Metro : Test delays add to mystery of spy Gareth Williams' death

Test delays add to mystery of spy Gareth Williams' death

By Tariq Tahir | April 26, 2012

An expert witness could not rule out the possibility a spy found dead in a locked bag was poisoned – as it took MI6 a week to realise he was missing.

Forensic specialist Denise Stanworth said although no ‘volatile agents’ were found in Gareth Williams’ system, the finding was inconclusive as he was not examined until nine days after he died.

She told an inquest it was also possible he had taken party drug GHB, as traces of it were found in his system. But as GHB – the chemical gamma-hydroxybutyrate – occurs naturally in blood and urine, the delay examining the body made it difficult to tell if he had taken it or not.

‘If someone had taken GHB close to the time of death you would expect the urine level to be much higher,’ she said.

MI6 has previously apologised at the inquest for the delay in noticing the disappearance of Mr Williams, 31, who was found in the bathtub of his home in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.

The lack of forensic evidence adds to the mystery surrounding his death.
M16 admits his secret intelligence work could have brought him into contact with a ‘hostile party’, but there is also a suspicion he got inside the locked bag for a thrill.

He visited websites about claustrophilia – the love of enclosure – and his landlady once found him tied to his bed. The hearing at Westminster coroner’s court continues.

Guardian : MI6 offers 'profound apology' for delay in reporting Gareth Williams missing

MI6 offers 'profound apology' for delay in reporting Gareth Williams missing

Inquest told delay had 'horrendous' consequences for police investigation into MI6 officer's death

Caroline Davies | April 26, 2012

The Secret Intelligence Service has offered a "profound apology" over delays in reporting MI6 officer Gareth Williams missing, as his inquest heard decomposition meant tests could not establish whether certain drugs or poisons were in his system.

Relatives of the 31-year-old, found dead in a padlocked bag in his flat, broke down as their lawyer said the delay had had "horrendous" consequences for the police investigation leaving it "in essence, almost defeated".

His mother, Ellen, was led sobbing from the court as the inquest heard her son's MI6 line manager, who failed to report him missing from work for seven days, had not faced disciplinary action.

Westminster coroner's court heard decomposition meant any possible presence of a number of substances and anaesthetic agents – such as amyl and alkyl nitrates (or poppers), chloroform, helium, and others which "could have caused poisoning and death" – would not have been detected in the body when the postmortem examination was conducted.

Williams's top-floor flat in Pimlico was extremely hot when his body was finally found on 23 August 2010, seven days after failing to turn up for work. Toxicology tests were conducted two days later.

They revealed alcohol and traces of the "date-rape" drug GHB in his blood and urine, but a panel of experts said both, which occur naturally, were "more likely to be down to decomposition". Forensic scientist Denise Stanworth said that although ingestion could not be completely ruled out, it was "more likely to be due to postmortem production" .

She thought it unlikely poisons had been administered, because of the lack of side effects such as vomit, but told the hearing it could not be ruled out.

The expert panel, which examined the test results, said it could not be established "whether Gareth was alive or dead when he entered the bag".

An SIS internal review had found no link between his death and the intelligence work Williams carried out for MI6 or for GCHQ, from where he was on secondment.

Speaking from behind a screen, a senior MI6 officer known only as F, denied "dark arts" were behind his death, but did concede "theoretically" that a "malign or hostile party" could have put pressure on him.

She apologised to his family as their lawyer, Anthony O'Toole, accused SIS of showing "a total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety".

"We are profoundly sorry about what happened. It shouldn't have happened. We recognise that the delay has made it even harder for the family to come to terms with Gareth's death."

"I also appreciate the delay had some impact on the police investigation," she said.

She was asked if aspects of Williams's private life – the inquest has heard of his £20,000 collection of women's clothes, and that he accessed websites about claustrophilia, bondage and sadomasochism – might have "rendered him unsuitable for SIS work".

She replied it was "a sensitive area" of questioning as it related to vetting issues, but in general lifestyle and sexual preferences would not in themselves have posed a problem.

Williams, whose job was "developing practical applications for emerging technologies" was described as a "fully deployable highly talented officer", said F.

There was no reason to think foreign intelligence services or security organisation represented a threat to him. His security assessment was that he was "low risk", said F. His work had never taken him to Russia or Afghanistan, contrary to media speculation, the inquest heard. He had been on operational deployment only in the UK.

Contrary to media reports, the flat he was living in was "not an SIS safe house", said F, who understood it had been rented through his employers at GCHQ.

SIS did not carry out an independent internal investigation into his death. But 12 months later, they conducted a "comprehensive internal review".

"It confirmed we had no evidence of any specific threat to Gareth arising out of his work for SIS," said F. It concluded there was no reason to think his death was in any way connected with his job.

His role was to "think up and design technology" to support other operators. "He had a highly skilled, very able technical brain," said F.

"Everyone in SIS found him a very pleasant individual, a good colleague, respected for his talents. An intensely private individual," said F. She added Williams did not socialise with colleagues out of work. "He liked to keep his work life very separate from the rest of his life."

The hearing continues.

UKPA : Spy poisoning 'cannot be ruled out'

Spy poisoning 'cannot be ruled out'

April 26, 2012

Scientists cannot rule out that spy Gareth Williams was poisoned before being dumped in a bag because it took MI6 a week to realise he was missing, an inquest has heard.

Traces of a drug matching the party drug GHB appeared in his bloodstream - but forensic expert Denise Stanworth said it "probably" appeared naturally after he died. She added that "we cannot rule out volatile agents" as she was asked how reliable toxicology can be nine days after death.

Ms Stanworth also said it was impossible to say if there was any sign of the legal high poppers, acknowledging that the drug "could have caused loss of consciousness or death".

MI6 had earlier apologised for failing to raise the alarm about his disappearance, conceding the error may have hampered police inquiries.

Relatives walked out on the inquest in tears as a senior spy said the secret service was "profoundly sorry" for delays in noticing he was missing.

The family's lawyer accused MI6 of showing "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety" before he was found dead in his London home on August 23, 2010.

Mr Williams, who was largely teetotal, had 78mg per 100ml of alcohol in his blood when toxicology tests were carried out on his decomposed body.

Ms Stanworth said the traces of GHB was "likely to be post-mortem production". When asked how reliable tests could be, she added: "In terms of many of the drugs, reliable, but in terms of the more volatile substances, not that reliable."

