Holyhead and Anglesey Mail : Progress made in MI6 spy death case

Progress made in MI6 spy death case

September 19, 2012

POLICE investigating the death of a spy whose body was found in a holdall are in direct contact with the head of MI6, a senior officer has said.

There is a “very good line of communication” with the intelligence service over Gareth Williams’ mysterious death but the investigation remains “tricky”, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

The codebreaker from Valley, was found in the bag which was in the bath at his flat in central London in August 2010, and no significant progress has been made in finding out how he died.

Earlier this year Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe ordered that detectives investigating his death must have direct contact with MI6.

Previously investigators were forced to involve counter-terror colleagues in an attempt to obtain statements and evidence but Mr Hogan-Howe was angered by delays in passing information to a senior investigator.

Mr Rowley said: “We’ve got access to everyone we need to speak to. We’ve got a much clearer arrangement and got a direct line of sight and communications. I can speak personally direct to the head of Six, so we’ve got a very good line of communications. But it remains a tricky case.

“On the one hand, of course you need to respect national security and on the other hand, of course you need to do a penetrating and thorough investigation.

“Squaring that circle is a challenge and what we’ve learned is that the way we tried to square that circle in the first stage of the investigation was not quite right.”

In May coroner Fiona Wilcox said that 31-year-old Williams was “probably” killed and she was sure someone else locked him in the bag. But she said it is “unlikely” that the mystery would ever be solved because of mistakes by investigators.

She also questioned why details of Mr Williams’s private life were leaked to the press.

Mr Rowley said: “Williams is a challenging guy to understand, his personal life and his circumstances, his history. We’ve got to try and understand what was going on and what led to such an unusual and suspicious death. But we’ve got full co-operation.

“People can come to their own conclusions without knowing all the evidence about exactly how the bag was secured. We’re still working on the basis that we expect there was somebody else was present.”

This Is Somerset : MI6 opens up to police for inquiry into spy's mystery death

MI6 opens up to police for inquiry into spy's mystery death

Western Daily Press | September 14, 2012

Police investigating the death of a spy whose body was found in a holdall are in direct contact with the head of MI6, a senior officer has said.

There is a "very good line of communication" with the intelligence service over Cheltenham-based Gareth Williams' mysterious death but the investigation remains "tricky", Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

The codebreaker was found naked in the bag in the bath at his flat in central London in August 2010, and no significant progress has been made in finding out how he died, but Mr Rowley said police are still "working on the basis that we expect there was somebody else present".

Earlier this year, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe ordered that detectives must have direct contact with MI6.

Investigators were previously forced to involve counter-terror colleagues in an attempt to obtain statements and evidence but Mr Hogan-Howe was angered by delays.

Mr Rowley said: "On the one hand, of course you need to respect national security and on the other hand, you need to do a thorough investigation.

"Squaring that circle is a challenge and what we've learned is that the way we tried to square that circle in the first stage of the investigation was not quite right."

In May, coroner Fiona Wilcox said that 31-year-old Williams was "probably" killed and that she was sure someone else locked him in the bag.

But she said it is "unlikely" that the mystery would ever be solved because of mistakes by investigators.

Dr Wilcox said several factors hampered inquiries, such as breakdowns in communication by her own coroner's office, a DNA mix-up by forensics and the late submission of evidence by MI6 to police.

She also questioned why details of Mr Williams's private life were leaked to the press. It was suggested he had an interest in bondage and drag queens.

Mr Rowley said the fitness enthusiast, originally from Anglesey, North Wales, was difficult to understand.

"Williams is a challenging guy to understand, his personal life and his circumstances, his history," he said.

"People can come to their own conclusions."

UKPA : Spy death police 'working with MI6'

Spy death police 'working with MI6'

September 13, 2012

Police investigating the death of a spy whose body was found in a holdall in central London are in direct contact with the head of MI6, a senior officer has said.

There is a "very good line of communication" with the intelligence service over Gareth Williams's mysterious death but the investigation remains "tricky", Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

The codebreaker was found naked in the bag which was in the bath at his flat in August 2010, and no significant progress has been made in finding out how he died.

Earlier this year Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe ordered that detectives investigating his death must have direct contact with MI6.

Previously investigators were forced to involve counter-terror colleagues in an attempt to obtain statements and evidence but Mr Hogan-Howe was angered by delays in passing information to a senior investigator.

Mr Rowley said: "We've got access to everyone we need to speak to. We've got a much clearer arrangement and got a direct line of sight and communications. I can speak personally direct to the head of Six, so we've got a very good line of communications. But it remains a tricky case.

"On the one hand, of course you need to respect national security and on the other hand, of course you need to do a penetrating and thorough investigation.

"Squaring that circle is a challenge and what we've learned is that the way we tried to square that circle in the first stage of the investigation was not quite right."

In May coroner Fiona Wilcox said that 31-year-old Williams was "probably" killed and that she was sure someone else locked him in the bag. But she said it is "unlikely" that the mystery would ever be solved because of mistakes by investigators.

