IBT : MI6 Codebreaker Gareth Williams' Auto-Erotic Death Riddle: Police Probe Casts Doubt on Inquest

MI6 Codebreaker Gareth Williams' Auto-Erotic Death Riddle: Police Probe Casts Doubt on Inquest

By Dominic Gover | December 27, 2012

The mystery death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams was not the result of assassination by security services, police investigating the incident believe.

In one of the most bizarre deaths of recent times, Williams was found naked and locked inside a sports bag inside his home in central London in 2010. The decomposing corpse was found when his flat was searched because he had failed to turn up for work.

According to the Telegraph, police believe it is most likely that Williams died alone. The cause reportedly favoured by Scotland Yard is that Williams died during "auto-erotic activity" relating to confinement.

That flies in the face of coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox's ruling at the inquest earlier this year into his death. She dismissed a sexual motive in her findings. His death was found to be "unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated", she ruled.

Although detectives do not think there was foul play, they have struggled to work out how the body of the MI6 codebreaker ended locked up inside the small bag along with the keys.

Two experts made 400 attempts to mimic Williams' alleged actions - clambered into the sports bag unaided and locked himself into it from the inside. They found that it was improbable.

But police investigators have continued to be stumped by the absence of evidence of a second party at the scene, such as footprints.

Days after the inquest verdict a retired army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way Williams' bag was locked.

Lines of enquiry pursued by police continually turned up nothing, including a hunt for a shadowy Mediterranean couple subsequently ruled out.

A trawl by police of Williams' web usage revealed he had visited sex websites specialising in bondage and claustrophilia - the thrill of being enclosed in confined spaces.

He kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had £20,000-worth of designer women's clothes in his flat along with women's shoes and wigs.

Friends and family of Williams have always refuted claims he died after a sex game went wrong, speculating that it was linked to agency "specialising in the dark arts."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "This remains an active investigation and officers continue to explore a number of lines of enquiry. Officers retain an open mind in relation to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Williams."

Brisbane Times : Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over agent who died locked in a bag

Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over agent who died locked in a bag

Duncan Gardham | December 27, 2012

MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag where his naked body was found and was not the victim of a hit by the security services, Scotland Yard has found after conducting a review of the case.

Dr Fiona Wilcox, the Westminster Coroner, said earlier this year that she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.

The ruling sparked a review of the case by Scotland Yard's murder squad which has re-interviewed his colleagues from MI6 and taken DNA samples over the last seven months.

Detectives had believed that someone else must have locked the codebreaker in the bag and launched a search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple, who were later ruled out of inquiries. But detectives now believe that he probably died alone.

“They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out,” a source close to the inquiry said.

The keys to the red North Face holdall were found in the bottom of the bag when Mr Williams's naked body was found in the empty bath of his apartment in Pimlico, central London in August 2010.

Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag and one claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.

But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way the bag is locked that fits with how Gareth Williams was found in August 2010.

Dr Wilcox, a former negligence barrister, had ruled that the lack of hand and footprints in the bathroom was "significant" but it understood that police have also been able to identify around 300 fingerprints in the flat.

The coroner also dismissed speculation that Mr Williams died as a result of some kind of "auto-erotic activity", but detectives now believe that is probably the only option left.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained "active" and that officers were still exploring "a number of lines of enquiry."

The inquest had heard that Mr Williams, a codebreaker for GCHQ who was on secondment to MI6, had been found in his boxer shorts and tied to his bed by his landlord and landlady in Cheltenham a few years earlier.

Video footage found on a mobile phone in Mr Williams's flat showed him dressed in nothing but black leather boots as he “wiggled and gyrated" for the camera.

He kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had £20,000-worth of designer women's clothes in his flat along with women's shoes and wigs.

He browsed self-bondage websites and sites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - on his computers and phone and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.

Friends and family were upset at speculation that Mr Williams may have been gay and speculated that "some agency specialising in the dark arts" was behind his killing.

In her ruling, Dr Wilcox said there was no evidence to suggest the spy was a transvestite "or interested in any such thing".

The make-up found in his flat was more likely to reflect his interest in fashion and the wigs were "far more consistent with dress-up such as attendance at a manga conference", she said.

The suggestion that his interest in female footwear could have been of a sexual nature, was not unusual, Dr Wilcox observed.