MI6 earlier denied "dark arts" were behind his death, despite saying a malign or hostile party could have "theoretically put some pressure on to Gareth".

The inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court was adjourned until Friday.

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Sky : Spy Inquest: MI6 'Profoundly Sorry' For Delay

Spy Inquest: MI6 'Profoundly Sorry' For Delay

By Mark Stone | April 26, 2012

An MI6 officer has apologised for failing to raise the alarm about the disappearance of spy Gareth Williams whose body was found in a padlocked sports bag in his London flat.

Relatives of Mr Williams walked out of the inquest into his death in tears after they heard the secret service witness say she was "profoundly sorry" for the pain it had caused.

The senior MI6 intelligence officer, known only as witness 'F', said that Mr Williams' line manager, known as witness 'G', did not report that Mr Williams had been missing for a week.

The family's lawyer accused MI6 of showing "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety" before he was found dead in his London home on August 23, 2010 - 12 days after he failed to turn up to work.

Witness 'F' said that witness 'G' had not been the subject of any disciplinary action despite the delay.

Mr Williams' naked and decomposing body was found in the large holdall in the bath of his home in Alderney Street, Pimlico.

Some 20-months on his death still remains a mystery.

Giving evidence from behind a screen to protect her identity, witness 'F' said there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Williams' death was connected to his work.

She said when he had been vetted to work - both with GCHQ , the government listening station, and MI6 - he was rated very low risk.

No foreign intelligence agency was aware of Mr Williams or the job he did, so there was no threat to him and neither was he ever a target, she said.

His work was based in the UK, she said, dismissing reports that he had been to Russia and Afghanistan.

The GCHQ codebreaker was working at MI6, where he was just a few days away from finishing a year-long secondment.

Relatives of the 31-year-old have demanded to find out if his death was covered up by secret services - and why the alarm was not raised when he failed to turn up to work.

Officer 'F' told the inquest she had "no knowledge" of a cover-up.

She said no secret agents went into Mr Williams' flat before or after his body was found - and neither had counter-terrorism police or other agencies.

Asked if Mr Williams' flat was an MI6 "safehouse", the witness replied: "It was not."

Toxicologist Denise Stanworth told the inquest that Mr Williams was probably not poisoned or drugged when he died.

But she said she could not "rule out volatile agents" because toxicology tests on Mr Williams were carried out nine days after his death.

The inquest is operating under some unusual restrictions. As well as some of the witnesses appearing from behind screens, some of the witnesses are restricted over what they can say.

Witness 'F' declined to answer specific questions about the vetting process which cleared Mr Williams to work at MI6.

She also hesitated before answering questions about whether intelligence officers should report contact with foreign nationals from certain countries.

When asked whether friendships with US nationals needed to be reported to MI6 bosses, witness 'F' said: "I am not sure I can answer that." She paused and then said that no reporting of US friendships was required.

But when asked about contact with a Kurdish national needed to be recorded, she refused to answer the question.

Mr Williams is thought to have had possible contact with Kurdish man through his friend Elizabeth Guthrie.

Journalists, photographers and editors covering the inquest were also warned again today about not identifying any members of SIS.

On Wednesday, the inquest heard that Mr Williams had once been found tied to his bed, calling for help.

He was working at GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, at the time and had to be untied by his landlady.

Scotland Yard told the hearing on Monday that investigations were on-going and that there was still a "real possibility" of criminal charges over the death.

Mr Williams' sister, Ceri Subbe, revealed that her brother had been due to return to the West Country a week after his body was discovered.

He had complained of "friction" at work and was unhappy with life in the capital, she said.

Daily Record : No reason to think death of MI6 spy found in bag had anything to do with his work, inquest hears

No reason to think death of MI6 spy found in bag had anything to do with his work, inquest hears

April 26, 2012

AN INQUIRY into the death of MIG agent Gareth Williams insists there is no reason to believe it was connected with his "world class" work.

A boss of Mr Williams had earlier suggested he was vulnerable to blackmail, having carried out unauthorised searches on spy computers, during an inquest.

It was claimed a malign or hostile party could have "theoretically put some pressure on to Gareth", .

But a Secret Intelligence Services' inquiry ruled out any connection with the discovery of his body in a bag and his work.

Relatives of the spy walked out of the inquest into his death in tears as MI6 apologised for blunders which saw colleagues fail to raise the alarm about his disappearance for seven days.

The witness, named to the inquest as SIS F, said she was "profoundly sorry" after family lawyer Anthony O'Toole said the agency showed a "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety".

SIS F blamed Mr Williams' line manager for the "breakdown in communication".

She denied family fears that the "dark arts" of the secret services had been involved in a cover up.

When asked what justification Mr Williams might have had for unauthorised searches, she said: "It seems to me that there was less to this than meets the eye."

She added that a review confirmed there was "no evidence of any specific threat to Gareth and we concluded that there was no reason to think his death was anything to do with his work".

She said Mr Williams was "a fully deployable, highly talented officer" who had passed exams to do some of MI6's toughest covert work six months before he was found dead on August 23 2010.

His examiner said in a report: "I was particularly impressed with Gareth. This was definitely the most intense operational course that I have seen and the improvement needed was immense."

Daily Mail : Party drug popular in clubbing and gay scene found in body of death riddle spy, inquest told

Party drug popular in clubbing and gay scene found in body of death riddle spy, inquest told

* Gareth Williams had traces of alcohol and date rape drug GHB in his body
* But levels likely to have been created naturally after death, says toxicologist
* Court earlier told how illicit searches on MI6 files left him open to blackmail
* But senior manager says no evidence he was targeted by foreign powers
* She apologies for 'communication breakdown' which meant 31-year-old was not reported missing for a week
* Codebreaker's family walk out of hearing in tears as spy chief gives evidence
* Bosses 'didn't call police for four hours' after officially deeming him missing
* May have been in fragile state of mind as 'he had just been taken off a job'

By Chris Greenwood | April 26, 2012

An illegal party drug was found in tests on body-in-the-bag spy Gareth Williams, an inquest heard yesterday.

Scientists said their investigation revealed a small trace of GHB, a dangerous sedative popular in the clubbing and gay scene.

They also refused to rule out poisoning because Mr Williams’s body was so decomposed that a host of potential killing agents including cyanide, insulin and chloroform would have been undetectable.

The spy’s family fear the failure of MI6 bosses to raise the alarm for seven days after he went missing deprived police of opportunities to solve the riddle of his death in August 2010.

