Mirror : MI6 spy Gareth Williams visited bondage websites and owned £15k women's designer clothes collection

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

MI6 spy Gareth Williams visited bondage websites and owned £15k women's designer clothes collection

December 22, 2010

Mystery death spy Gareth Williams visited a series of bondage websites in the months before his death, police revealed today.

The 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker viewed sites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.

Detectives also found a £15,000 collection of unworn women's designer clothing, including tops, dresses and shoes in his wardrobe.

They revealed he visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more.

One witness has also come forward to say he was at a popular gay bar in Vauxhall several months before his death.

Mr Williams's decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23. The keys were inside.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who is leading the inquiry, said she is convinced someone else helped put him in there.

She said police believe they will get to the bottom of the intensely private spy's death by studying his private life.

Speaking at New Scotland Yard today, she said: "We remain completely open-minded about how he died.

"We are appealing today to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more."

The GCHQ code-breaker, who had been on secondment to the spy agency, was found dead by police after concerns were raised for his welfare.

The mysterious circumstances of Mr Williams's death sparked an international frenzy of speculation.

No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists.

Mrs Sebire revealed that police have forensic evidence that other people were in the flat, whom they have not been able to trace.

She added that an expert, brought in to examine the red North Face holdall Mr Williams was found in, concluded he could not have locked it.

The zip was held shut by a common travel-style Yale padlock through holes in two zip fasteners.

Tests found the temperature inside the bag would have risen to 30C within three minutes.

An expert on survivability in confined spaces from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) said he would have suffocated in 30 minutes. Mrs Sebire said Mr Williams probably died in the early hours of August 16, one week before he was found.

She said there was no sign of injury, apart from bruising to his elbows, which might have taken place some time before his death.

Police also released two e-fits of a couple who said they were visiting Mr Williams's Alderney Street home in late June or July.

The casually-dressed Mediterranean couple, in their twenties, were buzzed through the communal entrance by another resident.

They suggested they had been given a key by "Pierre Palo" and were on their way to flat four.

Mr Williams, of Anglesey, North Wales, was last seen alive on August 15, eight days before he was found dead in the £400,000 property.

Speaking about his private life, Mrs Sebire said a collection of six boxes of unworn designer clothing were found in a wardrobe.

She said items by Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, and Louboutin had been bought at London boutiques and online.

The senior detective said the clothing was in various sizes, all small, and a number of women's wigs were also found.

Mrs Sebire said Mr Williams attended two fashion design courses at Central St Martins College, in Clerkenwell, in 2009 and 2010.

She revealed that GCHQ did not know Mr Williams had undertaken the courses or that he had an interest in fashion.

The detectives said it was possible the clothing was linked to the diploma courses for beginners, which Mr Williams had passed.

They were evening or weekend classes which lasted between six and eight weeks.

None of the clothing had been worn or hung up. Buttons were done up and items were still wrapped in paper.

Mrs Sebire said analysis of Mr Williams's phones and laptops revealed he visited no more than five bondage websites.

Speaking about his private life, Mrs Sebire said a collection of six boxes of unworn designer clothing were found in a wardrobe.

She said items by Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, and Louboutin had been bought at London boutiques and online.

The senior detective said the clothing was in various sizes, all small, and a number of women's wigs were also found.

Mrs Sebire said Mr Williams attended two fashion design courses at Central St Martins College, in Clerkenwell, in 2009 and 2010.

She revealed that GCHQ did not know Mr Williams had undertaken the courses or that he had an interest in fashion.

The detectives said it was possible the clothing was linked to the diploma courses for beginners, which Mr Williams had passed.

They were evening or weekend classes which lasted between six and eight weeks.

None of the clothing had been worn or hung up. Buttons were done up and items were still wrapped in paper.

Mrs Sebire said analysis of Mr Williams's phones and laptops revealed he visited no more than five bondage websites.

The detective said there was evidence that Mr Williams viewed the sites occasionally from the end of last year onwards.

But she added there was no evidence that he was "obsessed" with bondage and no other pornography was found.

Mrs Sebire also said no bondage paraphernalia or equipment was found in the flat.

Describing his online bondage habits, she said Mr Williams spent between 30 minutes and an hour on the sites.

Mrs Sebire said: "It was very limited sections of time. It is not like continual browsing. It was not every evening or weekend."

She added: "The sites primarily feature women and there are guides on how to do certain things."

He last visited an online bondage website in July.

Mrs Sebire said that despite the women's clothing, possible visit to the gay bar and drag act tickets, police do not know for certain that Mr Williams was gay.

She said: "We do not have any evidence to suggest that he was gay. We have not spoken to any past or present sexual partner, whether male or female.

"We know he was intensely private, and however difficult this might be for someone who has has any interaction with Gareth, it would really help us if they came forward so we know if that side of his life had any relevance to his death."

Speaking about how Mr Williams ended up in the bag, Mrs Sebire said an expert found it is "quite easy" to fit someone inside.

She said: "If he was alive, he got into it voluntarily or, if not, he was unconscious and placed in the bag."

Speaking about the flat, she added: "There is forensic evidence that indicates the presence of other people that we have not been able to eliminate yet."

Mrs Sebire said there was no evidence Mr Williams was suicidal and he had recently returned from a fly-drive holiday to America's west coast.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry or a struggle at the top-floor flat, which was rented through a letting agency.

None of his possessions were laid out in a "ritualistic" manner, contrary to reports.

Mr Williams had a laptop and four mobile phones, including at least one pay-as-you go handset.

The death remains suspicious and unexplained and no conclusive cause of death has been found.

An inquest will be held at Westminster Coroner's Court on February 15.

Mr Williams returned from the United States on August 11 and attended Bistroteque, in Bethnal Green, on Friday August 13.

Police said the restaurant, bar and theatre venue hosted Jimmy Woo, a drag cabaret act that night and the spy went alone.

Others who were at the event have told police Mr Williams chatted amicably with members of the audience.

Mr Williams also held two tickets for drag shows at the Vauxhall Tavern, a landmark pub in the gay nightlife area, that took place after his death.

A witness has also come forward to say he saw Mr Williams at Barcode, a gay bar in Vauxhall, in May.

Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said police hope that revealing some details of Mr Williams' private life may encourage people to come forward.

He said: "This is not intended to add salacious detail or tittle-tattle.

"We feel there is some small sub-group of the community or individuals who may know something about this matter and the nature of Gareth's death.

"They are naturally embarrassing, hurtful and distressing for the family but they are aware of the matters we are raising."

Mr Campbell added that investigators are sure someone else involved with the bondage or gay scene has "linked in" with Mr Williams but police "cannot find that trace".

He said: "We are very sure that someone else was in that flat. We want to know the circumstances when you would leave somebody in that position, by accident or design."

He added: "Maybe, by explaining to the public, someone will think: 'I get it and I can explain."'