Mr Williams's colleagues at MI6 had failed to report him missing for a week and did not turn over nine memory sticks and a black bag that was under his desk at their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, sparking rumours of a cover-up.

The coroner said it remained a "legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services were involved in Mr Williams's death although there was no firm evidence.

The Telegraph, London

Daily Mail : MI6 spy found dead in bag 'DID lock himself in holdall' say police as they claim codebreaker was responsible for his own death

MI6 spy found dead in bag 'DID lock himself in holdall' say police as they claim codebreaker was responsible for his own death

* Investigation finds Gareth Williams could have locked himself in bag
* Coroner claimed that someone else must have been involved with death
* Codebreaker found dead in bathtub in central London flat in August 2010

By Hugo Gye | December 27, 2012

The MI6 codebreaker who was found dead inside a holdall probably locked himself inside the bag, according to police.

An inquest into the death of Gareth Williams found that he could have been the victim of foul play, as the coroner expressed doubts that he could have locked the bag himself.

However, Scotland Yard detectives investigating the case discovered that it is possible to lock the type of holdall he was found in from the inside, and now say it is likely that no one else was involved in Mr Williams' death.

The body of the codebreaker, who was on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, was discovered in a bathtub in his flat in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox ruled earlier this year that it was unlikely Mr Williams could have locked himself into the red North Face holdall which contained his body and whose keys were also locked inside the bag.

Experts testified that they had tried to lock themselves inside the bag more than 400 times, and said even famed escapologist Harry Houdini would have had difficulty doing so.

But just a few days after Dr Wilcox delivered her verdict, a retired sergeant revealed that the feat was in fact possible, casting doubt on the assertion that someone else must have been involved in Mr Williams' death.

Police refined the experiment to mirror the exact way the bag had been locked - and agreed that Mr Williams could have secured the holdall himself, according to the Daily Telegraph.

In addition, detectives do not believe there is any evidence of forced entry which could suggest that the codebreaker was murdered.

'They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out,' an inquiry source told the Telegraph.

Police are now apparently planning to inform the coroner of their belief that Mr Williams died alone.

Dr Wilcox initially dismissed the idea that the spy could have been the victim of 'auto-erotic activity' - but detectives say there is no other plausible explanation for his death.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding Mr Williams' death sparked speculation that he could have been assassinated by the security services.

His MI6 colleagues did not report him missing for a week, and failed to hand over key evidence from their office, which raised the possibility that they could have been involved in a cover-up.

However, others pointed to an apparent interest in bondage and cross-dressing as a more likely explanation for his death.

Mr Williams was once found by his landlord tied to his own bed wearing only underwear, while he apparently kept £20,000 worth of women's clothes in his flat.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police declined to confirm the detectives' latest findings, saying: 'This remains an active investigation and officers continue to explore a number of lines of inquiry.

'Officers retain an open mind in relation to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Williams.'

Guardian : Police still have open mind over MI6 codebreaker found in locked bag

Police still have open mind over MI6 codebreaker found in locked bag

Detectives following several leads in Gareth Williams case, after narrative verdict in inquest and review of case by Met

Caroline Davies | December 27, 2012

Scotland Yard retains an open mind about the mystery death of MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams, whose naked body was found in a locked sports bag in the bath at his central London flat.

Seven months after launching a review into the baffling case, murder squad detectives continue to investigate a number of lines of inquiry.

Williams was found in the padlocked bag, with the keys discovered under his body inside the bag, in the otherwise empty bath in August 2010.

Westminster coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox, passing a narrative verdict at his inquest in May, said she believed the death of Williams, 31, was "unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated".

She was satisfied that "a third party placed the bag in the bath and on the balance of probabilities locked the bag". She was, therefore, "satisfied that on the balance of probabilities, Gareth was killed unlawfully".

Police have always treated the death as suspicious and unexplained. One theory was that Williams died accidentally, possibly as part of sexual activity that went wrong. They said after the inquest there was no evidence of a criminal hand.

Police launched a review of the case following the inquest verdict, during which Williams's friends and colleagues at MI6, and at GCHQ in Chelthenham from where he was on secondment at the time of his death, have been reinterviewed.

Responding to a report in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday that detectives believe he probably did lock himself into the North Face holdall, a Metropolitan police spokesman said the review was ongoing.

"This remains an active investigation and officers continue to explore a number of lines of inquiry. Officers retain an open mind in relation to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Williams."

