Express : SECRET AGENTS MAY HAVE KILLED SPY IN THE BAG SAYS DETECTIVE

SECRET AGENTS MAY HAVE KILLED SPY IN THE BAG SAYS DETECTIVE

By Cyril Dixon | May 2, 2012

A SENIOR detective admitted yesterday that a member of the British secret service might have killed body-in-the-bag spy Gareth Williams.

Detective Superintendent Michael Broster said he could not rule out intelligence agents being involved in the brilliant codebreaker’s death.

The admission came as Det Supt Broster was accused of giving MI6 too much control over evidence relating to the 31-year-old’s death.

In a day of fiery exchanges at the inquest into Mr Williams’ death, he was asked why he did not seize all his property from MI6 headquarters.

Instead, he allowed Secret Intelligence Service officers to examine the items discovered in Mr Williams’ locker and near his desk.

Anthony O’Toole, the Williams family solicitor, said: “So if the person who killed Gareth Williams is a ­member of SIS, you did nothing to investigate him?”

Det Supt Broster replied: “You are putting words in my mouth. If they are a member of SIS, they should be tracked down and prosecuted like anybody else.”

He added: “I am not saying a ­member of the SIS is not involved. I don’t know.”

The officer – a member of Scotland Yard’s SO15 counter-terrorism branch – was appointed linkman between the spies and police investigating Mr ­Williams’ death. His task was to seize potentially-important evidence and hand it over to Detective Chief ­Inspector Jackie Sebire, the lead officer looking into the mystery.

But the SO15 officer admitted nine computer memory sticks and a North Face holdall, like the one Mr Williams’ body was in, had been left with MI6.

Spy chiefs were allowed to analyse them and Det Chief Insp Sebire knew nothing of the sticks until yesterday.

Westminster Coroner Fiona Wilcox said to him: “I suggest in fact ­Detective Superintendent Broster that you have not been completely impartial in this case.” The officer said he was “completely impartial”, but added: “With hindsight it is something SO15 could have done.”

He insisted that he had recovered and passed on all “relevant” information and said the security service was “trusted” and “responsible”.

Super-fit cyclist Mr Williams was on secondment at MI6 from the GCHQ listening centre in Cheltenham, Glos.

His naked body was found inside a padlocked red holdall in his flat in Pimlico, London, on August 23.

The hearing continues.