Telegraph : MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'discovered in bed with hands tied to headboard'

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'discovered in bed with hands tied to headboard'

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was once discovered tied to his bed posts wearing only boxer shorts, the inquest in to his death heard.

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | April 25, 2012

The maths prodigy was living alone in Cheltenham at the time and had to call for help in the middle of the night to be set free.

His landlady and landlord, who lived below him heard his yells and were met with the “shocking” scene, Westminster Coroners’ Court heard.

It is the first time the incident has been revealed and emerged in a written statement from landlady Jennifer Elliot at the inquest in to Mr Williams, who was found dead in a sports bag in the bath at his London flat in 2010.

The death sparked widespread conspiracy theories including suggestions he had been involved in some kind of sex game that went tragically wrong.

Searches of his home computers seized after his death revealed that he had been visited "websites of claustrophillia, and he also had access to bondage and sado masochism websites, the inquest has heard earlier in the day.

In 2007, Mr Williams was living in an annexe above Jennifer and Brian Elliot’s home in Cheltenham when the couple heard cries for help around 1.30 one winter night.

They let themselves in to the flat and discovered Mr Williams, who was working at GCHQ at the time, lying on his back with both hands tied to the knobs of the his bed posts and wearing boxer shorts.

The spy did not “appear aroused”, Mrs Elliot said, but he was "very embarrassed, panicky and apologetic".

He was tied with some material that was so tight it was cutting in to his wrists but insisted he was “just messing about”.

Mrs Elliot added: “My husband said ‘What the bloody hell are you doing?’ and he just said he wanted to try and get himself free."

Mr Ellliot cut him free adding: “Gareth we cannot have you doing this.”

Mr Williams offered to pay more rent but Mrs Elliot refused.

She added: “My husband and I discussed it and said it was more likely to be sexual than escapology or similar but cannot be sure.

“There was nothing a sexual or fetishtistique nature in the flat” she added and she did not think of Mr Williams as “sexual”.

The three never spoke about the incident again.

Mr Williams had planned to return to the flat after completing a three year secondment in London but in August 2010 his naked decomposing body was found in padlocked holdall in his flat in Pimlico.

Earlier in the inquest, a senior counter-terrorism police officer could not guarantee that security service computer equipment belonging to Mr Williams had not being tampered with after his death.

Superintendent Michael Broster, from the Met’s SO15, 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”.

Mr O’Toole suggested he had accepted GCHQ’s word that there was nothing of relevance in his computer because it was “almost like the Old Boys Act, they told you that and you accepted it”.

The officer strongly denied the claim but when quizzed whether he could be sure that Mr William’s MI6 computer hadn’t been interfered with, he said: “I can't specify absolutely that it wasn't interfered with, but I have no reason to suspect that it was."

It also emerged that no witness statements were compiled for the interviews carried out with the security service officers and those questioned were not given the opportunity to check the summaries that were written up.

Mr O’Toole claimed at least two believed the summaries were inaccurate in some way.

Earlier, friend Elizabeth Guthrie insisted Mr Williams was “straight” and would never consider cross-dressing for sexual purposes.

The inquest has already heard that Mr Williams had £20,000 worth of expensive womens’ clothing and shoes in his flat.

Miss Guthrie, known as Missa, who had known Mr Williams since 2009, said he may have had women’s clothing in his flat as “support strategy” for female friends.

She revealed the pair had planned to go to a fancy dress party in bright clothes and wigs as Manga characters - Japanese cartoon characters.

At the end of the hearing a woman, believed to be a member of the Williams family, was heard hyperventalating and the court was cleared.

It was not possible to see who it was as the family were sitting behind the screen set up to mask the security witnesses from the press.

Mr Williams mother, Ellen, and his sister Ceri are among those who have been attending the hearing.

The hearing continues.