The inquest heard from experts who had tried and failed numerous times to lock themselves into a similar bag. Forensic evidence has uncovered no trace of any other individuals being in the flat at the time. A search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple ended when they were later traced and ruled out of police inquiries.

The inquest had heard that Williams, a keen mountaineer and cyclist from Anglesey who was intensely private and rarely socialised with colleagues, had £20,000 worth of female clothing and shoes at his rented flat in Pimlico, central London. He had shown an interest in bondage websites.

The circumstances of his death also provoked speculation that it might have been connected with his work as an intelligence officer.

The coroner said there was no evidence Williams died as a result of "auto-erotic activity" and said any interest in bondage and female clothing was irrelevant

She levelled devastating criticism at William's employers at MI6, who did not report him missing from work for seven days. She also criticised the role of the Met's counter-terrorism branch, SO15, in the police investigation.

The Telegraph reported on Thursday that it understood detectives have concluded that he probably died alone and are preparing to present their findings to the coroner.

Williams, a maths prodigy, had previously been found tied to his bed by his landlord in Cheltenham years prior to his death. His iPhone, found in his work locker, contained deleted images of him naked in boots posing with his back to the camera.

The inquest heard that he was probably alive if put into the bag, but probably suffocated very soon afterwards from carbon dioxide poisoning (hypercapnia) though the coroner could not rule out the effect of any short-acting poison, which would not have shown up in postmortem forensic tests due to decomposition.

After the inquest, Williams's family called on the Met commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, to conduct a review of the investigation.

The Australian : MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams 'probably locked himself in sports bag'

MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams 'probably locked himself in sports bag'

December 27, 2012

MI6 CODEBREAKER Gareth Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag where his naked, dead body was discovered in 2010, Scotland Yard has found.

After conducting a review of the case, Scotland Yard has found Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag and was not the victim of a hit by the security services, Britain's Daily Telegraph reports.

The naked and dead body of British codebreaker Gareth Williams, pictured, was found inside a padlocked sports bag in his apartment in August 2010.

Westminster Coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, said earlier this year she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death. That ruling sparked a review of the case by Scotland Yard’s murder squad which involved re-interviewing Williams' colleagues from MI6 and taken DNA samples.

Williams’s naked body was found in a red North Face gym bag in an empty bath in his apartment in Pimlico, central London in August 2010. The keys to the red bag were found in the bottom of the bag.

Detectives had believed that someone else must have locked the codebreaker in the bag and launched a search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple, who were later ruled out of inquiries.

Williams’s colleagues at MI6 had failed to report him missing for a week and failed to turn over nine memory sticks and a black bag under his desk at their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, sparking rumours of a cover-up.

Detectives now believe he probably died alone, The Telegraph reports.

A source close to the inquiry told the newspaper: "They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and have every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out."

Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag and one claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.

But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant demonstrated that it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way the bag was locked, but which fits with how Gareth Williams was found in August 2010.

Dr Wilcox, a former negligence barrister, had ruled that the lack of hand and footprints in the bathroom was "significant". The Telegraph understands police were able to identify around 300 fingerprints in the flat.

The coroner also dismissed speculation that Williams died as a result of some sort of "auto-erotic activity". But detectives now believe that is probably a likely option, the newspaper reports.

The inquest had heard that Williams, a codebreaker for GCHQ who was on secondment to MI6, had been found in his boxer shorts and tied to his bed by his landlord and landlady in Cheltenham a few years earlier.

Video footage found on a mobile phone in the deceased's flat showed Williams dressed in nothing but black leather boots as he "wiggled and gyrated" for the camera.

He browsed self-bondage websites and sites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - on his computers and phone and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.

He also kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had 20,000 pounds ($31,000) worth of designer women's clothing in his apartment as well as women’s shoes and wigs.

Friends and family were upset at speculation Williams may have been gay and believed "some agency specialising in the dark arts" was behind his killing.

In her ruling, Dr Wilcox said there was no evidence to suggest the spy was a transvestite "or interested in any such thing". The make-up found in his apartment was more likely to reflect his interest in fashion and the wigs were "far more consistent with dress-up such as attendance at a manga conference", she said.

The suggestion that his interest in female footwear could have been of a sexual nature, was not unusual, Dr Wilcox observed.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained "active" and that officers were still exploring "a number of lines of enquiry."

The coroner said it remained a "legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services were involved in Williams's death although there was no firm evidence.