MSNBC : Spy death inquiry looks at bondage link

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Spy death inquiry looks at bondage link

British police want to question couple in death of intelligence analyst

December 22, 2010

LONDON — A British spy who was found dead in his London flat visited bondage websites and a drag club and had $23,000 worth of unworn designer womenswear in his wardrobe, detectives said Wednesday.

The Guardian newspaper reported that police believe the mystery surrounding Gareth Williams' death will be solved through insights into his private life.

Williams, a 30-year-old official at the code-breaking agency GCHQ, was found inside a red North Face sports bag at his central London apartment on Aug. 23. Williams was working on attachment to the MI6 spy agency, but security officials believe it is unlikely that his killing was connected with his work. Toxicology tests showed there were no traces of drugs or poisons that may have led to his death.

Offering new details, police said they hoped to determine conclusively whether Williams' death was linked to his personal life and to trace two people seen at the communal door of Williams' apartment block in June or July.

The man and woman, described as Mediterranean in appearance in their 20s and dressed casually, were buzzed through the communal entrance at the flats in Alderney Street by another resident in late June or July, The Guardian said. They said they had been given a key and were on their way to the apartment that Williams lived in.

"Gareth was a very private individual, and we know he would not have given his keys to anyone other than close family," said Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, head of the inquiry into his death.

Sebire said it was still unclear whether Williams died as a result of a sex game gone wrong, and called on any former partners to contact police.

"There is forensic evidence that indicates the presence of other people that we have not been able to eliminate yet," Sebire said.

Experts called in by police have assessed that Williams could not have locked himself inside the bag — which was fastened with a padlock — and could have survived for only 30 minutes inside before suffocation. The keys to the Yale padlock were found inside the bag, The Guardian said.

Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said, head of Scotland Yard's homicide command, said police had been reluctant to make public details of Williams's private life, knowing it could prove distressing to his family.

Detectives said Williams used his iPhone to visit websites on bondage in the months before his death, The Guardian reported. Four days before he died, he went to a drag club called Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green, east London, to see an act called Jimmy Woo, and had tickets for two similar performances at a pub in Vauxhall, close to MI6 headquarters.

"We feel there is some small subgroup of the community, or individuals, who may know something about this matter and the nature of Gareth's death," Campbell said.

An inquest will be held at Westminster coroner's court on Feb. 15.

This article includes reporting msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press.

News Wales : Two wanted in MI6 death mystery

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Two wanted in MI6 death mystery

December 22, 2010

Police today released e-fit images of a couple they want to interview about the mysterious death of the Welsh-born MI6 code breaker Gareth Williams, whose body was found inside a padlocked holdall in his Pimlico flat on August 23.

Detectives revealed that Mr Williams, 31, from Holyhead, had visited a drag show and owned £15,000 worth of women's designer clothing. He had viewed websites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.

They believe other people helped him to get into the holdall and want to speak to them.

The two e-fit images issued by police show a casually-dressed couple of Mediterranean appearance, thought to be in their 20s, who were buzzed through the communal entrance of his home by another resident in late June or July.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire,who is heading the inquiry into his death, said she was convinced someone else helped to put him there after an expert brought in to examine the holdall concluded he could not have locked it himself.

DCI Sebire said police had forensic evidence that other people were in the flat, whom they have not been able to trace.

Maths genius

Raised in Holyhead and a fluent Welsh speaker, Mr Williams studied at Cambridge University – one of the traditional recruiting grounds for the British secret services.

He excelled at maths, embarking on a postgraduate certificate in advanced studies in mathematics at St Catharine's College in 2000.

The course is described as "demanding" and normally only accepts students with first-class degrees in physics, mathematics or engineering. But he dropped out after a year and began a career working for the secret services.

Mr Williams was a keen cyclist and tributes have been left to him on cycling forums. A friend who knew him when they rode for Holyhead Cycling Club, wrote: "He was a maths genius. People sometimes thought he was dense because he spoke rather slowly and sometimes seemed distracted.

"How wrong can you get. A pretty quick junior, and a very nice quietly-spoken young man. RIP Gareth."

JOE [Ireland] : MI6 spy attended drag clubs and collected women's clothes prior to death

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

MI6 spy attended drag clubs and collected women's clothes prior to death

December 22, 2010

A British spy, whose naked body was discovered in a sports bag at his London flat in August, had been attending drag clubs and had a £15,000 collection of women’s designer clothing.

Police investigating the death of Gareth Williams, a code breaker for secret service MI6, have released details of his private life in attempt to figure out the baffling case, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The officers involved in the investigation have disclosed details about Mr Williams’ lifestyle; such as his visits to bondage websites and drag clubs, and an expensive collection of women’s designer clothing in small sizes which would have fitted the spy.

Mr Williams’ body was found in a red North Face holdall on 23 August after he failed to turn up to work at MI6’s headquarters at Vauxhall Cross in London.

The decision to release such private information by the police is sure to anger gay rights groups and, of course, be a cause of distress to Mr Williams’ family and friends.

Det Chief Supt Hamish Campbell, the head of Scotland Yard’s murder squad, acknowledged the repercussions which may result by disclosing such information but that solving the case is the aim.

“We are very sure that someone else was in that flat,” Det Chief Supt Campbell said.

“We want to know the circumstances when you would leave somebody in that position, by accident or design.”

The death is being treated as suspicious, rather than murder, by the investigating officers and they have also released e-fits of a Mediterranean couple that visited the flat a few weeks later and let themselves in with a key.

UTV News : Couple sought as police say bondage websites could hold key to spy's death

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Couple sought as police say bondage websites could hold key to spy's death

December 22, 2010

• Gareth Williams's death not linked to job say detectives
• Women's designer clothes found in dead man's flat

Senior detectives believe the mystery death of the spy Gareth Williams will be solved by getting an insight into his private life after they revealed he had visited bondage websites and a drag club and had £15,000-worth of unworn designer womenswear in his wardrobe.

Williams's decomposed body was discovered in a padlocked holdall in his flat, less than a mile from MI6 headquarters in London where he was a senior analyst.

Police believe he died a week earlier, in the early hours of 16 August, and that someone else was present. For months they have struggled to answer basic questions about the death. Tests have shown no signs of a struggle or forced entry into the flat, and no sign that he was drugged.

Yesterday, Scotland Yard's detectives gave their best account of Williams's death. They revealed:

• He used his iPhone to visit websites on bondage and escape from bondage in the months before his death.

• He must have been padlocked into the red North Face holdall by someone else as it was impossible for him to have locked himself inside.

• Once padlocked in the bag, with the keys inside, he could only have survived for 30 minutes before suffocating.

• Police are desperate to talk to a couple of Mediterranean appearance who visited his block and claimed to have a key to his flat weeks before Williams's death.

• Four days before his death, he went to a drag club called Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green, east London, to see an act called Jimmy Woo, and had tickets for two similar performances at a pub in Vauxhall, close to MI6 headquarters.

• A witness told police that Williams had been seen at a well-known gay bar in Vauxhall months before his death.

