of person. He left home at a young age and what happened in his private life was his business.”

CIA agents are also looking into Mr William’s private life on frequent trips to the US.

He flew to America up to four times a year to work for the National Security Agency, the US government’s electronic eavesdropping centre in Maryland.

AOL News : Twists and Turns Abound in Mysterious Death of MI6 Spy Gareth Williams

Twists and Turns Abound in Mysterious Death of MI6 Spy Gareth Williams

Dana Chivvis | Contributor, AOL News Surge Desk | August 27, 2010

(Aug. 27) -- UPDATE, 1:39 p.m. EDT -- Yet another twist in the mysterious death of MI6 agent Gareth Williams. The Times of London, which originally reported that bondage equipment and sadomasochism toys were found in Williams' London flat, has now backtracked, reporting that senior detectives investigating Williams' death "have questioned luird claims about the man's sex life."

Earlier today, the Times reported on the sex paraphernalia and said that authorities had uncovered evidence that might link Williams to a male escort. The report was "thought to have come from security sources," leading the newspaper to suggest the claims were made as part of a smear campaign. [Surge Desk disclaimer: the fact that the newspaper doesn't seem to know who its sources were makes us somewhat suspicious of the report altogether.]

Though earlier accounts said Williams had been fatally stabbed, a post-mortem examination did not determine a precise cause, but did rule out stabbing and gunshot and found no immediate signs of strangulation, according to the London Telegraph.

Police have not classified Williams' death as a murder. Scotland Yard is now running tests to see if he had been drinking or taking drugs.

Williams, 30, has been described as a quiet math genius with a passion for bicycling. But one childhood friend told the London Evening Standard that he was also a poor judge of character. There were no signs of forced entry into his apartment and authorities estimated his decomposing body may have been there for the past two weeks.

Williams worked as a code breaker for the British spy agency and traveled several times a year to the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md., according to the Evening Standard.

Manchester Evening News : Professor who helped death riddle spy get job at MI6

Professor who helped death riddle spy get job at MI6

Yakub Qureshi | August 28, 2010

The professor who helped death-riddle MI6 man Gareth Williams begin his intelligence career has told of his shock at the tragedy.

Gareth, whose body was found stuffed inside a bag at his flat, gained a PhD in computer game technology at Manchester University. Prof Terry Hewitt has described how he helped the ‘exceptional’ maths scholar secure his first job with the government’s codebreaking agency, GCHQ.

Prof Hewitt, who now works for Bangor University, told the MEN: “He came into my office one day and said ‘I’m going to GCHQ’. He had to tell me as I was his referee for his vetting. MI5 eventually got hold of me and examined me about him.

“He worked very well. He was clearly a very able student. He came to us at the age of 18 – four years younger than most postgraduate students.

“He was modelling how light reflects on surfaces. His knowledge of maths skills and computing techniques would make him attractive to them.”

His PhD thesis, entitled ‘Methods for Global Illumination Models’, examined how light and shade could be replicated in computer games.

The subject involved the study of complex mathematical calculations and advanced computer technology.

Prof Hewitt, a computer graphics expert who left Manchester in 2008, added that Mr Williams – whose mysterious death has sparked fears over possible security breaches – was friendly but ‘reserved’ with staff and fellow students.

He said: “Everything that was said about him was true, He was interested in cycling.

“He was very private and worked well on his own. He was certainly not a ‘geek’ but was reserved is the best description. I thing that reserve came about because he was so much younger than other students around him.

“I was shocked when I heard the news. He was an exceptionally gifted student and very talented.”

Mr Williams, originally from Anglesey, gained special permission to leave school for university aged just 15.

After completing his degree at Bangor University while still living with his parents, he moved to Manchester in 1997.

Mr Williams signed up for the Cheltenham-based GCHQ, which employs 5,000 people to intercept and break coded international communications, just after beginning a post-doctoral qualification at Cambridge, and dropping out of the course.

Officials have confirmed that he had been working for MI6 for the past year, following a secondment from GCHQ.

It is believed the intelligence worker lay dead for two weeks before being found, although there were no signs of forced entry to the flat.

Post-mortem tests have so far proved inconclusive.

The investigation has now turned to the intelligence worker’s private life.

Metropolitan Police have yet to describe the death as a murder, with one line of inquiry that the may have died as a result of a botched sex game.

Channel 4 : MI6 and GCHQ enquiries into dead spy vetting

MI6 and GCHQ enquiries into dead spy vetting

By Jonathan Rugman | August 27, 2010

Exclusive: Channel 4 News has learnt that the government's most secretive intelligence agencies have launched internal enquiries into the vetting of an MI6 employee found dead in his flat.