This Is Gloucestershire : MI6 spy 'probably did lock himself inside bag'

MI6 spy 'probably did lock himself inside bag'

Laura Enfield | December 27, 2012

'SPY in a bag' Gareth Williams did lock himself inside a holdall, police are now said to believe.

Scotland Yard detectives reportedly think the GCHQ codebreaker must have climbed inside the sports bag where his naked body was found and have ruled out an assassination.

Mr Williams was on secondment to MI6 when his body was found curled up inside a padlocked red North Face holdall in the empty bathtub of his apartment in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.

The keys to the padlock were also found inside the bag.

An inquest in May concluded the 31-year-old was most likely poisoned or suffocated.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said she was sure that someone else had locked Mr Williams in the holdall after two experts tried 400 times to lock themselves inside the bag.

One claimed even Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself into the holdall.

Days after the inquest verdict a retired army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar bag and lock it from inside.

Following the inquest ruling, Scotland Yard's murder squad vowed to investigate new evidence.

A report by The Daily Telegraph says detectives have now concluded he probably died alone and are preparing to present their new findings to the coroner.

It also says they believe the 'only explanation left' is that Mr Williams died as a result of 'autoerotic activity'.

A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said: "This remains an active investigation and officers continue to explore lines of enquiry.

"Officers remain open-minded in relation to the circumstances of the death of Mr Williams."

Adelaide Now : MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams 'probably locked himself in sports bag'

MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams 'probably locked himself in sports bag'

December 27, 2012

MI6 CODEBREAKER Gareth Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag where his naked, dead body was discovered in 2010, Scotland Yard has found.

After conducting a review of the case, Scotland Yard has found Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag and was not the victim of a hit by the security services, Britain's Daily Telegraph reports.

The naked and dead body of British codebreaker Gareth Williams, pictured, was found inside a padlocked sports bag in his apartment in August 2010.

Westminster Coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, said earlier this year she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death. That ruling sparked a review of the case by Scotland Yard’s murder squad which involved re-interviewing Williams' colleagues from MI6 and taken DNA samples.

Williams’s naked body was found in a red North Face gym bag in an empty bath in his apartment in Pimlico, central London in August 2010. The keys to the red bag were found in the bottom of the bag.

Detectives had believed that someone else must have locked the codebreaker in the bag and launched a search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple, who were later ruled out of inquiries.

Williams’s colleagues at MI6 had failed to report him missing for a week and failed to turn over nine memory sticks and a black bag under his desk at their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, sparking rumours of a cover-up.

Detectives now believe he probably died alone, The Telegraph reports.

A source close to the inquiry told the newspaper: "They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and have every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out."

Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag and one claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.

But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant demonstrated that it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way the bag was locked, but which fits with how Gareth Williams was found in August 2010.

Dr Wilcox, a former negligence barrister, had ruled that the lack of hand and footprints in the bathroom was "significant". The Telegraph understands police were able to identify around 300 fingerprints in the flat.

The coroner also dismissed speculation that Williams died as a result of some sort of "auto-erotic activity". But detectives now believe that is probably a likely option, the newspaper reports.

The inquest had heard that Williams, a codebreaker for GCHQ who was on secondment to MI6, had been found in his boxer shorts and tied to his bed by his landlord and landlady in Cheltenham a few years earlier.

Video footage found on a mobile phone in the deceased's flat showed Williams dressed in nothing but black leather boots as he "wiggled and gyrated" for the camera.

He browsed self-bondage websites and sites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - on his computers and phone and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.

He also kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had 20,000 pounds ($31,000) worth of designer women's clothing in his apartment as well as women’s shoes and wigs.

Friends and family were upset at speculation Williams may have been gay and believed "some agency specialising in the dark arts" was behind his killing.

In her ruling, Dr Wilcox said there was no evidence to suggest the spy was a transvestite "or interested in any such thing". The make-up found in his apartment was more likely to reflect his interest in fashion and the wigs were "far more consistent with dress-up such as attendance at a manga conference", she said.

The suggestion that his interest in female footwear could have been of a sexual nature, was not unusual, Dr Wilcox observed.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained "active" and that officers were still exploring "a number of lines of enquiry."

The coroner said it remained a "legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services were involved in Williams's death although there was no firm evidence.