His body quickly began to decay after being padlocked inside a sports holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat in central London.

His curled-up, naked body was found uninjured and he did not try to escape.

The fourth day of the inquest into his death also heard the high-flying code-breaker’s eccentric private life was no barrier to his secret work.

A senior MI6 officer suggested his superiors knew about his collection of women’s designer clothing, love of transvestite comedy and visits to bondage websites.

Speaking from behind a screen, a top official, known only as SIS F, said Mr Williams was known for his ‘world class’ work at GCHQ, the Government listening post.

The family’s lawyer Anthony O’Toole asked SIS F whether ‘revelations about Gareth’s private life might have rendered him unsuitable’ for MI6.

She replied: ‘There is no set template for what their lifestyle should be.

'Individuals have lifestyle and sexual choices and preferences which are perfectly legitimate.’

The inquest heard Mr Williams made a ‘small number’ of illicit searches on the MI6 database that could have left him vulnerable to blackmail by foreign agents.

But colleagues said there was no evidence he was targeted by a foreign power.

His family fear the ‘dark arts’ of the secret services may have been involved in his death or in a cover-up.

The MI6 officer apologised for the failure to act when punctual and reliable Mr Williams did not show for work.

Family members stormed out of the hearing sobbing after Mr O’Toole accused the secret service of ‘total disregard’ for his safety.

Denise Stanworth, a forensic scientist, said samples from Mr Williams’s body had been subjected to almost every test imaginable for evidence of suspicious substances and none was found.

Speaking about the party drug, she said she could not completely rule out that the spy had taken GHB but in her opinion it was unlikely.

She said it was far more likely to have been produced naturally following death.

The inquest continues.

Telegraph : Gareth Williams' relatives break down as inquest hears MI6 did not notice codebreaker missing

Gareth Williams' relatives break down as inquest hears MI6 did not notice codebreaker missing

The family of MI6 spy Gareth Williams were left horrified on Thursday as they heard no-one was disciplined over a litany of failures by the security services to notice the codebreaker was missing.

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | April 26, 2012

The inquest in to Mr Williams’ death had to be halted as one member of his family shrieked and broke down as further details over the debacle which left the spy undiscovered for a week were disclosed.

A senior MI6 officer said the service was “profoundly sorry” and that the delays had made it harder for the family to “come to terms with his dreadful death”.

The scenes came on another dramatic day of evidence at the inquest in to Mr Williams’ death, whose decomposing, naked body was found in a padlocked holdall in his flat in Pimlico in August 2010.

It emerged Mr Williams had conducted unauthorised searches of secret MI6 files which could have put him at risk from “hostile and malign” forces.

But his apparent penchant for womens’ clothing and sadomasochism websites may not have prevented him becoming a spy, it was suggested.

The family of Mr Williams have found the evidence increasingly hard to listen to in the first four days of the hearing as it became apparent that his absence failed to spark any concern.

The spy, normally a meticulous time keeper, failed to show up for work at MI6 for a week before his body was discovered and should have attended two pre-arranged meetings during that time.

But despite his sensitive job, his absence barely raised a flicker and led to only cursory attempts to raise him on the phone.

Even when his secret service bosses finally decided he was missing on Monday August 23rd it still took another four hours before they reported it to the police.

Helen Yelland, from GCHQ where Mr Williams had been due to return, said there was “confusion” over who was responsible for his whereabouts.

A senior manager at MI6, who can only be identified 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.

"I also appreciate the delay had some impact on the police investigation."

Despite blaming Mr Williams' line manager for the "breakdown in communication", the officer revealed that no one had been disciplined over the incident.

A female member of the family, who were also sat behind the screen, reacted with shock over the news and the hearing had to be briefly adjourned.

A member of the family was also heard hyperventilating on Wednesday after hearing of the lack of effort to find Mr Williams.

Anthony O’Toole, the lawyer for the family, accused the agencies of a "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety".

He blamed the delay for preventing the family from saying 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 revealed Mr Williams had carried out a number of searches of the secret service database without permission but did not explain what they were.

She admitted such “activities” could “theoretically” have put him at greater risk of pressure from other forces.

She said if they knew of his activities but not MI6 then: “a third party with hostile or malign intent could theoretically use that knowledge to put some pressure on Gareth”.

However, she insisted there was no evidence such a breach in security has occurred.

She also dismissed family concerns that “dark arts” had been involved in his death or after, insisting no security officers had been to the flat.

She said Mr Williams at GCHQ, before being seconded to MI6, had been “world class” and that he had been “operational” at MI6 and had worked at times alongside two undercover agents.

The inquest also heard how Mr Williams apparent penchant for womens’ clothing and sadomasochism websites may not have prevented him becoming a spy.

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

Southport Visiter : MI6 agent 'vulnerable to blackmail'

MI6 agent 'vulnerable to blackmail'

April 26, 2012

MI6 agent Gareth Williams was vulnerable to blackmail, having carried out unauthorised searches on spy computers, an inquest has heard.

A malign or hostile party could have "theoretically put some pressure on to Gareth", his boss said. But a Secret Intelligence Services' inquiry ruled out any connection with the discovery of his body in a bag and his "world class" work.

Relatives of the spy walked out of the inquest into his death in tears as MI6 apologised for blunders which saw colleagues fail to raise the alarm about his disappearance for seven days.

The witness, named to the inquest as SIS F, said she was "profoundly sorry" after family lawyer Anthony O'Toole said the agency showed a "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety".

SIS F blamed Mr Williams' line manager for the "breakdown in communication". She denied family fears that the "dark arts" of the secret services had been involved in a cover up.

When asked what justification Mr Williams might have had for unauthorised searches, she said: "It seems to me that there was less to this than meets the eye."

She added that a review confirmed there was "no evidence of any specific threat to Gareth and we concluded that there was no reason to think his death was anything to do with his work".

Mr Williams was on secondment to MI6 in London from GCHQ before he died but had asked to cut this short, in part because he was disillusioned with the bureaucracy there, Westminster Coroner's Court heard.

It was "quite rare" for someone to request an early termination of their secondment but the spy had seemed happier once his request had been accepted, SIS F said. Yet before his planned departure from London could happen, his naked body was discovered curled up in a padlocked hold-all in his bathtub.

Some 20 months on, the circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery.