Police found the body of Gareth Williams in a sports holdall bag on Monday afternoon. The bag was discovered in the bath of his home in Alderney Street, Pimlico, a short distance from MI6 headquarters.

Initial reports suggested the body may have been lying there for up to two weeks, although security sources today claimed Mr Williams had been seen alive "well within" the two week period before his body was discovered, and that it was only a matter of a few days before his absence was noticed by his employers.

The investigation into Mr Williams' death has not resulted in any arrests, but the working assumption is that the killing had no connection with the 31-year-old's secret work, believed to be as a code and cipher expert. He was on secondment from GCHQ to MI6.

Police have still not classified this as a murder investigation because the cause of death has not been established. There were no reported signs of disturbance at the flat, although murder is still considered the most likely possibility.

"There is nothing to suggest a security leak", a source told Channel 4 News. "This is most likely the human tragedy of a private young man who may have had issues."

A post-mortem examination failed to find the cause of death, though claims that he was stabbed have been denied. Further tests are being carried out to see if the keen amateur cyclist may have been asphyxiated or poisoned. It had been reported that there were no obvious signs of strangulation.

GCHQ conducts what it called "rigorous security clearance" for potential employees to ascertain whether there is the "the risk of an individual being placed in a potentially compromising position.

"If you do not meet the Developed Vetting requirements for the job, or fail to disclose any security related issues or concerns, you will not be considered for employment," the organisation said.

Mr Williams regularly travelled to the United States, where it is understood that he worked at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade in Maryland, the American government's listening post and the largest intelligence agency in the world.

The CIA has also been investigating any possible security breach, but British authorities believed that Mr Williams' killer probably did not know about his work.

Newspaper reports have suggested that bondage equipment was found in the flat, but security sources denied this today.

Officials confirmed that the SIM cards from Mr Williams' mobile phone were found at the scene, but believed they had not been laid out in a "ritualistic fashion" and were probably just a sign of personal neatness.

Claims that phone numbers of male escorts were found on the SIM cards have also been denied, though sources conceded that Mr Williams' sexual preferences may have played a role in his death.

Initial leaks of details to the press, including the Welshman's employment at MI6, have caused friction between Britain's secret intelligence agencies and police investigating the case.

Claims about Mr Williams' private life have also upset his family, already grieving over his death. Mr Williams was due to return to his work at GCHQ next month.

"Every nation spies on everyone else"

A former intelligence officer from America has told Channel 4 News that spying goes on "every day, 24 hours a day."

Bob Ayres said: "As long as people use codes to protect their communications, there will still be people working to break them.

"Codes now are based on sophisticated cryptographic systems. Spies are used to create and produce cryptographic systems that other people can’t break, and to break the systems used by other countries. These systems are based on sophisticated mathematics, so that is the ideal background.

"Intelligence, spying, these are jobs and business that go on every day, 24 hours a day. Every nation spies on everyone else and everybody spies on them. There is nothing romantic or intriguing about it. It is just a business. In terms of men in raincoats standing under bridges, that is a very small percentage of what actually goes on in the intelligence business."

Daily Mail : Parents of murdered British spy hit back at 'government's gay smear' campaign to discredit him

Parents of murdered British spy hit back at 'government's gay smear' campaign to discredit him

By Charlotte Gill, Emily Andrews and Liz Hull | August 27, 2010

The family of murdered British spy Gareth Williams today accused the government of running a 'dirty tricks' campaign to blacken his name.'

William Hughes, the codebreaker's uncle, said Mr Williams' parents Ellen and Ian were 'furious' at suggestions their son has been labelled as gay and a cross dresser.

'It is completely false,' Mr Hughes, 62, who yesterday visited the Williams's family home in Holyhead, North Wales.

'They are very, very angry,' he told the London Evening Standard.

'The lad had been away from home for a long time — we did not know much about his private life, but it has never crossed any of our minds that he could be gay.

'It's not the picture they have of their son.

'Maybe it's the Government or somebody trying to discredit him.'

The mathematics genius, who was on secondment to MI6, was found dead in a sports holdall in the bath of his Government flat on Monday.

Scotland Yard detectives continued to investigate whether GCHQ codes expert the 31-year-old lived a secretive double life.

Police sources believe one theory is the spy's killer may have planted a trail of clues to make it seem as though he was murdered by a gay lover.