Sun : Spy in bag was ‘not the victim of mystery security services hit’

Spy in bag was ‘not the victim of mystery security services hit’

December 27, 2012

THE MI6 agent found dead in a sports bag was probably not the victim of a mystery assassination, cops now believe.

Scotland Yard now think Gareth Williams may have locked himself into the large red holdall where his naked body was found.

Westminster Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said earlier this year that she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.

The ruling triggered a review of the case by Scotland Yard’s murder squad.

Now it is believed Mr Williams probably died alone, according to The Daily Telegraph.

A source close to the inquiry said: “They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out”.

The keys to the red North Face holdall were found in the bottom of the bag when Mr Williams’ naked body was found in the empty bath of his apartment in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.

Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag.

And it was claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.

But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment so it fits with how Mr Williams was found in August 2010, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Lithgow Mercury : An inside job: Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over MI6 codebreaker who died locked naked in a sports bag in the bathtub

An inside job: Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over MI6 codebreaker who died locked naked in a sports bag in the bathtub

By Duncan Gardham | December 27, 2012

MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag where his naked body was found and was not the victim of a hit by the security services, Scotland Yard has found after conducting a review of the case.

Dr Fiona Wilcox, the Westminster Coroner, said earlier this year that she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.

The ruling sparked a review of the case by Scotland Yard's murder squad which has re-interviewed his colleagues from MI6 and taken DNA samples over the last seven months.

Detectives had believed that someone else must have locked the codebreaker in the bag and launched a search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple, who were later ruled out of inquiries. But detectives now believe that he probably died alone.

“They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out,” a source close to the inquiry said.

The keys to the red North Face holdall were found in the bottom of the bag when Mr Williams's naked body was found in the empty bath of his apartment in Pimlico, central London in August 2010.

Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag and one claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.

But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way the bag is locked that fits with how Gareth Williams was found in August 2010.

Dr Wilcox, a former negligence barrister, had ruled that the lack of hand and footprints in the bathroom was "significant" but it understood that police have also been able to identify around 300 fingerprints in the flat.

The coroner also dismissed speculation that Mr Williams died as a result of some kind of "auto-erotic activity", but detectives now believe that is probably the only option left.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained "active" and that officers were still exploring "a number of lines of enquiry."

The inquest had heard that Mr Williams, a codebreaker for GCHQ who was on secondment to MI6, had been found in his boxer shorts and tied to his bed by his landlord and landlady in Cheltenham a few years earlier.

Video footage found on a mobile phone in Mr Williams's flat showed him dressed in nothing but black leather boots as he “wiggled and gyrated" for the camera.

He kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had £20,000-worth of designer women's clothes in his flat along with women's shoes and wigs.

He browsed self-bondage websites and sites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - on his computers and phone and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.

Friends and family were upset at speculation that Mr Williams may have been gay and speculated that "some agency specialising in the dark arts" was behind his killing.

In her ruling, Dr Wilcox said there was no evidence to suggest the spy was a transvestite "or interested in any such thing".

The make-up found in his flat was more likely to reflect his interest in fashion and the wigs were "far more consistent with dress-up such as attendance at a manga conference", she said.

The suggestion that his interest in female footwear could have been of a sexual nature, was not unusual, Dr Wilcox observed.

Mr Williams's colleagues at MI6 had failed to report him missing for a week and did not turn over nine memory sticks and a black bag that was under his desk at their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, sparking rumours of a cover-up.

The coroner said it remained a "legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services were involved in Mr Williams's death although there was no firm evidence.

The Telegraph, London

Dominion Post : MI6 spy did it himself, Scotland Yard says

MI6 spy did it himself, Scotland Yard says

also: The City Weekly

December 27, 2012

British police say a MI6 agent found dead locked inside a sports bag probably locked himself into the sports bag where his naked body was found and was not the victim of a hit by the security services.

Cryptology expert Gareth Williams, 31, worked for Britain's secret eavesdropping service GCHQ but was attached to the MI6 overseas spy agency when his remains were found in August 2010 inside the bag in a bathtub at his London apartment.

A British coroner ruled in May that another person was likely to have been involved in Williams' death, adding that she could not rule out the involvement of the spy agency.

But a Scotland Yard review of the case sparked by that ruling has concluded that he probably died alone, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The murder squad has spent seven months re-interviewing Williams' colleagues from MI6 and has taken DNA samples.