National Post : MI6 denies cover-up in British ’spy-in-bag’ case

MI6 denies cover-up in British ’spy-in-bag’ case

Reuters | April 26, 2012

Gareth Williams death: MI6 denies cover-up in British ’spy-in-bag’ murder case

LONDON — Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence service denied on Thursday that the mysterious death of one of its agents whose naked body was found in a padlocked bag had anything to do with his work or that it had covered the episode up.

The decomposing body of Gareth Williams, 31, was found in August 2010 inside a red sports bag in his bathtub at his central London flat, a week after he had failed to show up to work.

A lawyer for his family has said it was their belief that “a member of some agency specializing in the dark arts of the secret services” was involved in removing evidence related to his death, stoking media speculation that he was murdered by foreign spies.

But in testimony given from behind a screen to protect her identity at his inquest, an MI6 employee known only as “F” said there was no evidence to suggest the agency was involved in a cover-up of Williams’ death or that his death was work-related.

“There was no reason to think his death was in any way connected to his work,” the witness said. Nor, she added, was there any evidence that Williams’ identity as an MI6 officer had been discovered by any foreign agencies.

Williams, a mathematics prodigy on a three-year secondment from the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in western England, did technical work for MI6.

His role was to “think up and design technology that could be used by others” in his four-person team, said “F”.

He had successfully completed a training course for conducting operations within Britain, but was still involved in relatively low-risk activities, she added.

AN APOLOGY

Williams’ body was discovered inside his Pimlico flat on Aug. 23 two years ago.

He had been scheduled to attend a work meeting on Aug. 16 but did not show up, and there were several other meetings that week that he had been expected to attend but did not.

If normal agency procedures had been carried out, “F” said that action would have been taken within two to four hours after he had failed to show up for work.

“It took far too long,” she said. “There are chains of steps one can take upon non-arrival within the second hour.” She added: “We are very sorry for that.”

Witness “F” said he understood that the delay in finding Williams’ body had made it more difficult for his family to come to terms with his death.

As far as she knew, there had been no disciplinary action taken against anyone responsible for the delay in the discovery of the body, she said.

Williams’ death has puzzled investigators, who have struggled to understand how he ended up in the bag, which also contained keys that would have unlocked its padlock. There were no signs of a struggle.

On Tuesday, Jackie Sebire, a detective on Williams’ case, testified she believed someone had helped him get into the bag. Specks of unknown DNA were found on it.

Inside the flat, police also found women’s clothing and make-up. Witness “F” said Williams’ job did not require him to dress in women’s clothing.

The inquest heard on Wednesday that several years earlier, he had been found tied to his bed at his lodgings unable to free himself. He told his landlady at the time he had wanted to see if he could free himself.

© Thomson Reuters 2012

CBS : UK probe of slain spy said hampered by delay

UK probe of slain spy said hampered by delay

April 26, 2012

LONDON — A colleague of a British spy whose body was found locked inside a sports bag says a delay in reporting him as missing hampered police inquiries into his death.

Gareth Williams, 31, worked for Britain's secret eavesdropping service GCHQ but was attached to the country's MI6 overseas spy agency when his naked and decomposing remains were found in curious circumstances in August 2010 at his central London apartment.

The spy's manager at MI6 previously acknowledged he didn't raise the alarm for a week after Williams first failed to appear for work.

At an inquest hearing Thursday, some of Williams' relatives walked out in tears as a second intelligence official — identified only as SIS F — said she recognized the delay had an "impact on the police investigation."

© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Telegraph : Date rape drug found in the body of spy Gareth Williams

Date rape drug found in the body of spy Gareth Williams

Traces of the date rape drug GHB were found in the body of Gareth Williams, the MI6 spy, an inquest heard on Thursday, as experts said they were unable to rule out poisoning as the cause of death.

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | April 26, 2012

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

Denise Stanworth, a toxicologist, told the inquest that 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.

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

The inquest at Westminster Coroners’ 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.

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, Miss 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 codebreaker’s body lying undiscovered for so long.

The spy, a meticulous time-keeper, failed to show up for work for a week and should have attended two pre-arranged meetings during that time.

But despite the sensitive nature of his job, 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 was 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 did not explain what the searches involved, but 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”. However, she said there was no evidence that a breach in security had occurred.

She dismissed family concerns that “dark arts” had been involved in his death, saying that no security officers had been to the flat.

The inquest continues.

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”.

Reuters (UK) : "Spy in the bag" was once found tied to a bed

"Spy in the bag" was once found tied to a bed

LONDON | April 26, 2012

LONDON (Reuters) - A spy whose naked corpse was discovered padlocked inside a sports bag had years earlier been found tied to his bed and unable to free himself, an inquest was told on Wednesday.

Gareth Williams had shouted out for help in the middle of the night when he was living in an annexe of the home of his then landlady Jennifer Elliot in Cheltenham, western England.

The maths prodigy was at the time a codebreaker at the nearby Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the state eavesdropping service.

Williams was found by Elliot and her husband dressed only in boxer shorts with his hands tied to the headboard of the bed. He told her that he had been just "messing about", trying to see "if I could get myself free", the Telegraph newspaper reported.

In a written statement, Elliot said it was likely "to be sexual rather than escapology", the paper added.

Williams later took up a three-year secondment at the headquarters of Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6, whose offices are on the banks of the River Thames in central London.

In August 2010, his naked, decomposing corpse was found in his flat nearby, crouched in a foetal position in a padlocked bag in his bath.

A detective told the inquest on Tuesday that a "third party was involved in that padlock being locked, and Gareth being placed in the bag".

The inquest has also been told that Williams, who was single and intensely private, would not have let a stranger into his flat, and that he would not have given his keys to anyone apart from close family.

There were no signs of a break-in or indications of foul play.

Small amounts of unidentified DNA were detected on the bag.

CLOTHES AND SHOES

Women's clothes and shoes worth about 20,000 pounds ($32,000) were found in the flat. They had never been worn.

A woman's wig and new makeup were also inside the flat.

A friend, Elizabeth Guthrie, who had known Williams for about a year, said on Wednesday she did not think he would have considered cross-dressing for sexual purposes, the Telegraph said.

She also said he would sometimes go by another name and would call her from different mobile phone numbers. He had never talked of being followed in the weeks before his death.

His sister has said he had become disaffected with London and was due to have returned to the quieter life of Cheltenham just days after his body was found.

The keen cyclist and hill-runner had disliked the "office culture, post-work drinks, flash car competitions and the rat race", Ceri Subbe said on Monday, the opening day of the inquest.

