SMH : Date rape drug found in body of MI6 spy

Date rape drug found in body of MI6 spy

Tom Whitehead | April 28, 2012

LONDON: Traces of the date rape drug GHB were found in the body of Gareth Williams, the MI6 spy, an inquest has heard, as experts said they were unable to rule out that he was poisoned.

Small amounts of the Class C drug, which has sedative effects, were found in post-mortem tests.

Denise Stanworth, a toxicologist, told the inquest the traces had probably occurred naturally, which is common shortly after death, but it was possible that Mr Williams had taken the drug.

A panel of forensics experts which reviewed the post-mortem findings was unable to rule out the use of certain poisons, such as cyanide and chloroform, because the body was so decomposed, the inquest heard.

Ms Stanworth said it was unlikely Mr Williams had been given some "old fashioned poison" but she could not rule out other "volatile agents".

The inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court has heard how Mr Williams's naked body was in a padlocked holdall in his London flat for more than a week before it was discovered in August 2010.

While there were no obvious signs of poisoning, the level of decomposition made it impossible to test for certain substances, the hearing was told on Thursday.

A number of drugs and poisons were ruled out, but abuse of amyl and alkyl nitrites, such as poppers, and "lots of substances that could have caused poisoning and death" could not be detected nine days after death, the inquest heard. When asked if the toxicology findings were reliable, Ms Stanworth said: "In terms of many of the drugs, many of the analyses of the drugs, it was reliable. In terms of the more volatile substances, in terms of certain unstable substances, [it was] not that reliable."

The inquest also heard it was impossible to tell whether Mr Williams was alive or dead when he got into the bag.

At one stage, the inquest had to be halted after a member of Mr Williams's family broke down when an MI6 manager disclosed that no one had been disciplined over the errors that led to the code-breaker's body lying undiscovered for so long.

The spy, a meticulous timekeeper, failed to show up for work for a week and should have attended two meetings during that time. But his absence led to only cursory attempts to raise him on the phone. Even when his secret service bosses finally decided he was missing on August 23, it took another four hours before they contacted the police.

A senior manager at MI6, identified only 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."

Despite blaming Mr Williams's line manager for the "breakdown in communication", SIS F said no one had been disciplined over the incident.

A female member of the family, who also sat behind the screen, reacted with shock to the disclosure and the hearing was briefly adjourned.

Anthony O'Toole, the lawyer for the family, accused the security agencies of a "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety". He blamed the delay for denying the family the chance to say 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 disclosed that Mr Williams had carried out several searches of the secret service database without permission. She admitted that if a "hostile or malign" third party knew of his activities, it could "theoretically use that knowledge to put some pressure on Gareth".

Telegraph, London