When Williams's decomposing body was found by police on 23 August, they also discovered £15,000 of unworn women's clothing, wigs and shoes in his wardrobe. The labels included Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, and Louboutin and were in their original boxes or wrapping paper. Williams had enrolled in two fashion design courses at Central Saint Martins College, in Clerkenwell, London, in 2009 and 2010.

Speculation has been rife that Williams' highly secretive work might explain his death. He worked as an expert on codes at the government's GCHQ eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham before moving to MI6 on a secondment.

But Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, head of Scotland Yard's homicide command, said: "This is not linked to his work – it's his private life."

He said police had been reluctant to make public details of Williams's private life, knowing it could prove distressing to his family, but were doing so now because his lifestyle could be key to solving whether his death was a sex game gone wrong, manslaughter or murder.

Police needed information from "a small subset of people" who were into alternative lifestyles and pursuits. "We want to speak to individuals who use these websites about bondage, tying up, linking into the drag world."

Police called in an expert in surviving in confined spaces, who concluded there was no way Williams could have padlocked himself into the bag. That means that someone must have been present to lock him in. The keys to the ordinary Yale padlock were found inside the holdall.

Campbell said: "Somebody must have been there to secure him in the bag on a voluntary or involuntary basis. If someone was there and it was a voluntary activity gone wrong, why not cut him free or call an ambulance?

"The alternative scenario is there is maybe something more sinister to it. We just don't know."

The dead man's body showed only two small bruises on his elbows, probably from him struggling and rubbing against the inside of the bag as he began to run out of oxygen.

Toxicology tests show no signs of drugs, although Campbell said it remained possible he had been stunned by something like a karate chop, which could have left no visible trace by the time the corpse was found. Otherwise any blow heavy enough to render Williams unconscious would have been picked up by tests.

"There is no sign of a struggle, no outward signs of anyone inflicting physical violence, no poisoning," said Campbell, who added: "The absence of violence to the body suggests he placed himself in the bag, unless he was stunned or unconscious. If that was done, it was not through drugs or super-secret injections."

The official cause of death is still inconclusive, but Campbell said: "It is most likely suffocation, but we can't be certain."

He said that Williams was a deeply private man and neither his employers nor his family knew he had enrolled into a course at a fashion college. There was no evidence that he was gay.

Police yesterday released efit images of a man and woman who visited the flats where Williams lived weeks before his death. The Mediterranean couple, who were in their 20s and dressed casually, were buzzed through the communal entrance at the flats in Alderney Street by another resident in late June or July. They said they had been given a key and were on their way to flat four, the property Williams lived in.

Williams, from Anglesey, north Wales, was last seen alive on 15 August, eight days before he was found dead.

An inquest will be held at Westminster coroner's court on 15 February.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2010

Metro : Bondage spy Gareth Williams had £15k worth of designer gear

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Bondage spy Gareth Williams had £15k worth of designer gear

December 22, 2010

The MI6 spy found dead in sports holdall at his London flat last summer had a £15,000 collection of women’s designer clothing, detectives revealed.

Codebreaker Gareth Williams had also visited several bondage websites in the months before his death on August 23, police confirmed.

The ‘intensely private’ 31-year-old collected designer tops, dresses and shoes, and also visited a drag cabaret club four days before he died.

Items by Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, and Louboutin had been bought at London boutiques and online. The clothing was in various sizes, all small, and a number of women’s wigs were also found.

His decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his £400,000 Pimlico flat but the keys were inside. There was no sign of injury – except bruising to his elbows.

Forensic tests have shown that others had been in his flat just before his death. But they have not been traced.

Detective Ch Insp Jackie Sebire, who is leading the inquiry, said: ‘We remain completely open-minded about how he died. We are appealing to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more.’

No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists.

Mr Williams probably died in the early hours of August 16, one week before he was found.

Police have released two e-fits of a casually dressed Mediterranean couple who said they were visiting Mr Williams’s Alderney Street home in late June or July.

They were buzzed through the communal entrance by another resident.

An inquest will be held at Westminster coroner’s court on February 15

UKPA : Sex partner 'might have killed spy'

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sex partner 'might have killed spy'

UKPA | December 22, 2010

MI6 spy Gareth Williams may have died at the hands of a mystery bondage sex partner he met on London's gay scene, detectives have suggested.

Investigators said the 31-year-old codebreaker was immersed in the capital's thriving gay nightlife and had repeatedly visited extreme bondage websites. He also had a secret passion for fashion and hoarded unworn women's designer clothes worth £15,000 in his wardrobe alongside several wigs.

Police said it would have been impossible for the dead man to lock himself in the holdall where his naked body was found, and forensic evidence indicates other people were in his flat who they have been unable to trace.

But police said it is impossible to say whether Mr Williams was already dead when he was put in the bag or died from suffocation once zipped inside.

Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said the spy's secretive private life probably holds the key to his death and that a "small sub-group of the community" may well know something about his final moments but police cannot trace them.

Speaking at New Scotland Yard, Mr Campbell said: "We are very sure that someone else was in that flat. We want to know the circumstances when you would leave somebody in that position, by accident or design. Maybe, by explaining to the public, someone will think: 'I get it and I can explain.'"

Mr Williams, of Anglesey, North Wales, was found by police at his top-floor flat in Alderney Street, Pimlico, on August 23. His decomposing body was in a large padlocked holdall.

The keys were inside, under his body. Police believe he died in the early hours of Monday August 16 and he was last seen the previous day returning from a shopping trip to Harrods.

Detectives revealed remarkable new details of their investigation as they announced an inquest will be held at Westminster Coroner's Court on February 15.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who has led the inquiry, revealed that Mr Williams visited at least five bondage websites in the months before his death, that included extreme videos of people being tied up, constricted and suffocated as well as do-it-yourself guides.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Telegraph : MI6 spy death: Gareth Williams' bondage fetish may be related to childhood, psychologists claim

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

MI6 spy death: Gareth Williams' bondage fetish may be related to childhood, psychologists claim

By Victoria Ward | December 22, 2010

The apparent interest in bondage and auto-asphyxiation shown by the MI6 spy Gareth Williams, may have been the only way he could let go of his emotions and feel in control of his life, psychologists believe.

Police said today that the MI6 spy had visited a series of bondage websites and visited a drag cabaret prior to his death. They also found a £15,000 collection of unworn women’s designer clothing in his wardrobe.

Simone Bienne, a sexual therapist based in London, said that interest in bondage and sado masochistic fetishes subconsciously related to a childhood trauma.

She said: “The person tends to feel very guilty when receiving pleasure. But they have the opportunity, by surrendering themselves, to create a scene in which they are fully in control.

“Without realising it, they are recreating the feelings that they felt in the early part of their life but can change the ending. When in control, they feel accepted and nurtured.

“It allows them to feel absolved of any responsibility, guilt or worry. It’s about a struggle with life.”

She said that the more dangerous the game, the greater the original disturbance.

“If they could work through their issues in a normal way, talking to counsellors or using self help books, they would,” she added.

“But for them, this is the only way they are able to arrive somewhere. It’s very, very intimate.

“They can fully let go and experience intense pleasure and for them, it’s the only way they can receive this pleasure.”