Williams' mysterious death has absorbed the British media.

A lawyer for the dead man's family said last month a "member of some agency specialising in the dark arts of the secret services" might be responsible for his death, fuelling speculation that he had been killed by foreign spies and that MI6 might have covered it up.

The inquest is due to hear from 37 witnesses including four unnamed members of the intelligence services.

(Reporting by Avril Ormsby; editing by Andrew Roche)

Chester Chronicle : Chester links to mystery of MI6 spy’s death

Chester links to mystery of MI6 spy’s death

David Holmes, Chester Chronicle | April 26, 2012

A CHESTER barrister is representing a former city woman and her family in a high profile inquest into the mysterious death of an MI6 code-breaker.

The death of Gareth Williams, whose body was found in a holdall at his London flat, attracted worldwide attention and huge speculation over whether his death was linked to his work with MI6 or his private life.

Anthony O’Toole, of Linenhall Chambers, is looking after the interests of Mr Williams’s family including his sister Ceri Subbe, who was living in Brook Lane, Newton, with husband Chris last year.

He previously told a pre-inquest hearing the family, from Anglesey, believed Mr Williams was murdered by an agency connected with the secret services.

Pathologists have been unable to shed light on how the 31-year-old code-breaker, who worked at GCHQ and was seconded to MI6, died last August.

Mrs Subbe, a physiotherapist, who was last year based at Wrexham Maelor Hospital where her husband had also worked a doctor, told Westminster Coroner’s Court this week that her brother was a ‘scrupulous risk-assessor’.

She said only family had keys to her brother’s flat and he would not have let in a potential killer.

“I cannot think as to why anybody would want to harm him,” she told the inquest.

She said it was ‘not particularly’ surprising £20,000 of women's clothes had been found in her brother's flat and that they could possibly have been intended as gifts.

Lawyer Anthony O'Toole told a pre-inquest hearing the family suspected third party involvement.

“The impression of the family is that the unknown third party was a member of some agency specialising in the dark arts of the secret services – or evidence has been removed post-mortem by experts in the dark arts,” he said.

A spokesman for Linenhall Chambers said there has been numerous enquiries from media organisations including the BBC but Mr O’Toole was not giving interviews while the case was ongoing.

Isle of Wight Radio : Spies Give Evidence At Body In Bag Inquest

Spies Give Evidence At Body In Bag Inquest

April 26, 2012

The naked and decomposing body of Gareth Williams was found in the bath of his home in Alderney Street, Pimlico, in central London, on August 23, 2010.

Around £20,000 worth of women's shoes and clothing were also discovered at the 31-year-old's flat.

On Wednesday, the inquest heard that Mr Williams had once been found tied to his bed, calling for help.

He was working at GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, at the time and had to be untied by his landlady.

Scotland Yard told the hearing on Monday that investigations were on-going and that there was still a "real possibility" of criminal charges over the death.

Mr Williams' sister, Ceri Subbe, revealed that her brother had been due to return to the West Country a week after his body was discovered.

He had complained of "friction" at work and was unhappy with life in the capital, she said.

Belfast Telegraph : MI6 chief says he did not follow rules in Gareth Williams 'spy in a bag' tragedy

MI6 chief says he did not follow rules in Gareth Williams 'spy in a bag' tragedy

By Kim Sengupta | April 26, 2012

The boss of MI6 officer Gareth Williams, whose naked body was found in a padlocked bag, faced severe criticism at the inquest into the death for failing to issue an effective alert despite the agent not being at work for more than a week.

The executive of the Secret Intelligence Service [MI6], who was referred to as Witness G and gave his evidence behind a screen, was forced to admit under searching cross-examination that he should have done much more to find out what had happened to Mr Williams.

Westminster Coroners Court heard that Witness G had not reported that Mr Williams had disappeared through appropriate channels, despite knowing that the computer specialist had missed meetings with colleagues. Telephone calls and a belated visit to his address had also failed to locate him.

Witness G told the court that procedures had been reviewed following 34-year-old Mr Williams' death in August 2010. But he acknowledged he should have informed MI6's welfare service the day he did not report at his office.

Asked about the procedures already in place at the time, Witness G said initially that he could not immediately recall what they were. Appearing for Mr Williams' family, Anthony O'Toole QC, said the rules "should have been tattooed on your heart". Counsel pointed out that the reason Witness G and others from the intelligence agencies were afforded anonymity while giving their evidence was because Foreign Secretary William Hague had sought immunity for them because of their high-risk profession. Under questioning from Mr O'Toole, Witness G admitted that he had not informed Ceri Subbe, Mr Williams' sister, of the disappearance on Friday on 20 August, five days after he had not heard from her brother, as he had stated in an interview with police. He had, in fact made the call the following Monday.

The family alerted the police on the same day and Mr Williams' body was found in a red holdall at his flat in Pimlico, south west London.

As the court heard of repeated missed instances when alarm could have been raised over Mr Williams, coroner Coroner Fiona Wilcox said to the MI6 executive: "I am really struggling to understand why you took no action at this point." Witness G responded "In hindsight, knowing what I know now, should I have taken action? Absolutely. I still had that gut feeling that he was away doing something that I was not made aware of."

The inquest heard that when Mr Williams did not appear at MI6's headquarters at Vauxhall Cross on a Monday morning, Witness G had assumed he had been delayed by "train troubles" from visiting his family in Wales. He continued in this perception when a colleague told him that the computer specialist had not turned up for a meeting at 3pm and the following day.

Witness G told the court that Mr Williams was in the process of ending a secondment with MI6 at the time to return to his post at GCHQ and he has assumed that he may have been busy with those arrangements.

"I had it in the back of my mind that he may have told me something about it and I had forgotten," he said.

Witness G told the police that he had called Mr Williams on his home and mobile numbers in the early days he went missing but did not get a reply. He had subsequently gone around to the house where his flat was located but left after he failed to get an answer after pressing the buzzer on the front door.

Mr O'Toole maintained that an examinations of calls on Mr Williams' phones showed no record of such calls on those particular days and expressed astonishment that Witness G had not even attempted to speak to the residents of other flats in the building.

Mr O'Toole also raised the possibility, earlier, that MI6 and GCHQ may have interfered with evidence which was passed on to the police.

Detective Superintendent Michael Broster, of the Counter Terrorism command, SO15 – who was responsible for liaising between the murder squad and the security agencies – stated: "I can't testify absolutely it wasn't interfered with. However, I've no reason to suspect that it was."

