Telegraph : Gareth Williams' relatives break down as inquest hears MI6 did not notice codebreaker missing

Gareth Williams' relatives break down as inquest hears MI6 did not notice codebreaker missing

The family of MI6 spy Gareth Williams were left horrified on Thursday as they heard no-one was disciplined over a litany of failures by the security services to notice the codebreaker was missing.

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | April 26, 2012

The inquest in to Mr Williams’ death had to be halted as one member of his family shrieked and broke down as further details over the debacle which left the spy undiscovered for a week were disclosed.

A senior MI6 officer said the service was “profoundly sorry” and that the delays had made it harder for the family to “come to terms with his dreadful death”.

The scenes came on another dramatic day of evidence at the inquest in to Mr Williams’ death, whose decomposing, naked body was found in a padlocked holdall in his flat in Pimlico in August 2010.

It emerged Mr Williams had conducted unauthorised searches of secret MI6 files which could have put him at risk from “hostile and malign” forces.

But his apparent penchant for womens’ clothing and sadomasochism websites may not have prevented him becoming a spy, it was suggested.

The family of Mr Williams have found the evidence increasingly hard to listen to in the first four days of the hearing as it became apparent that his absence failed to spark any concern.

The spy, normally a meticulous time keeper, failed to show up for work at MI6 for a week before his body was discovered and should have attended two pre-arranged meetings during that time.

But despite his sensitive job, his absence barely raised a flicker and led to only cursory attempts to raise him on the phone.

Even when his secret service bosses finally decided he was missing on Monday August 23rd it still took another four hours before they reported it to the police.

Helen Yelland, from GCHQ where Mr Williams had been due to return, said there was “confusion” over who was responsible for his whereabouts.

A senior manager at MI6, who can only be identified as SIS F, told the hearing from behind a screen: “We are profoundly sorry about what happened.

"It shouldn't have happened and we recognise that the delay in finding Gareth's body has made it even harder for the family to come to terms with his dreadful death and we are truly sorry for that.

"I also appreciate the delay had some impact on the police investigation."

Despite blaming Mr Williams' line manager for the "breakdown in communication", the officer revealed that no one had been disciplined over the incident.

A female member of the family, who were also sat behind the screen, reacted with shock over the news and the hearing had to be briefly adjourned.

A member of the family was also heard hyperventilating on Wednesday after hearing of the lack of effort to find Mr Williams.

Anthony O’Toole, the lawyer for the family, accused the agencies of a "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety".

He blamed the delay for preventing the family from saying goodbye to Mr Williams while his body was in an "acceptable form" and for making it more or less impossible for detectives to establish how he died.

SIS F also revealed Mr Williams had carried out a number of searches of the secret service database without permission but did not explain what they were.

She admitted such “activities” could “theoretically” have put him at greater risk of pressure from other forces.

She said if they knew of his activities but not MI6 then: “a third party with hostile or malign intent could theoretically use that knowledge to put some pressure on Gareth”.

However, she insisted there was no evidence such a breach in security has occurred.

She also dismissed family concerns that “dark arts” had been involved in his death or after, insisting no security officers had been to the flat.

She said Mr Williams at GCHQ, before being seconded to MI6, had been “world class” and that he had been “operational” at MI6 and had worked at times alongside two undercover agents.

The inquest also heard how Mr Williams apparent penchant for womens’ clothing and sadomasochism websites may not have prevented him becoming a spy.

SIS F said vetting processes focused on “trustworthiness, integrity and reliability” in handling “sensitive information.

She said people can have “lifestyle choices” that are “perfectly legitimate” but that the service would want to know about them in case their background puts them at risk.

The inquest has already heard Mr Williams had £20,000 worth of womens’clothing in his flat and had visited websites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - and bondage and sadomasochism.

It emerged on Wednesday that he was also once discovered tied to his own bed wearing only boxer shorts.