Joy Rosendale, a psychosexual therapist working in London and Tunbridge Wells, agreed that bondage was often connected to childhood needs not being met.

She said: “It can be about a triumph over an early humiliation and a repetitive compulsion, whereby the person thinks that they will get it right this time.

“It can be about swaddling, holding a baby tight.”

Miss Rosendale said that it was an “addictive strain of behaviour” that was largely subconscious but which enabled the person to feel in control and to act something out again and again.

She said that often those who took part were “isolated within themselves” and had few social or relationship skills.

“It is often a loner, with an inward or introvert personality,” she said. “This is their release.”

“Such extreme sex games, which expose you to death, take it to the edge.”

Newstalk [Ireland] : More details about British agent found dead in apartment

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

More details about British agent found dead in apartment

December 22, 2010

The British Intelligence Agency codebreaker found dead in a bag in his bathroom in central London visited a series of sex-related websites in the months before his death.

Police have revealed that 31-year-old Gareth Williams viewed pages showing people bound and tied which included guides on how to do it.

His decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his flat on August 23rd with the keys were inside.

The discovery was made after concerns were raised for his welfare.

An inquest will be held in London on February 15th.

Reporter Amy Lewis says officers have been giving more information about how he lived his life. [audio clip]

Telegraph : MI6 spy found dead in bag: Gareth Williams visited bondage websites, drag cabaret and gay bars

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

MI6 spy found dead in bag: Gareth Williams visited bondage websites, drag cabaret and gay bars

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | December 22, 2010

A British spy whose naked body was found padlocked into a sports bag in the bath of his flat in central London had been visiting bondage websites and drag clubs and had a £15,000 collection of women’s designer clothing, police have disclosed.

Officers investigating the death of Gareth Williams, a GCHQ code breaker who was on secondment to MI6, have released details of his unusual private life and explained the extraordinary riddle that surrounds his death.

While the death is officially described as “suspicious” rather than murder, officers also released e-fits of a Mediterranean couple that visited the flat a few weeks later and let themselves in with a key.

Det Chief Supt Hamish Campbell, the head of Scotland Yard’s murder squad, said he was aware that the details would be “embarrassing, hurtful and distressing” for Mr Williams’s family but said they supported the appeal for anyone that had encountered him in the nightclubs, online or at women’s clothing shops to come forward.

“We are very sure that someone else was in that flat. We want to know the circumstances when you would leave somebody in that position, by accident or design,” he added.

Det Chief Insp Jacqueline Sebire, who is leading the inquiry, described Mr Williams, 31, from Anglesey in North Wales, as an “intensely private person” who had kept his lifestyle hidden from friends and family.

His body was found in a red North Face holdall on August 23 after he failed to turn up to work at MI6’s headquarters at Vauxhall Cross in London.

Inside the flat, police found half a dozen boxes with neatly folded, apparently unused women’s designer clothing and shoes, along with a number of wigs.

The clothing had been bought online and in smart shops in London’s West End, starting in 2008 and going up until a few weeks before Mr Williams died.

They were all in small sizes that would have fitted Mr Williams, who was 5ft 8ins tall and weighed around 9st.

The labels included Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane and Christian Louboutin shoes, and the collection came to around £15,000.

Mr Williams was not in debt, police said, and there were no signs that unaccounted sums of money had been paid in or left his bank account.

Unknown to his family and colleagues, Mr Williams had also attended two, six to eight week courses in fashion design for beginners at the prestigious Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design in London during evenings and weekends, one in 2010 and one in 2009, passing both courses.

Mr Williams had recently visited the West Coast of the US for his work which involved working on computers and intercept techniques, and had combined the trip with a fly-drive holiday.

He arrived back in Britain on Wednesday August 11 and two days later he went to the Bistrotheque restaurant and bar in Bethnal Green, East London to watch Jimmy Woo, a drag artist.

CCTV recovered later showed him wearing cream trousers and a blue t-shirt.

“He went alone and left alone,” DCI Sebire said. “He chatted to people at the event but it was nothing other than small talk.”

The spy also had two single tickets for two other drag acts at the Vauxhall Tavern in South London, not far from MI6 headquarters, for each of the following weekends.

A single witness has also said they chatted to him at a gay bar called Barcode in Vauxhall in May, although police have been unable to trace any sexual partners, either heterosexual or homosexual.

However examination of his personal laptop and personal mobile phone showed that he had visited five separate bondage websites, beginning with a search on the encyclopedia site Wikipedia and followed up with the sites hogtie.com, boundanna.com, artofconstriction.com and likera.com.

The evidence recovered from the computer and phone does not show whether he chatted to anyone online, but some of the sites had chat forums, police said.

The sites were said to be primarily pictures of women and “how to guides” and Mr Williams visited them on only four occasions between the end of 2009 and a few weeks before he died. There was no sign that he had visited any pornographic websites.

Telegraph : MI6 spy Gareth Williams: keys found under body inside the holdall

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

MI6 spy Gareth Williams: keys found under body inside the holdall

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | December 22, 2010

Detectives investigating the death of the MI6 spy Gareth Williams have disclosed that keys to the padlock on the sports bag were found inside the North Face holdall, underneath Mr Williams’s naked body.

An expert on rescuing people from confined spaces has told investigators that it would be impossible to lock the bag from the inside, although the keys are not necessary to close the padlock.

Other keys were found in the flat which could have opened the padlock but were not obviously laid out.

The expert got into the bag, which is made of a synthetic rubber called Neoprene, on behalf of the police and discovered that within three minutes the temperature had reached 30 degrees Celsius and after half an hour the oxygen had run out.

A post mortem suggests Mr Williams died in the early hours of Monday August 16 but his body was not found until a week later.

The cause of death remains inconclusive and, although he had some bruising to his elbows, there is no sign that he put up a struggle.

Police believe he either climbed into the bag voluntarily as part of a sex game or was unconscious when placed there.

There was no sign of disturbance in the flat and nothing appears to be missing, however police found four mobile phones, none of which have helped them locate his killer.

Despite that, forensic examination at the flat has found traces of unidentified individuals.

A Mediterranean couple visited the block of four flats in Pimlico late one Friday or Saturday evening and were let into the hallway by a neighbour, to whom they suggested that they were visiting a man called Pierre Paulo in Mr Williams flat and had keys to let themselves into his flat.

DCI Jacqueline Sebire, leading the inquiry, said: “Gareth is an intensely private person and would not give his key out to anyone, even his own family.”

570 News : UK police say slain spy likely died a week before his body was locked inside a sports bag

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

UK police say slain spy likely died a week before his body was locked inside a sports bag

David Stringer, The Associated Press | December 22, 2010

LONDON - A British intelligence official discovered dead inside a sports bag probably died a week before he was found and would likely have suffocated within 30 minutes, police said Wednesday as they disclosed new details of their inquiry.

Gareth Williams, a 30-year-old official at code-breaking agency GCHQ, was found at his central London apartment on Aug. 23, but police have had few leads to tie any suspects to his death.