UKPA : Spy 'had tied himself to his bed'

Spy 'had tied himself to his bed'

April 26, 2012

MI6 spy Gareth Williams tied himself to his bed and had to be cut free several years before his naked body turned up in a padlocked bag, his inquest has heard.

Mr Williams was working for GCHQ in Cheltenham when he was forced to cry out for help after attaching his wrists to his headboard in his rented flat.

His landlord and landlady rushed to his aid in the middle of the night after hearing him shout from the annexe to their home, where he lived. They found him bound to his bed and wearing only his boxer shorts, the hearing was told.

Embarrassed, panicky and apologetic, he explained to them he had been trying to see if he could escape, his landlady said. In a written statement read to London's Westminster Coroner's Court, Jennifer Elliot described the startling scene that greeted her and her husband three years before their former tenant's death.

He was not aroused and although his landlady could see "no sperm near him", she and her husband assumed the escapade was probably sexual rather than an attempt at escapology, she said. There was no repeat of the strange incident, Ms Elliot said, and she and her husband never spoke of it to anyone but each other.

Mr Williams's body was found locked in a holdall in the bath at his central London flat in Pimlico on August 23, 2010, but 20 months on his death remains shrouded in mystery.

Police who entered the apartment after he went missing found some £20,000-worth of high-end women's clothing and shoes among his possessions, the inquest has heard.

A member of staff who worked at upmarket west London fashion store Dover Street Market recalled him coming in regularly and buying women's items he said were for his girlfriend. In a written statement read to the court, Carol Kirton said the spy had never mentioned his girlfriend's name.

Elizabeth Guthrie, a friend of Mr Williams, was asked in court whether the spy had ever expressed an interest in cross-dressing. "Nothing of a sexual bent but we were going to a fancy dress ball together," she said. "He was going as a ninja, not as a queen."

Mr Williams had, however, visited websites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - and bondage and sadomasochism on his home computer, the court heard.

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

ITV : Police were 'not called for more than a week' after Gareth Williams' disappearance

Police were 'not called for more than a week' after Gareth Williams' disappearance

Dead spy: MI6 staff face inquiry

April 26, 2012

Despite mounting concern for the missing M16 spy Gareth Williams, police were not called for more than a week.

The alarm bells didn't start to ring until Friday 20th August 2010. By this time Gareth hadn't been seen at work in London for a week.

Another three days elapsed before the police were finally informed.

On the Friday afternoon, the human resources (HR) department at GCHQ in Cheltenham told Gareth Williams' line manager in London, where he was on secondment to M16, that he needed to check Gareth's flat, and if he couldn't be found, call in the police.

However, the witness from HR, Helen Yelland, told the inquest she returned to work after the weekend on Monday 23rd August to discover the police still had not been called.

She finally made the call herself to the Metropolitan Police at 4:41pm on Monday afternoon.

She admitted that she would have expected the London line manager at M16 to have contacted the police on the Friday when there was no response from the flat in Pimlico.

AFP : Poison not ruled out in MI6 spy death

Poison not ruled out in MI6 spy death

April 26, 2012

LONDON — Forensic scientists cannot establish if a British spy was poisoned before being padlocked in a bag because it took his employers MI6 a week to realise he was missing, an inquest has heard.

Forensic expert Denise Stanworth told the hearing in London that "we cannot rule out volatile agents" in the death of Gareth Williams two years ago as she was asked how reliable toxicology tests can be nine days after death.

The decomposition of the body made it impossible to establish exactly which substances were present in the codebreaker's body, she said.

Williams' boss at MI6, Britain's external intelligence agency, earlier apologised to the 31-year-old's family for failing to raise the alarm about his disappearance and conceded the error may have hampered police inquiries.

Speaking Thursday from behind a screen, the woman -- identified only as Witness F -- offered a full apology for MI6's slow response to Williams's disappearance in August 2010.

"We are profoundly sorry about what happened, she said.

"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.

"I also appreciate the delay had some impact on the police investigation."

Williams' relatives left the hearing in tears after it was revealed MI6 had failed to realise he was missing.

When police finally entered Williams' flat in Pimlico, central London, they found his naked body padlocked in a red holdall placed in his bath.

Police have been unable to establish a cause of death, though they have unearthed no proof that anyone was with him when he died.

His family have said they believe secret agents versed in the "dark arts" tried to cover up his death.

But the five-day inquest, due to end on Friday, is looking into whether he could have entered the bag alone, after speculation he might have done so as part of a sex game.

Examination of his home computer showed he had also visited websites about claustrophilia -- the love of enclosure -- and bondage and sadomasochism, the inquest has heard.

High-end women's clothing and shoes worth some £20,000 ($32,400, 24,500 euros) were found in the immaculate flat.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.

Reuters (India) : MI6 denies cover-up in British 'spy-in-bag' case

MI6 denies cover-up in British 'spy-in-bag' case

LONDON | April 26, 2012

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence service denied on Thursday that the mysterious death of one of its agents whose naked body was found in a padlocked bag had anything to do with his work or that it had covered the episode up.

The decomposing body of Gareth Williams, 31, was found in August 2010 inside a red sports bag in his bathtub at his central London flat, a week after he had failed to show up to work.

A lawyer for his family has said it was their belief that "a member of some agency specialising in the dark arts of the secret services" was involved in removing evidence related to his death, stoking media speculation that he was murdered by foreign spies.

But in testimony given from behind a screen to protect her identity at his inquest, an MI6 employee known only as "F" said there was no evidence to suggest the agency was involved in a cover-up of Williams' death or that his death was work-related.

"There was no reason to think his death was in any way connected to his work," the witness said. Nor, she added, was there any evidence that Williams' identity as an MI6 officer had been discovered by any foreign agencies.

Williams, a mathematics prodigy on a three-year secondment from the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in western England, did technical work for MI6.

His role was to "think up and design technology that could be used by others" in his four-person team, said "F".

He had successfully completed a training course for conducting operations within Britain, but was still involved in relatively low-risk activities, she added.

AN APOLOGY

Williams' body was discovered inside his Pimlico flat on August 23 two years ago.

He had been scheduled to attend a work meeting on August 16 but did not show up, and there were several other meetings that week that he had been expected to attend but did not.

If normal agency procedures had been carried out, "F" said that action would have been taken within two to four hours after he had failed to show up for work.

