Telegraph : Interest in women's clothing and sadomasochism would not have prevented Gareth Williams joining MI6, inquest hears

Interest in women's clothing and sadomasochism would not have prevented Gareth Williams joining MI6, inquest hears

Gareth Williams' apparent penchant for womens’ clothing and sadomasochism websites may not have prevented him becoming a spy, a senior MI6 officer has suggested.

By Tom Whitehead, Security editor | April 26, 2012

The woman officer, who can only be identified as 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 insight in to secret service vetting came during the inquest in to Mr Williams, whose naked, decomposing body was discovered in a locked holdall in his bath in a flat in Pimlico in August 2010.

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 yesterday that he was also once discovered tied to his own bed wearing only boxer shorts.

Speaking from behind a large screen, the MI6 agent said she could not comment specifically on Mr Williams but added: “There is no template for what that individual should be or what their lifestyle should be.

“Individuals have lifestyle and sexual choices or preferences that are perfectly legitimate.

“Our concern in the vetting process is to identify whether anything in an individual's background lifestyle creates a risk to him.”

Asked if Mr Williams would have been required to reveal he had bought the womens’ clothes, she said: “No.”

The inquest also heard that Mr Williams had conducted unauthorised searches on the MI6 database that could have put him at risk to “hostile and malign” parties.

The officer did not say what the searches were but accepted such activities could “theoretically” put him at risk if a third party had known but MI6 did not.

However, she said there was no evidence of that and insisted reviews had shown no link between Mr Williams’ work and his death.

The agent added that MI6 was “profoundly sorry” for the delays in realising that Mr Williams was missing.

The spy was missing for a week before the agency raised the alarm and police found his decomposing body.

A member of Mr Williams’ family became distressed after hearing that his line manager, who should have noticed earlier, has not been disciplined.

On Wednesday, the inquest heard how Mr Williams was once found having tied himself to his bed.

The codebreaker had to call for help in the middle of the night after managing to tie himself so tight his bindings were cutting in to his wrists while living in Cheltenham in 2007.

The embarrassed spy had to be released by his landlady and landlord, who were left shocked after discovering him bound and wearing just his boxer shorts.

He insisted he was just “messing around” and trying to see if he could release himself but Jennifer and Brian Ellliot believed it had a sexual motive.

A member of staff who worked at the upmarket west London fashion store Dover Street Market recalled him coming in regularly and buying women's items he said were for his girlfriend.

But Elizabeth Guthrie, a friend of Mr Williams, insisted he was not gay and may have bought the clothes as “support” for his female friends.

Ms Guthrie also revealed he had sometimes gone by another name and used different phones.

Earlier in the inquest, Superintendent Michael Broster, from the Met’s SO15 – the counter-terrorism unit – could not guarantee that Mr Williams’ work computers had not been tampered with after his death.

He told how he acted as a "conduit" between the Met's murder squad, who were investigating the death, and GCHQ and MI6.

He revealed his GCHQ computer was not handed over until six days after his body was discovered and the MI6 one four days later.

Supt Broster insisted there was nothing to suggest a link between his work and his death but under cross-examination by Anthony O'Toole, representing the family, he admitted he could not “say absolutely definitely”.