Dr Wilcox said several factors hampered inquiries, such as breakdowns in communication by her own coroner's office, a DNA mix-up by forensics and the late submission of evidence by MI6 to police.

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

BBC : MI6 co-operates with police over Gareth Williams death

MI6 co-operates with police over Gareth Williams death

September 13, 2012

Police investigating the death of the MI6 officer Gareth Williams say they are in direct contact with senior staff at the intelligence agency.

The code-breaker from Anglesey, who was 31, was found locked in a sports holdall at his central London flat in August 2010.

One Scotland Yard officer described the unsolved case as "tricky".

In May this year a coroner recorded a narrative verdict, saying it was likely that Mr Williams was killed unlawfully.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said MI6 was providing detectives with information.

National security

"We've got access to everyone we need to speak to," he said. "I can speak... direct to the head of Six, so we've got a very good line of communications. But it remains a tricky case.

"On the one hand, of course you need to respect national security and on the other hand, of course you need to do a penetrating and thorough investigation.

"Squaring that circle is a challenge, and what we've learned is that the way we tried to square that circle in the first stage of the investigation was not quite right."

The naked body of Mr Williams was found in the bag in the bath of his home in Pimlico.

By the time police were alerted to his disappearance, he had not been at work for a week and there was extensive decomposition of his body.

At the inquest the coroner, Fiona Wilcox, said: "Most of the fundamental questions in relation to how Gareth died remain unanswered," including how the bag and body came to be in the bath.

'Challenging guy'

After the verdict, the Metropolitan Police said they intended to re-focus their efforts, based on the evidence heard and the new lines of inquiry that had emerged during the hearing.

Officers said they intended to develop DNA profiles they already possessed, and analyse telephone communications, to try to shed light on Mr Williams's final days.

Assistant Commissioner Rowley said: "Williams is a challenging guy to understand, his personal life and his circumstances, his history.

"People can come to their own conclusions without knowing all the evidence about exactly how the bag was secured. We're still working on the basis that we expect there was somebody else present."

Wales Online : Police "working with MI6" over Gareth Williams spy death investigation

Police "working with MI6" over Gareth Williams spy death investigation

Wales Online | September 13, 2012

Police investigating the death of a spy whose body was found in a holdall are in direct contact with the head of MI6, a senior officer has said.

There is a “very good line of communication” with the intelligence service over Gareth Williams’ mysterious death but the investigation remains “tricky”, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

The Welsh codebreaker was found naked in the bag which was in the bath at his flat in central London in August 2010, and no significant progress has been made in finding out how he died.

Earlier this year Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe ordered that detectives investigating his death must have direct contact with MI6.

Previously investigators were forced to involve counter-terror colleagues in an attempt to obtain statements and evidence but Mr Hogan-Howe was angered by delays in passing information to a senior investigator.

Mr Rowley said: “We’ve got access to everyone we need to speak to. We’ve got a much clearer arrangement and got a direct line of sight and communications. I can speak personally direct to the head of Six, so we’ve got a very good line of communications. But it remains a tricky case.

“On the one hand, of course you need to respect national security and on the other hand, of course you need to do a penetrating and thorough investigation.

“Squaring that circle is a challenge and what we’ve learned is that the way we tried to square that circle in the first stage of the investigation was not quite right.”

In May coroner Fiona Wilcox said that 31-year-old Williams was “probably” killed and that she was sure someone else locked him in the bag. But she said it is “unlikely” that the mystery would ever be solved because of mistakes by investigators.

Dr Wilcox said several factors hampered inquiries, such as breakdowns in communication by her own coroner’s office, a DNA mix-up by forensics and the late submission of evidence by MI6 to police.

She also questioned why details of Mr Williams’s private life were leaked to the press. It was suggested he had an interest in bondage and drag queens.

Mr Rowley said the fitness enthusiast, originally from Anglesey, was difficult to understand.

“Williams is a challenging guy to understand, his personal life and his circumstances, his history. We’ve got to try and understand what was going on and what led to such an unusual and suspicious death. But we’ve got full co-operation,” he said.

“People can come to their own conclusions without knowing all the evidence about exactly how the bag was secured. We’re still working on the basis that we expect there was somebody else was present.”

Isle Of Man dot com : Leading barrister to lecture on-Island next month

Leading barrister to lecture on-Island next month  

September 11, 2012

A unique insight into the workings of a coroner's court will be offered by a London barrister at a lecture organised by the Isle of Man Law Society next month.

 As coroner of Westminster, Dr Fiona Wilcox recently presided over the Gareth Williams 'spy in the bag' case.

 He was the M16 agent whose body was discovered in a holdall at his London flat in August 2010.

Dr Wilcox has Manx connections, is dual-qualified as a barrister and a doctor, and worked at the old Noble's Hospital before her career took her to the UK.

Jane O'Rourke is chief executive at the Law Society.

She says the lecture from an eminent coroner handling high-profile cases will have wide appeal to the public:

the lecture is on October 5 at the Claremont Hotel in Douglas.