"It took far too long," she said. "There are chains of steps one can take upon non-arrival within the second hour." She added: "We are very sorry for that."

Witness "F" said he understood that the delay in finding Williams' body had made it more difficult for his family to come to terms with his death.

As far as she knew, there had been no disciplinary action taken against anyone responsible for the delay in the discovery of the body, she said.

Williams' death has puzzled investigators, who have struggled to understand how he ended up in the bag, which also contained keys that would have unlocked its padlock. There were no signs of a struggle.

On Tuesday, Jackie Sebire, a detective on Williams' case, testified she believed someone had helped him get into the bag. Specks of unknown DNA were found on it.

Inside the flat, police also found women's clothing and make-up. Witness "F" said Williams' job did not require him to dress in women's clothing.

The inquest heard on Wednesday that several years earlier, he had been found tied to his bed at his lodgings unable to free himself. He told his landlady at the time he had wanted to see if he could free himself.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

MSNBC : UK intelligence officer: No cover-up in 'spy in the bag' case

UK intelligence officer: No cover-up in 'spy in the bag' case

By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com | April 26, 2012

LONDON - There was "no evidence" to suggest that British intelligence services were part of a cover-up after one of their own was found naked and decomposing inside a locked duffel bag in his London apartment, an intelligence officer said on Thursday.

"Witness F" gave evidence to the inquest -- which are held when deaths are deemed violent or unnatural -- in the August 2010 death of MI6 officer Gareth Williams from behind a screen, BBC News reported.

MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence agency, is roughly equivalent to the Untied States' CIA.

The denial came on the same day that one of the code-breaker's relatives shrieked and brought proceedings to a halt while listening to details of a series of missteps that allowed for the spy to lay in his bathroom undiscovered for a week, the Telegraph reported.

The relatives walked out of the inquest in tears during Witness F's evidence, the BBC reported.

Their lawyer Anthony O'Toole said the agency showed a "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety."

Williams, 31, was a math prodigy working as a codebreaker at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the state eavesdropping service.

Williams' family became increasingly upset during the four days of proceedings as it became clear that his absence did not spark any concern, despite the sensitive nature of his job, according to reports.

Witness F, a senior intelligence officer, told the inquest that MI6 was "profoundly sorry" for the delays, which had made it more difficult for the family to "come to terms with his dreadful death," the newspaper reported.

A detective told the inquest on Tuesday that a "third party was involved in that padlock being locked, and Gareth being placed in the bag."

The inquest has also been told that Williams, who was single and intensely private, would not have let a stranger into his flat, and that he would not have given his keys to anyone apart from close family.

There were no signs of a break-in or indications of foul play.

Small amounts of unidentified DNA were detected on the bag.

On Wednesday, the inquest heard that years earlier Williams had been found tied to his bed and unable to free himself.

Williams had shouted out for help in the middle of the night when he was living in an annex of the home of his then-landlady Jennifer Elliot in Cheltenham, western England.

Elliot and her husband found Williams dressed only in boxer shorts with his hands tied to the headboard of the bed. He told her that he had been just "messing about," trying to see "if I could get myself free," the Telegraph newspaper reported.

In a written statement, Elliot said it was likely "to be sexual rather than escapology," the paper added.

Williams later took up a three-year assignment at the headquarters of Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6, whose offices are on the banks of the River Thames in central London.

ITN : Dead MI6 spy was vulnerable to blackmail, says his boss

Dead MI6 spy was vulnerable to blackmail, says his boss

April 26, 2012

An MI6 officer has said dead spy Gareth Williams was vulnerable to blackmail, having carried out unauthorised searches on intelligence computers, an inquest heard.

Speaking behind a screen, the officer known as Witness F, said a malign or hostile party could have "theoretically put some pressure on to Gareth".

However, the agent said a review found no evidence that the Secret Service was involved in the death of the "maths genius" who was found dead in a bag in his bath.

Mr Williams' decomposing body was found curled up in a padlocked sports holdall in his west London flat on August 23 2010.

However, no alarm was raised until a week after he failed to turn up for work.

Witness F apologised for the delay in reporting him missing, causing some members of his family to walk out of the inquest at Westminster Coroners Court in tears.

How Mr Williams could have locked himself in the bag has sparked a wave of speculation and conspiracy theories, including that he was assassinated by foreign spies.

However, Witness F said the Secret Service had no reason to suspect any foreign intelligence service posed a threat to Mr Williams or had identified him as a target.

BBC : MI6 spy death inquest: 'No drugs or poison found' in body

MI6 spy death inquest: 'No drugs or poison found' in body

April 26, 2012

MI6 officer Gareth Williams was probably not drugged, drunk or poisoned when he died, a toxicologist has told the inquest into his death.

But Denise Stanworth said she could not rule this out because of the time which had elapsed between his death and the post-mortem examination.

Mr Williams' body was found locked in a holdall at his London flat on 23 August 2010 - a week after his death.

His boss at GCHQ in Cheltenham earlier hailed him as "something of a prodigy".

Giving evidence, forensic scientist Ms Stanworth said some anaesthetics, solvents and the substance amyl nitrate may not have been detectable, because his body was left for so long.

It took a week for MI6 to investigate Mr Williams' disappearance, meaning the post-mortem exam was carried out nine days after he died.

A small amount of alcohol, and traces of the sedative GHB were found, but both were likely to have been produced by his body as it decomposed after death.

An extensive search for "old-fashioned poison" came back negative, although Ms Stanworth said volatile agents could not be ruled out.

For understandable reasons spies do not like to come out from the shadows.

But over the past two days a procession of intelligence officers have had to account for their actions in public, albeit behind screens.

On Thursday, a senior official at MI6 acknowledged the one-week delay in finding Gareth Williams' body caused more grief for the family, and had an impact on the police investigation.

The body was too badly decomposed to provide forensic clues.

A GCHQ official has said action should have been taken on the first day of absence in line with policy.

It still is not clear why the policy was not followed.

It appears too that Gareth Williams' line manager at MI6 has not been disciplined for this.

Mr Williams' former boss at government listening agency GCHQ earlier described him as a "world-class" intelligence officer.

Stephen Gale said Mr Williams had joined GCHQ aged 21 with a first class degree in mathematics and PhD in computer sciences. "It was quite remarkable that he had achieved those levels of qualifications at such a young age," he said.

The agency paid for him to gain further qualifications in advanced mathematics at Cambridge University.

