Sun : Landlady found spook Gareth 'tied to bed

Landlady found spook Gareth 'tied to bed

By TOM WELLS | April 26, 2012

A FORMER landlady of “spy in the bag” Gareth Williams told an inquest yesterday how she once found him tied to his bed wearing just boxer shorts.

Jenny Elliot, 73, discovered the MI6 codebreaker lying with his hands and arms trussed to the headboard at 1.30am.

She told the hearing she and her husband heard screams from his room. Mrs Elliot said: “We both got up and got the spare key and opened the door to the annexe. I then called, ‘Are you okay?’, and he replied, ‘Can you help me?’

“We both went upstairs to find him lying on his back with both his hands and arms tied with material which was separately attached to each bobble at the end of the headboard.”

She said the “embarrassed” spy, who was cut free, was “not aroused”. He apologised, said he was “just messing about” and told the couple: “I just wanted to see if I could get myself free.”

Mrs Elliot added: “He offered to pay more (rent) money which we declined.” She and her husband concluded Mr Williams’ behaviour “was more likely to be sexual than escapology”.

The incident happened three years before the spy was found dead at 31. He had rented a room off the couple in Cheltenham, Gloucs, since 1998 while working at GCHQ in the town.

Mr Williams’ body was found inside a padlocked sports holdall at his flat in Pimlico, London, on August 23, 2010.

His boss at MI6 admitted he did not report him missing for TEN days. The officer — ‘Witness G’ — said he had assumed Mr Williams was on another project. He claimed he had not alerted senior officers earlier because they were on holiday or operations. Coroner Fiona Wilcox blasted: “Was anyone from MI6 in?”

Westminster Coroner’s Court heard Mr Williams, of Anglesey, often bought women’s clothes.

Pal Elizabeth Guthrie was asked if he had expressed an interest in cross-dressing. She replied: “Nothing of a sexual bent.” She said the women’s clothes at the flat “would not have been for him”.

The inquest heard Mr Williams’ computer showed visits to websites on claustrophilia — the love of enclosure. The hearing continues.