The Age [Australia] : British bondage spy a sleeper

British bondage spy a sleeper

London | December 27, 2010

A British spy whose body was found inside a padlocked bag at his London flat in August had been training to take on a new identity in the months before his death, a report says.

A close friend of Gareth Williams, 31, told the Mail on Sunday the MI6 code-breaker was not homosexual.

Police have suggested his death was linked to London's gay or bondage scene. Women's clothing worth thousands of pounds was found in his flat.

''He said he was learning his new identity,'' said Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a close childhood friend from Wales.

''He had two passports.''

London's Metropolitan Police revealed Williams had been logging on to bondage websites and had visited a drag cabaret four days before his death.

Sun : Spy in a bag set for 'MI6 mission'

Spy in a bag set for 'MI6 mission'

By MIKE SULLIVAN, Crime Editor | December 27, 2010

THE codebreaker found dead in a sports bag was being prepared for an undercover assignment by MI6, it was claimed yesterday.

Gareth Williams - on attachment to the secret service from GCHQ - had two passports and had been given a new identity, a close pal said.

Fashion stylist Sian Lloyd-Jones insisted Mr Williams was not gay.

She refuted police suggestions the 31-year-old died after a bizarre sex game - which involved him being locked in the bag by another person - went wrong.

And she insisted 15,000-worth of unopened designer dresses and shoes found at his flat in Pimlico, central London, were intended as gifts for her and his sister Ceri.

Ms Lloyd-Jones, 33 - a friend of the maths genius since they were at school together in North Wales - said: "He was so generous you wouldn't believe."

Referring to the gay hints, she added: "I'm not in denial and nor is his mum, dad or sister.

"I truly believe if he had any interest in homosexuality he would have spoken to his sister and to me as well."

Mr Williams accessed five bondage websites before he died, several featuring claustrophilia, in which people are aroused by confined spaces. And cops remain convinced his death was connected to his sex life.

A source said: "Ms Lloyd-Jones' comments appear designed to salvage the reputation of her friend Mr Williams.

"They also tend to suggest the motive for his death could have something to do with his professional life. We do not believe that is the case."

Express : MI6 SPY LOCKED IN BAG GARETH WILLIAMS ‘WASN’T GAY’

MI6 SPY LOCKED IN BAG GARETH WILLIAMS ‘WASN’T GAY’

The mystery over MI6 spy Gareth Williams’ death deepened yesterday

By Cyril Dixon | December 27, 2010

THE mystery over MI6 spy Gareth Williams’ death deepened yesterday after a friend said he was not gay and was about to begin a new tour of duty.

Sian Lloyd-Jones claimed the maths genius, 31, was set to take on a new identity for an assignment with the intelligence agency.

The 33-year-old former school friend of Mr Williams claimed £15,000 worth of women’s clothes and accessories found in his flat were gifts for someone else. The naked body of Mr Williams, a Cambridge-educated codebreaker, was found inside a padlocked holdall at his flat in Pimlico, central London, last August.

Last week police revealed details of the unworn designer clothes and wigs in his wardrobe, and released images of a couple they wanted to trace.

But Miss Lloyd-Jones said the outfits were probably gifts for herself or his sister Ceri.

“He said he was learning his new identity,” she said. “It was all so relaxed. That night he came over with his box file and started going through it. He had two passports.

“He was open with his family, and if he was gay and had any temptations he would have spoken about them.”

Police say it would have been impossible for him to lock himself in the holdall.

Independent : Dead MI6 spy 'was to assume new identity'

Dead MI6 spy 'was to assume new identity'

By Chris Corbishley | December 27, 2010

The MI6 spy Gareth Williams was training to take on a new identity eight months before he was found dead, a friend claimed yesterday. Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, also insisted that he was not gay, after detectives had suggested the 31-year-old may have died at the hands of a mystery bondage sex partner.

Ms Lloyd-Jones told The Mail on Sunday: "He said he was learning his new identity... [One] night he came over with his box file and started going through it. He had two passports." Police have said it would have been impossible for Williams to lock himself in the holdall in which he was found dead in his flat in Pimlico in August.

Evidence indicates other people were in his flat, but detectives have been unable to trace them. An inquest will be held at Westminster Coroner's Court on 15 February.

Gulf News : Spy found dead at home was assigned new identity

Spy found dead at home was assigned new identity

Details of the 31-year-old's role within the secret services are disclosed in an interview with his confidante and childhood sweetheart, Sian Lloyd-Jones

By Daniel Boffey, Daily Mail | December 27, 2010

London: The spy found dead in a sports bag had been given a new identity by his MI6 bosses in the months leading up to his mysterious death.

Gareth Williams, a GCHQ codebreaker on secondment to MI6, had two passports and told his best friend that he was preparing for an undercover operation.

Details of the 31-year-old's role within the secret services are disclosed today in an interview with his confidante and childhood sweetheart, Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, she said: "I find it difficult to see anything in his personal life which could lie behind this."

Williams was training to take on a new identity eight months before he was found dead, she said.

The maths genius was found dead two days before he was due to visit Paris with his sister.

The revelations shed new light on Williams' work which, until now, had been regarded as highly technical and carrying little risk.

Training exercise

His body was found inside a zipped and padlocked North Face holdall in the bathroom of his MI6 flat on August 23. A post-mortem was inconclusive.

"He said he was learning his new identity," Lloyd-Jones said.

"In February he said he'd be unavailable for nine days because he was on a training exercise. He'd often go away, so I didn't think any more about it."

She added that she last heard from Williams on the day he was last seen alive when he was "happy and warm and the same as he always was".