Mr Gale said: "Colleagues recall a young man who was very close to his father - he spoke about their climbing trips together.

"They remember him as a keen cyclist. One colleague said it was like a red bullet flying around the place."

Mr Williams was on a three-year secondment with MI6 in London but wanted to return to his role at GCHQ.

Profoundly sorry

On Thursday morning, an MI6 officer denied the secret service was involved in a cover-up over the codebreaker's death.

The officer - Witness F - gave evidence anonymously from behind a screen.

She apologised to Mr Williams' family on behalf of MI6, saying they were "profoundly sorry" for the delay in reporting the spy missing.

Witness F admitted that HR policy was not followed and that it "clearly took too long" to notice the codebreaker's absence from work.

She blamed Mr Williams' line manager - Witness G - for a "breakdown in communication", but said he should not face disciplinary action.

Mr Williams' relatives walked out of the inquest in tears during Witness F's evidence, and their lawyer Anthony O'Toole said the agency had shown a "total disregard for Gareth's whereabouts and safety".

Mr O'Toole blamed the delay for preventing the family from saying 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.

Bondage websites

During her evidence, Witness F denied that officers from the secret service entered Mr Williams' flat, before or after the discovery of his body.

She said that MI6 had not tampered with any electronic evidence on Mr Williams' computer, and denied the secret service had leaked information to the media that the codebreaker visited bondage and sadomasochistic websites.

Mr O'Toole asked Witness F whether speculation about Mr Williams' private life might have made him unsuitable for intelligence agency work.

She indicated his sexual preferences would not, in themselves, pose a problem: "There's no set template as to what [an employee's] lifestyle should be. Individuals have lifestyles and sexual choices which are perfectly legitimate.

"Our concern in the vetting process is to identify whether anything in the individual's background, lifestyle, creates a risk for him."

An internal secret intelligence services' review in 2011 found no link between the codebreaker's death and his work.

Sun : Landlady found spook Gareth 'tied to bed

Landlady found spook Gareth 'tied to bed

By TOM WELLS | April 26, 2012

A FORMER landlady of “spy in the bag” Gareth Williams told an inquest yesterday how she once found him tied to his bed wearing just boxer shorts.

Jenny Elliot, 73, discovered the MI6 codebreaker lying with his hands and arms trussed to the headboard at 1.30am.

She told the hearing she and her husband heard screams from his room. Mrs Elliot said: “We both got up and got the spare key and opened the door to the annexe. I then called, ‘Are you okay?’, and he replied, ‘Can you help me?’

“We both went upstairs to find him lying on his back with both his hands and arms tied with material which was separately attached to each bobble at the end of the headboard.”

She said the “embarrassed” spy, who was cut free, was “not aroused”. He apologised, said he was “just messing about” and told the couple: “I just wanted to see if I could get myself free.”

Mrs Elliot added: “He offered to pay more (rent) money which we declined.” She and her husband concluded Mr Williams’ behaviour “was more likely to be sexual than escapology”.

The incident happened three years before the spy was found dead at 31. He had rented a room off the couple in Cheltenham, Gloucs, since 1998 while working at GCHQ in the town.

Mr Williams’ body was found inside a padlocked sports holdall at his flat in Pimlico, London, on August 23, 2010.

His boss at MI6 admitted he did not report him missing for TEN days. The officer — ‘Witness G’ — said he had assumed Mr Williams was on another project. He claimed he had not alerted senior officers earlier because they were on holiday or operations. Coroner Fiona Wilcox blasted: “Was anyone from MI6 in?”

Westminster Coroner’s Court heard Mr Williams, of Anglesey, often bought women’s clothes.

Pal Elizabeth Guthrie was asked if he had expressed an interest in cross-dressing. She replied: “Nothing of a sexual bent.” She said the women’s clothes at the flat “would not have been for him”.

The inquest heard Mr Williams’ computer showed visits to websites on claustrophilia — the love of enclosure. The hearing continues.

Express : I FOUND ‘BODY IN A BAG’ SPY GARETH WILLIAMS WITH HIS HANDS TIED TO BED

I FOUND ‘BODY IN A BAG’ SPY GARETH WILLIAMS WITH HIS HANDS TIED TO BED

By Cyril Dixon | April 26, 2012

MI6 officer Gareth Williams had to be rescued by his landlady after tying himself to his bed in a bizarre “sexual” pose, an inquest heard yesterday.

Jenny Elliot said she and her husband Brian cut him free after finding him on the bed, dressed only in boxer shorts with his wrists bound to the headboard.

Mrs Elliot, 73, said the incident happened when Mr Williams rented their “granny” flat during his time at GCHQ intelligence centre in Cheltenham.

After hearing him cry for help, they found him on his back, his hands secured to the bed through tight loops made of fabric, and the duvet covering just his legs.

The landlady said in a written statement to the inquest: “He told my husband there was a knife on the side and my husband cut him free.

“My husband said ‘What the bloody hell are you doing?’ and he said ‘I just wanted to see if I could get free’.

“We said ‘Gareth, we can’t have you doing this’. He agreed and said it wouldn’t happen again.”

She added: “He was very embarrassed and panicky and apologetic. My husband and I discussed it and said it was more likely to be sexual than escapology.”

Mrs Elliot’s evidence was read to coroner Fiona Wilcox on the third day of the inquest into 31-year-old Mr Williams’ death in August 2010.

The brilliant codebreaker and cycling enthusiast’s body was found naked and locked inside a sports holdall which was left in the bath at his flat in Pimlico, central London.

Mrs Elliot said: “My husband and I heard Gareth shouting at about 1.30am. I then called ‘are you OK?’ and Gareth replied ‘Can you help me?’

“We both went upstairs to find him lying on his back with both his hands and arms tied with material which was separately attached to each bobble on the end of the headboard.”

Elizabeth Guthrie, a friend, told the inquest Mr Williams was “straight” and not interested in cross-dressing, despite having women’s clothes worth £20,000 in his flat. She said they planned to attend a fancy-dress ball together, dressed as Manga cartoon characters, but insisted “nothing of a sexual bent” was going on.

She confirmed her friend had sometimes used another name.

Mr Williams’ boss admitted to the coroner that he should have acted sooner when the officer failed to turn up to an MI6 meeting in August 2010.

The manager, identified only as Witness G and giving evidence from behind a 10ft screen, added: “In hindsight, knowing what I know now, should I have taken action? Absolutely.”

The hearing continues today.