Offering new details, police said they hoped to determine conclusively whether Williams' death was linked to his personal life and to trace two people seen at the communal door of Williams' apartment block in June or July.

The man and woman, both described as aged between 20 and 30 years old, indicated to a witness that they had a key to Williams' home and were last seen walking toward his flat.

"Gareth was a very private individual, and we know he would not have given his keys to anyone other than close family," said Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, head of the inquiry into his death.

Sebire said it was still unclear whether Williams died as a result of a sex game gone wrong, and called on any former partners to contact police.

She said there are people who had visited his home who have not yet been traced.

"There is forensic evidence that indicates the presence of other people that we have not been able to eliminate yet," Sebire said.

Experts called in by police have assessed that Williams could not have locked himself inside the bag — which was fastened with a padlock — and could have survived for only 30 minutes inside before suffocation.

Police said inquiries had shown that Williams had viewed bondage related websites. Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell called on anyone who communicated with Williams through bondage websites to contact them — hoping to better understand how he came to be locked inside the bag.

"We feel there is some small subgroup of the community, or individuals, who may know something about this matter and the nature of Gareth's death," he said.

In a statement issued by the police, Williams' family said they were "still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their son and brother."

Williams was working on attachment to the MI6 spy agency at the time of his death, but security officials believe it is unlikely that his killing was connected with his work. Toxicology tests have confirmed there were no traces of drugs or poisons that may have led to his death.

UKPA : Bondage clue to spy's death

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Bondage clue to spy's death

UKPA | December 22, 2010

Mystery death spy Gareth Williams visited a series of bondage websites in the months before his death at his London flat, police have revealed.

The 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker viewed sites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.

Detectives also found a £15,000 collection of unworn women's designer clothing, including tops, dresses and shoes in his wardrobe.

They revealed he visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more. One witness has also come forward to say he was at a popular gay bar in Vauxhall several months before his death.

Mr Williams's decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23. The keys were inside. Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who is leading the inquiry, said she is convinced someone else helped put him in there. She said police believe they will get to the bottom of the intensely private spy's death by studying his private life.

Speaking at New Scotland Yard, she said: "We remain completely open-minded about how he died. We are appealing today to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more."

The GCHQ code-breaker, who had been on secondment to the spy agency, was found dead by police after concerns were raised for his welfare. The mysterious circumstances of Mr Williams's death sparked an international frenzy of speculation.

No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists. Mrs Sebire revealed that police have forensic evidence that other people were in the flat, whom they have not been able to trace.

She added that an expert, brought in to examine the red North Face holdall Mr Williams was found in, concluded he could not have locked it. The zip was held shut by a common travel-style Yale padlock through holes in two zip fasteners.

Tests found the temperature inside the bag would have risen to 30C within three minutes. An expert on survivability in confined spaces from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) said he would have suffocated in 30 minutes. Mr Williams, of Anglesey, North Wales, was last seen alive on August 15, eight days before he was found dead in the £400,000 property.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

BBC : Dead MI6 spy Gareth Williams 'visited bondage websites'

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Dead MI6 spy Gareth Williams 'visited bondage websites'

December 22, 2010

An MI6 spy found dead in a padlocked holdall in his central London flat had accessed bondage websites several times, police have revealed.

Gareth Williams, 31, from Holyhead on Anglesey, had also visited a drag show and owned £15,000 worth of women's designer clothing, detectives said.

Mr Williams' naked body was found at his Pimlico flat in August.

Police believe other people helped the MI6 codebreaker to get into the holdall and want to speak to them.

Officers have released e-fit images of a couple who they said visited Mr Williams' Alderney Street home in June or July.

The Met said disclosure of "embarrassing, hurtful and distressing" details was necessary to get some information as detectives believe "someone else was in the flat".

Det Ch Insp Jackie Sebire said: "We know he was intensely private, and however difficult this might be for someone who has had any interaction with Gareth, it would really help us if they came forward so we know if that side of his life had any relevance to his death.

"If he was alive, he got into it voluntarily or, if not, he was unconscious and placed in the bag," she added.

Police revealed Mr Williams viewed websites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.

The two e-fit images issued by police show a casually-dressed couple of Mediterranean appearance, thought to be in their 20s, who were buzzed through the communal entrance of his home by another resident in late June or July.

The GCHQ code-breaker, who had been on secondment to the spy agency, was found dead by police after concerns were raised for his welfare.

No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a series of tests conducted by toxicologists.

Det Ch Insp Sebire revealed police had forensic evidence that other people were in the flat, whom they have not been able to trace.

She added that an expert, brought in to examine the red holdall in which Mr Williams was found, concluded he could not have locked it.

The keys were found inside the bag.

She said experts had said the temperature inside the bag would have risen to 30C (80F) within three minutes and he would have suffocated inside half-an-hour.

Fashion design courses

The detective added Mr Williams probably died in the early hours of 16 August, a week before he was found.

He had a collection of six boxes of unworn designer clothing in a wardrobe, she said.

Mrs Sebire said Mr Williams attended two fashion design courses at Central St Martins College in 2009 and 2010, and said the items could have been related to those diploma courses.

The detective said although a witness had reported seeing Mr Williams in a gay bar, police do not know for certain he was gay.

She said Mr Williams occasionally spent between 30 minutes and an hour on bondage sites, but added there was no evidence that he was "obsessed" with bondage and no other pornography was found.

Police also revealed that the spy visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more.

Det Ch Supt Hamish Campbell said investigators were sure someone else involved with the bondage or gay scene had "linked in" with Mr Williams but police "cannot find that trace".

The death remains suspicious and unexplained and no conclusive cause has been found.

An inquest will be held at Westminster Coroner's Court on 15 February.

Police have asked anyone with information to call the incident room in Hendon on 020 8358 0200. If the caller wants to remain anonymous, he or she could contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Telegraph : MI6 spy Gareth Williams was a child prodigy whose private life was kept secret from closest friends and family

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was a child prodigy whose private life was kept secret from closest friends and family

By Victoria Ward | December 22, 2010

Gareth Williams, the MI6 spy who was found dead in a bag in his bath, was a child prodigy.

He took a maths GCSE at primary school and A-levels at 13, graduating with a first from Bangor University by the age of 17.

He went on to study advanced mathematics at Cambridge, eventually leaving because he felt he had learned all he could.

Williams grew up in Anglesey, north Wales. A quiet child from a tight-knit family, whose great passion was cycling.

Friends said that despite his extraordinary mathematical mind, he was "very naive about people". He was a loner, with few social contacts, even among his work colleagues. He struggled to make friends after being catapulted into the company of older people at an early age.

Dylan Parry, 34, from Anglesey, said he was an isolated child. "He never really made friends, either his own age or from those younger than him,” he said.

“He didn't have any of the normal childhood interests or pursuits of teenagers. His only real interest was maths. He was obsessed with his subject. Socially he was very awkward but very nice."

By the time he left Cambridge, Williams’ potential had already been spotted by GCHQ scouts.