"They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out," a source close to the inquiry said.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said it was unlikely that the death would ever be "satisfactorily explained," but she said the spy was likely killed either by suffocation or poisoning in a "criminally meditated act."

She said he could not have climbed into the bag and locked it himself. Two different specialists attempted to recreate the feat without success.

Williams was discovered in the foetal position inside the bag with two keys to the bag's padlock underneath his buttocks.

SECRET LIFE?

Williams, described as an introverted math genius, worked for Britain's secret eavesdropping service GCHQ.

But he was attached to the MI6 foreign spy agency when his remains were found, just a few days after returning from a trip to the United States.

Forensic experts found some £20,000 (NZ$39,965) worth of luxury women's clothing, shoes and wigs in his apartment.

Police also discovered that he had visited bondage and sadomasochism websites, including some related to claustrophilia - a desire for confinement in enclosed spaces.

William's landlord testified during the coroner's hearing that she once found him handcuffed to his bed. She said he had appeared embarrassed after asking for help.

When the case emerged, some had speculated that he could have been the target of Russian criminal gangs or an al Qaeda extremist.

Other media reports had said there had been a break-in at the property where he lived - a building sometimes used by MI6 to house its agents.

MI6 waited a week to investigate why Williams hadn't shown up for work - a delay that made it difficult for Williams' family to identify his badly decomposed body.

During the coroner's hearing, MI6 accepted that Williams disliked the agency's boozy culture of post-work drinking and tedious bureaucracy, and had requested to return to his job at GCHQ.

One MI6 officer claimed that Williams hadn't been reported as missing because colleagues assumed he was preparing for his return to the southern England headquarters of the eavesdropping service.

- © Fairfax NZ News

SMH : An inside job: Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over MI6 codebreaker who died locked naked in a sports bag in the bathtub

An inside job: Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over MI6 codebreaker who died locked naked in a sports bag in the bathtub

Duncan Gardham | December 27, 2012

MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag where his naked body was found and was not the victim of a hit by the security services, Scotland Yard has found after conducting a review of the case.

Dr Fiona Wilcox, the Westminster Coroner, said earlier this year that she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.

The ruling sparked a review of the case by Scotland Yard's murder squad which has re-interviewed his colleagues from MI6 and taken DNA samples over the last seven months.

Detectives had believed that someone else must have locked the codebreaker in the bag and launched a search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple, who were later ruled out of inquiries. But detectives now believe that he probably died alone.

“They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out,” a source close to the inquiry said.

The keys to the red North Face holdall were found in the bottom of the bag when Mr Williams's naked body was found in the empty bath of his apartment in Pimlico, central London in August 2010.

Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag and one claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.

But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way the bag is locked that fits with how Gareth Williams was found in August 2010.

Dr Wilcox, a former negligence barrister, had ruled that the lack of hand and footprints in the bathroom was "significant" but it understood that police have also been able to identify around 300 fingerprints in the flat.

The coroner also dismissed speculation that Mr Williams died as a result of some kind of "auto-erotic activity", but detectives now believe that is probably the only option left.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained "active" and that officers were still exploring "a number of lines of enquiry."

The inquest had heard that Mr Williams, a codebreaker for GCHQ who was on secondment to MI6, had been found in his boxer shorts and tied to his bed by his landlord and landlady in Cheltenham a few years earlier.

Video footage found on a mobile phone in Mr Williams's flat showed him dressed in nothing but black leather boots as he “wiggled and gyrated" for the camera.

He kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had £20,000-worth of designer women's clothes in his flat along with women's shoes and wigs.

He browsed self-bondage websites and sites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - on his computers and phone and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.

Friends and family were upset at speculation that Mr Williams may have been gay and speculated that "some agency specialising in the dark arts" was behind his killing.

In her ruling, Dr Wilcox said there was no evidence to suggest the spy was a transvestite "or interested in any such thing".

The make-up found in his flat was more likely to reflect his interest in fashion and the wigs were "far more consistent with dress-up such as attendance at a manga conference", she said.

The suggestion that his interest in female footwear could have been of a sexual nature, was not unusual, Dr Wilcox observed.

Mr Williams's colleagues at MI6 had failed to report him missing for a week and did not turn over nine memory sticks and a black bag that was under his desk at their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, sparking rumours of a cover-up.

The coroner said it remained a "legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services were involved in Mr Williams's death although there was no firm evidence.

The Telegraph, London