They said gay magazines and the phone numbers of gay escort men were found in the apartment near the agent's body.

The latest reports on Mr Williams include claims that bondage gear and equipment associated with sado-masochism had been discovered in the flat he used in Pimlico, London, while it has also been claimed he had links to a male escort.

Mr Williams lived alone and did not have a partner.

But people who knew the cycling enthusiast said he never gave any indication of being homosexual and a former landlord, who rented a flat to him for ten years, never saw him bring anyone – male or female – back to his home.

Sources close to the inquiry have dismissed some of the allegations, which raises questions over who was behind them - and why they were made.

Mr Hughes, a cousin of Mr Williams's mother, Ellen, said: 'I have spoken to Gareth's parents and they are not doing well at all.

'They are in a state of shock and struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

'They have seen what has been in the papers and they are very, very upset about these untruths. I don't see any evidence of it.

'It never crossed my mind that Gareth was that sort of person. He left home at a young age and what happened in his private life was his business,' he said.

'When you have these rumours in the papers, it is most distressing.

'It is heartbreaking that he has died so young and his family have enough on their plate without having to read these stories.'

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: 'There is no question of there being a government dirty tricks campaign; we are as concerned as the family to establish the facts of Gareth's death.

'But the police investigation is now underway and we must await its outcome.'

The family criticisms comes as CIA agents began examining details of Mr Williams's work and private life in the US to establish if there could be a link to his death — or a threat to national security.

The Daily Mail can reveal Mr Williams flew to the National Security Agency, the Pentagon's listening post and the largest intelligence agency in the world, up to four times a year.

Mr Williams, who worked for the GCHQ listening station in Cheltenham but was on secondment to MI6 in London, returned from his last trip to America only a few weeks before he was found dead.

Questions also remain over why his body lay undiscovered for up to a fortnight at his £400,000 flat in a Victorian townhouse in central London, half a mile from MI6 headquarters.

The body of the keen cyclist was found in a sports holdall in the bath on Monday afternoon.

But yesterday his former landlady in Cheltenham insisted he had not been off work, intensifying the mystery surrounding his death.

Security sources could not explain why some one holding such a sensitive post was able to go 'missing' for such a long time before police were called.

Officers were last night examining the hard drive of a laptop computer found in the flat.

Landlady Jenny Elliott said: 'He definitely wasn't on annual leave as the security services woman who came to see me after they found his body told me that he wasn't on holiday.

'Why did no one notice? It's disgraceful the police weren't alerted earlier that he was missing. His murder is devastating and I just hope the person who did it is caught.

Mrs Elliott, 71, who rented Mr Williams a self-contained flat attached to her home in Cheltenham, said he would often travel to America for weeks at a time three or four times a year either with a male colleague or on his own.

His uncle, Mr Hughes, who lives in Anglesey, North Wales where Mr Williams grew up, said: 'He'd been making the trips for a couple of years.

'I only found this out very recently and I do not know where in America he was staying or who he was working for out there, but I do know it was in relation to his job.

'His last trip was this summer. He returned from the States just a couple of weeks or so before he died.'

A U.S. intelligence source said there was 'no panic' yet within the National Security Agency and people who knew Mr Williams were still to be questioned.

The source said: 'The strong implication is that his death is not connected to his intelligence work, though this could change at any time. They are understandably concerned about what has happened and are keeping a close eye on developments.'

Police are still waiting for the results of toxicology tests which could shed light on how he died.

Police have also asked a pathologist to check whether Mr Williams's neck was broken, which would suggest a professional hit, the sources said

A postmortem examination proved inconclusive and now they must wait for toxicology results to find out whether drugs, alcohol, poisoning or suffocation were the cause of death.

Sources say he was not stabbed, shot, strangled or beaten. Scotland Yard is describing the death as 'suspicious and unexplained'.

A former MI6 officer said that intelligence chiefs are furious that details of Mr Williams's work as a spy had been leaked.

Harry Ferguson said senior officials at the Secret Intelligence Service wanted to suppress any information about his work and to simply refer to him as a 'civil servant' when news of the murder was made public.

'They hoped details of his role could all be kept covered up. It is a standard process. Blurting it out has caused a lot of unnecessary embarrassment, risk and upheaval to the SIS.

'If it had been managed properly it could have been kept quiet. He could simply have been described as a government worker or civil servant.

'They are especially frustrated that it has emerged that not only was he was working in GCHQ, but also on secondment to MI6.'

Mr Ferguson said secret service bosses feared that the 'nightmare scenario' had come true when the body was discovered.