In 2001, he took at job as a code expert at the GCHQ "doughnut" building in Cheltenham, working alongside hundreds of mathematicians, cryptologists and analysts going on to develop techniques to speed up data encryption.

For the first time, it is likely Williams felt challenged and comfortable in his surroundings, working with like-minded people in a top-secret environment that suited his personality.

His sparse bedsit was immaculate and devoid of personal belongings and clutter. His former landlady, Jenny Elliot, 71, said that “his life was his work”.

In 2003, Williams spent six months at Menwith Hill, the RAF station in Yorkshire and in 2006 he spent time at Fort Meade in Maryland, home of the United States’ National Security Agency, GCHQ’s partner in global surveillance.

He is also reported to have made a number of visits to Afghanistan.

Last year, he was seconded to the London headquarters of MI6, a sign of his steady progress up the hierarchy at GCHQ.

The 31-year-old was assigned to live at 36 Alderney Street, in Pimlico, central London, an MI6 safe house.

Williams died before he could take up his next post in the Cyber Security Operations Centre at GCHQ, his intensely private personality meaning that the circumstances surrounding his mysterious death are baffling detectives three months on.

BBC : Talented MI6 spy Gareth Williams 'never spoke of work'

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Talented MI6 spy Gareth Williams 'never spoke of work'

December 22, 2010

An MI6 spy who was found dead in his central London flat was a talented young man who was close to his family, but would never speak to them about his work.

Gareth Williams, 31, from Holyhead on Anglesey, north Wales, was found dead in a padlocked holdall in his central London flat in August.

The death remains suspicious and unexplained with no conclusive cause found.

Mr Williams regularly went home to north Wales to visit his family.

His parents, Ian and Ellen, live in Valley, Anglesey, while his father works at Wylfa nuclear power station. His grandmother and grandfather lived in Holyhead.

His uncle, William Hughes, said his nephew had never spoken about his work.

"He was very, very talented," he added.

"He would never talk about his work and the family knew not to ask really."

Mr Williams' academic talent was evident at an early age, when he was a pupil at Bodedern Secondary School in Anglesey.

His maths teacher Geraint Williams said he had been an "exceptional" pupil.

'Very modest'

"He was probably not the best mathematician I have seen, but the best logician," he said.

"If you explained something once, he remembered it, you didn't have to explain it again."

While he was a secondary school pupil, Mr Williams was also being coached at Bangor University and graduated with a first class degree in maths at just 17.

In 2000, he took a postgraduate certificate in mathematics at St Catharine's College, Cambridge.

He was then offered a job at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham.

"It didn't surprise me at all that he was very interested in codes and ciphers," Geraint Williams said.

"It didn't really surprise me that he was recruited by GCHQ."

Mr Williams worked as a communication officer at GCHQ before being sent on secondment to MI6 for a year.

The head of MI6 Sir John Sawers described Mr Williams as a "highly talented person" who was "very modest and generous as well".

He added that Mr Williams had done "really valuable work with us in the cause of national security".

Mr Williams grew up as a keen cyclist and joined Holyhead Cycling Club when he was 17.

Keith Thompson, from the club, said: "He was a really lovely young man.

"We were club mates but Gareth wasn't the sort to go to the pub after a race, so he didn't have any close friends in the group.

"It was his cycling that we knew about. He was known for being very good on hill races but a couple of times he won the club's 'best all-rounder' award."

An inquest will be held at Westminster Coroner's Court on 15 February.

Scotsman : Murdered spy used bondage sites and kept female outfits worth £15,000

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Murdered spy used bondage sites and kept female outfits worth £15,000

December 22, 2010

AN M16 codebreaker whose decomposing body was found zipped inside a holdall in his flat visited bondage websites in the months before his death, police have revealed.

Gareth Williams viewed webpages showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.

Detectives also found a 15,000 collection of unworn women's designer clothing, including tops, dresses and shoes in the 31-year-old's wardrobe.

They revealed he visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more.

One witness has also come forward to say he was at a popular gay bar in Vauxhall several months before his death.

Police also released two e-fits of a couple who they said were visiting Mr Williams's Alderney Street home in late June or July.

The casually-dressed Mediterranean couple, in their twenties, were buzzed through the communal entrance by a neighbour.

They suggested they had been given a key by "Pierre Palo" and were on their way to flat four.

Mr Williams's body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on 23 August. The keys were inside.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who is leading the inquiry, said she is convinced someone helped put him in there. She said police believe they will get to the bottom of the intensely private spy's death by studying his personal life.

Speaking at New Scotland Yard, she said: "We remain completely open-minded about how he died.

We are appealing to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more."

The GCHQ codebreaker, who had been on secondment to the spy agency, was found dead by police after concerns were raised about his welfare.

The mysterious circumstances of his death sparked a frenzy of speculation.

No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists.

Mrs Sebire revealed the police have forensic evidence that other people were in the flat who they have so far been unable to trace.

She added that an expert, brought in to examine the red North Face branded holdall Mr Williams was found in, concluded he could not have locked it himself.

The zip was held shut by a common travel-style Yale padlock through holes in two zip fasteners.

Tests found the temperature inside the bag would have risen to 30C within three minutes.

An expert on survivability in confined spaces from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) said Mr Williams would have suffocated in 30 minutes.

Mrs Sebire said Mr Williams probably died in the early hours of 16 August, a week before he was found. She said there was no sign of injury, apart from bruising to his elbows, which might have taken place some time before his death.

Mr Williams, of Anglesey, North Wales, was last seen alive on 15 August, eight days before he was found dead in the 400,000 property.

Speaking about his private life, Mrs Sebire said a collection of six boxes of unworn designer clothing were found in a wardrobe. She said items by Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, and Louboutin had been bought at London boutiques and online.

The senior detective said the clothing was in various sizes, all small, and a number of women's wigs were also found.

But she added there was no evidence that Mr Williams was "obsessed" with bondage and no other pornography was found.

Metro Police : E-fits issued in death investigation

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

E-fits issued in death investigation

Bulletin 0000002137 | December 22, 2010

OFFICERS from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command investigating the circumstances into the death of Gareth Williams (date of birth 26.09.78) in August continue to appeal for information.

Police have issued two e-fits of a man and a woman they wish to speak with in connection with the enquiry.

They are described as of Mediterranean appearance, aged between 20-30 years-old.

They called at 36 Alderney Street, Pimlico, SW1 late one evening in June or July, 2010.

Having gained access to the communal area of the building, they intimated that they had a key to Gareth's flat, number 4, and were last seen walking towards it. It is believed they said they had been given the key by a 'Pier Paulo', or something similar.

At this stage, officers are making a further appeal and are urging this man and woman to come forward and assist, so that they can be eliminated from our enquiries.

There are also a number of other points on which officers are asking the public for their help.

Gareth was attending Central St Martins College, Clerkenwell, on a fashion course for beginners - police are urging anyone who knew or met him through the course to come forward if they have any information.

In addition, Gareth's wardrobe contained a collection of female attire, such as dresses and shoes, which were new, and seemingly unused, worth in the region of £15,000, as well as a collection of wigs. If anyone knows where, or when he might have bought such clothing, officers would very much like to speak to them.

Police would also like to hear from anyone who met Gareth on a visit he made to a drag cabaret - 'Bistroteque' in Mile End on 13 August 2010. Gareth had bought tickets for two other shows at the same venue. They also want to speak to anyone who saw Gareth in May 2010, at the 'Barcode' gay bar in Vauxhall, south London, when there was an unconfirmed sighting of him.

Routine forensic examination of Gareth's phones has revealed a limited number of occasions when access was made from them to websites relating to bondage and escape from bondage. Officers would like to talk to anyone who had contact with Gareth via one or more of those sites, who may be able to assist in understanding the circumstances of his death.

Police strongly believe Gareth was not alone in his flat at or before the time of his death and are strongly urging any person, or persons who were there, or knows anything in relation to this, to come forward.

DCI Jacqueline Sebire, the investigating officer, said today: "Gareth was a very private individual, and we know he would not have given his keys to anyone other than close family. I am asking this man or woman, or anyone who recognizes them, to encourage them to come forward and assist us with this enquiry.

"Gareth's death remains suspicious and unexplained, and enquiries into the circumstances continue."

Anyone with information should call the Incident Room in Hendon on 020 8358 0200 or, if they wish to remain anonymous, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Williams family said today: "Gareth's family are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their son and brother, they urge anybody to come forward with any information that can assist the police investigation."

The Inquest into Gareth's death will be heard before Westminster Coroner's Court on 15 February 2011.

Gareth Williams returned to the UK from a planned holiday in the US, on Wednesday, 11 August 2010. CCTV enquiries established that on a number of occasions on his return, he was shopping in the West End and Knightsbridge areas.

CCTV images issued by officers (6 September 2010) showed Gareth on Saturday 14 August 2010 at approx 15:00hrs, entering Holland Park underground station.

On Sunday 15 August 2010 Gareth was shopping in Brompton Road, SW7. He went to a cash machine, and then into Harrods. At approx 14:30hrs, CCTV images show him in Hans Crescent, SW1 heading towards Sloane Street, near to the Dolce and Gabbana store.

He was wearing a red t-shirt, beige trousers, and white trainers. Gareth was approx 5ft 7inches tall, with short hair and of a muscular build.

On 23 August 2010, Gareth was found in his flat at Flat 4, 36 Alderney Street, Pimlico, SW1 by uniformed officers. There was no sign of any forced entry to the property, and no signs of disturbance inside.

Gareth was found unclothed, in a zipped and padlocked red 'North Face' holdall which was in an empty bath in the en suite bathroom. Officers do not believe any property was missing from the flat and there was no suggestion the items within the flat were specifically posed. No drugs, or indications of drug usage, were recovered.

The first post mortem on 25 August 2010 established no cause of death. Further examinations of the body were held and results from comprehensive further toxicology tests carried out came back negative, showing no trace of any drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that would indicate cause of death.

This Is London : Spy in bag: Police seek mystery couple, MI6 man used bondage websites

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Spy in bag: Police seek mystery couple, MI6 man used bondage websites

Justin Davenport, Crime Editor | December 22, 2010

Police revealed dramatic details today about the bizarre death of an MI6 spy found in a sports bag - and appealed for help to find a mystery couple who may hold vital clues.

Scotland Yard issued the first images of a man and woman who could make clear how Gareth Williams died.

The couple visited the spy's Pimlico flat several weeks before his decomposing body was found, on August 23, in the bath inside a zipped and padlocked North Face bag. Detectives also revealed:

* The 31-year-old codebreaker had a collection of designer dresses and shoes worth £15,000 in his flat. The clothes by Stella McCartney and Christopher Kane, and Louboutin shoes, appeared unworn, with many still in wrappings.

* He was almost certainly not alone when he died and had bruised elbows, possibly as he tried to escape from the bag. A pair of keys to the padlock were inside under his body.

* He had visited five bondage websites since last year. No pornography was found in the flat. He visited a comedy drag night at a club called Bistrotheque in Mile End on August 13.

* He had passed two fashion design courses at Central Saint Martins.

* He had four mobile phones including some that were pay-as-you-go.

Tests have been unable to explain how Mr Williams died. One theory is that he may have been the victim of a sex game that went wrong.

Police told how they employed a specialist to climb into the North Face holdall and re-enact events that might have led to his death. He found it was impossible to shut the bag and padlock it from inside without help. It was also impossible to unlock the bag from inside on his own.

The mystery couple called at the flat in Alderney Street in June or July. They buzzed the outside door and were let in by a woman on the ground floor. They told her they were visiting flat 4 — Mr Williams's — and had their own key, given to them by someone called “Pier Paulo”, or a similar name.

The couple went upstairs and did not come down, suggesting they entered the flat. They were aged in their twenties or thirties, possibly of Mediterranean or east European appearance.

Despite a number of previous appeals the pair have not come forward and detectives increasingly believe they could hold vital clues.

Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline Sebire, leading the inquiry, said: “Gareth was a very private individual. We know he would not have given his keys to anyone other than close family. I am asking this man or woman or anyone who recognises them to encourage them to come forward and assist us.”

In a statement, Mr Williams's family said: “We are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their son and brother, we urge anybody to come forward with any information that can assist the police investigation.”

At the time of the visit, Mr Williams is believed to have been away and detectives say it is highly unlikely he gave his keys to anyone. Tests on his body show he was not poisoned, drugged or under the influence of alcohol at the time of his death. There were no injuries to suggest a struggle and an examination of his computers showed he had a secret fetish for bondage and being confined in enclosed spaces.

There was no evidence of anything missing from his flat and no signs of a disturbance. Detectives have discounted one rumour that the flat was locked from the outside.

Mr Williams, a keen cyclist, was in London on a year's secondment and was due to return to the GCHQ government listening post in Cheltenham. He is known to have made trips on business to the US but he was not a field agent and his spy bosses can find no reason for him to have been killed.

He was last seen eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him at Harrods and Holland Park Tube.

Anyone with information can call 020 8358 0200 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

The unanswered questions

How did he die?

A post mortem has proved inconclusive. But experts can say he was not stabbed or shot, there are no obvious injuries to his body and tests found no trace of alcohol, drugs or poison. It is possible he suffocated inside the North Face bag. Experts say that because of the heat in the flat he could have died within minutes if he could not escape.

Was he alone and why did he not escape from the bag?

Police now believe he was almost certainly not alone. Intriguingly, there is no sign of anyone else being in the flat, but tests have shown that Mr Williams could not have locked himself into the bag on his own. He must have had help and either climbed into the bag as part of a sex game — or, in some way, was forced in. The real question is why he was unable to escape and why the second party did not help him. One possibility is the second man — or woman — left the scene planning to return but when they did the spy was already dead. The second person then panicked and fled. The puzzle is why he or she did not leave any clues. And why, if the explanation was innocent, they have not come forward.