'One of the concerns about having such a high profile building as the SIS does is that, while staff can be protected when inside the building, there a significant risk that they could be followed home,' he said.

'It is the sort of thing that a small group of Islamists or other terror network would clearly be capable of doing.'

He said the apparent 'ritualistic' scene at Mr Williams' flat, with his mobile phone and SIM cards carefully laid out, also suggested it could have been carried out by a foreign agency to send a message.

The reclusive maths genius and rumours of cross-dressing and blackmail

From a tender age, it was clear to his teachers at Morswyn primary school on Anglesey that there was something special about Gareth Williams.

A talented pupil, he was fast-tracked through education, earning his maths GCSE aged nine while most of his contemporaries were still grappling with basic arithmetic.

By 13 he had secured his A-levels and had a degree in maths by 17.

He was known as ‘the maths genius’ by fellow pupils and possessed the ‘fastest brain’ his teachers had encountered. But his academic excellence came at a price.

Forced to study with children several years older than himself, he found it hard to make friends and was last night described by former school mates as ‘socially naive’ and ‘introverted’.

Detectives were last night investigating whether this shy, private side to his nature made him vulnerable to blackmail amid lurid claims that he was a secret cross-dresser.

Geraint Williams, his maths teacher at secondary school, recalled how young Gareth was so clever that he sat his intermediate maths GCSE, gaining a grade B, while still at primary school, before being moved up to Bodedern Secondary School, Holyhead, a year ahead of his peers.

Within months of his arrival he took his advanced GCSE, scoring an A grade, and received top marks in A-level maths and computer studies two years later, when he was 13.

His teachers were initially at a loss at how best to educate him.Their solution was to move him up two years and enrol the youngster, then aged 15, on a three-year maths degree course at his local university at Bangor, which he attained in just two years with first class honours.

Teacher Mr Williams said: ‘I’d heard about this amazing pupil who had done his GCSE at primary school and got a B at intermediate level.

‘He took the higher level GCSE in a couple of months and got an A. It was a problem for us – what could we do with him? We got him to follow A-levels and he did A-level maths and computer science in the third-form. He achieved As in them.

‘That was a big problem because he was still only 13, so we contacted Bangor University and he followed the first year of maths degree course.’

The teacher added: ‘He was the best logician and the pupil with the fastest brain I have ever met. You only had to say things once, that’s why he was so successful. He could understand things immediately. He was also extremely good with computer science.

‘Gareth was also a very nice lad, quiet and unassuming. It’s very sad.’

After leaving Bangor University at 17, Mr Williams went on to study for a PhD at Manchester University before enrolling in postgraduate certificate at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, in 2000.

He dropped out a year later, but last night friends speculated that he left after being taken on by the Secret Services, which traditionally recruit from Oxbridge.

They said it was an open secret that Mr Williams worked at GCHQ, but added that any notion that the quiet, unassuming boy lead a James Bond spy lifestyle was laughable.

One close friend, who attended primary school with Mr Williams, said: ‘Gareth was a super, super brain. Beyond intelligent, a very, very clever guy.

‘He was hand-picked while at Cambridge by the services, they want the cream of the crop and he certainly was that.

‘It was common knowledge that he worked at GCHQ, but any notion that he led a James Bond style lifestyle is rubbish.

‘Those kind of people have to be able to blend in, but Gareth wasn’t like that, he was very different.

‘He was introverted and found it difficult to make friends, but he was a lovely, lovely bloke. It is such a tragic waste of such a talented life.’

The dead man’s parents, Ian, an engineer at Wylfa power station, and mother Ellen, who worked in education, were on holiday in America celebrating their joint 50th birthdays when news of their son’s death broke.Last night they were said to be ‘devastated’.

Another former school friend, Dylan Parry, 34, said he was ‘dumfounded’ by the murder.

‘Gareth was the last person I would have believed would be involved in the murkier elements of life,’ said Mr Parry, of Holyhead. ‘He really was about as far from a James Bond figure as it’s possible to imagine.

‘Gareth was introverted and socially awkward. He wasn’t dashing or cavalier or a charmer, although he was extremely nice in a quiet way.

‘There has been a lot of speculation about his sexuality, but he was so introverted as to be asexual.‘

He wasn’t able to form relationships because he was so obsessed with his maths studies.

‘We nicknamed him the maths genius because he was so clever. He was so naive, he was someone people could easily take advantage of.

‘I wouldn’t have thought he was a very good judge of character and it’s possible he got to know someone who wasn’t very safe. He was so innocent.’