What about his private life?

This remains a mystery. Inquiries have found the spy to be an intensely private individual. He was spotted in a gay bar near the MI6 HQ in Vauxhall and visited a transvestite bar in the weeks before he died but there is no other obvious reference to his sexuality. His computers revealed a interest in bondage and a colourful wig was found in his flat along with £15,000 of high fashion women's dresses and shoes, all of which seem to be still in their wrappers. But there were few, if any, friends who knew him personally.

What was he doing before he died?

His body was found on August 23. It is known he returned from a trip to the US on August 11 and was last seen alive at Holland Park Tube station on August 14 and shopping in Harrods the following day. The post mortem results suggest he died soon afterwards but his body was not found until eight days later.

Who are the mystery couple? 

This is one of the most tantalising questions in the inquiry. No one — including MI6 or his family — can explain why Mr Williams would have given his keys to anyone. They were specific about visiting Flat 4 though they are not thought to have mentioned the spy by name. The codebreaker is not believed to have been in the flat at the time — and the possibility remains the couple could be a red herring.

This Is London : Hidden pursuits of MI6 man Gareth Williams’s private life

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Hidden pursuits of MI6 man Gareth Williams’s private life

Justin Davenport, Crime Editor | December 22, 2010

The new details of Gareth Williams's life reveal an intensely private individual who had a life unknown to his friends, family or spy bosses.

He was a respected technician who had an occasional drink with colleagues and was an avid and competitive cyclist.

He enjoyed outdoor sports such as rock climbing as well as trips to the theatre and cinema, and his iPod showed a varied taste.

Yet today detectives revealed that the 30-year-old also had an interest in bondage websites, and visited a cabaret act featuring drag artist Jonny Woo at restaurant and theatre venue Bistrotheque in Mile End just before his death.

He went alone, but others who were at the event said Mr Williams chatted amicably with audience members.

He also held two tickets for drag shows in Vauxhall which took place after his death, and a witness has said he saw Mr Williams at Barcode, a gay bar in the area, in May.

Police revealed he had an interest in fashion, having attended two beginner's design courses at Central St Martins. Could this explain his collection of women's designer clothes and wigs worth £15,000? Intriguingly, there is no evidence that Mr Williams was gay, nor any evidence that he had ever had a girlfriend or a boyfriend.

He visited five bondage websites, including hogtie.com, artofconstriction.com and boundanna.com, browsing for between 30 minutes and an hour at a time. The sites feature women and give instruction on how to carry out bondage techniques.

But again there was no evidence that he was “obsessed” with bondage, and no pornography or bondage gear was found in his flat.

Guardian : Couple sought as police say bondage websites could hold key to spy's death

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Couple sought as police say bondage websites could hold key to spy's death

• Gareth Williams's death not linked to job say detectives
• Women's designer clothes found in dead man's flat


Vikram Dodd, crime correspondent | December 22, 2010

Senior detectives believe the mystery death of the spy Gareth Williams will be solved by getting an insight into his private life after they revealed he had visited bondage websites and a drag club and had £15,000-worth of unworn designer womenswear in his wardrobe.

Williams's decomposed body was discovered in a padlocked holdall in his flat, less than a mile from MI6 headquarters in London where he was a senior analyst.

Police believe he died a week earlier, in the early hours of 16 August, and that someone else was present. For months they have struggled to answer basic questions about the death. Tests have shown no signs of a struggle or forced entry into the flat, and no sign that he was drugged.

Yesterday, Scotland Yard's detectives gave their best account of Williams's death. They revealed:

• He used his iPhone to visit websites on bondage and escape from bondage in the months before his death.

• He must have been padlocked into the red North Face holdall by someone else as it was impossible for him to have locked himself inside.

• Once padlocked in the bag, with the keys inside, he could only have survived for 30 minutes before suffocating.

• Police are desperate to talk to a couple of Mediterranean appearance who visited his block and claimed to have a key to his flat weeks before Williams's death.

• Four days before his death, he went to a club called Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green, east London, to see an act called Jonny Woo, and had tickets for two similar performances at a pub in Vauxhall, close to MI6 headquarters.

• A witness told police that Williams had been seen at a well-known gay bar in Vauxhall months before his death.

When Williams's decomposing body was found by police on 23 August, they also discovered £15,000 of unworn women's clothing, wigs and shoes in his wardrobe. The labels included Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, and Louboutin and were in their original boxes or wrapping paper. Williams had enrolled in two fashion design courses at Central Saint Martins College, in Clerkenwell, London, in 2009 and 2010.

Speculation has been rife that Williams' highly secretive work might explain his death. He worked as an expert on codes at the government's GCHQ eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham before moving to MI6 on a secondment.

But Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, head of Scotland Yard's homicide command, said: "This is not linked to his work – it's his private life."

He said police had been reluctant to make public details of Williams's private life, knowing it could prove distressing to his family, but were doing so now because his lifestyle could be key to solving whether his death was a sex game gone wrong, manslaughter or murder.

Police needed information from "a small subset of people" who were into alternative lifestyles and pursuits. "We want to speak to individuals who use these websites about bondage, tying up, linking into the drag world."

Police called in an expert in surviving in confined spaces, who concluded there was no way Williams could have padlocked himself into the bag. That means that someone must have been present to lock him in. The keys to the ordinary Yale padlock were found inside the holdall.

Campbell said: "Somebody must have been there to secure him in the bag on a voluntary or involuntary basis. If someone was there and it was a voluntary activity gone wrong, why not cut him free or call an ambulance?

"The alternative scenario is there is maybe something more sinister to it. We just don't know."

The dead man's body showed only two small bruises on his elbows, probably from him struggling and rubbing against the inside of the bag as he began to run out of oxygen.

Toxicology tests show no signs of drugs, although Campbell said it remained possible he had been stunned by something like a karate chop, which could have left no visible trace by the time the corpse was found. Otherwise any blow heavy enough to render Williams unconscious would have been picked up by tests.

"There is no sign of a struggle, no outward signs of anyone inflicting physical violence, no poisoning," said Campbell, who added: "The absence of violence to the body suggests he placed himself in the bag, unless he was stunned or unconscious. If that was done, it was not through drugs or super-secret injections."

The official cause of death is still inconclusive, but Campbell said: "It is most likely suffocation, but we can't be certain."

He said that Williams was a deeply private man and neither his employers nor his family knew he had enrolled into a course at a fashion college. There was no evidence that he was gay.

Police yesterday released efit images of a man and woman who visited the flats where Williams lived weeks before his death. The Mediterranean couple, who were in their 20s and dressed casually, were buzzed through the communal entrance at the flats in Alderney Street by another resident in late June or July. They said they had been given a key and were on their way to flat four, the property Williams lived in.

Williams, from Anglesey, north Wales, was last seen alive on 15 August, eight days before he was found dead.

An inquest will be held at Westminster coroner's court on 15 February.

• This article was amended on 23 December 2010. The original referred to Jimmy Woo, and Bistrotheque as a drag club. This has been corrected.