Independent : The enigma of a code-breaker's death

The enigma of a code-breaker's death

The reputation of a brilliant man who served his country will be for ever tainted by the failure to explain his demise

By David Randall | September 26, 2010

On Friday, in the Bethel Methodist Chapel in Angelsey, the funeral was held of Gareth Williams. In life, he was a mathematician and an encryption specialist so highly regarded that he was seconded from GCHQ in Cheltenham to work at MI6 in London. In death, he is an enigma, an infuriating mystery for most of us, a deeply upsetting puzzle to his parents; for, though his body is now laid to rest, the questions about the bizarre way he met his end show no sign of being buried. Yesterday brought another theory, something this saga has attracted as a September orchard does wasps.

The facts are these. Gareth Williams was 31, studied mathematics at Cambridge, was recruited by the government's listening and monitoring operation in Gloucestershire, and was lent for a year to MI6. He moved to London last September, lived in a five-storey security services safe house at 36 Alderney Street, Pimlico, worked on matters such as computer security involving the City, and led, as far as police can tell, a rather introverted existence – no known partners or lovers, and little socialising. His only enthusiasm beyond his work seems to have been cycling.

Last month, he took a holiday. He went to the United States, returned on 11 August, and was last seen alive on CCTV at Holland Park Tube station on 14 August, and shopping near Harrods the following day. Eight days later, when he failed to appear back at work, colleagues raised the alarm, and officers went to his home. His flat seemed undisturbed and unoccupied, but in the bath they found a red, outsized, zipped and padlocked North Face holdall. Inside were the decaying remains of Mr Williams. His body (he was 5ft 8in tall) was naked, curled up tightly, with his arms and legs contorted behind him. The bag had 140 litres of storage capacity, and was double-stitched. The flat's direct telephone link to MI6 had not been used, and its front door had been locked from the outside.

Subsequent tests have established that Mr Williams had not been drugged by any known substances and had not taken drink, and his body, the apartment and holdall showed no signs of a struggle. There were no scratches or bruises on his body. Initial examinations indicate that he died of suffocation, with dehydration contributing, but confirmation of this will have to wait for the results of two post-mortems, due in a fortnight's time.

As if these facts were not riddle or sensational enough in themselves, the speculation – by "sources" real or imagined, online or off – has added further layers of weirdness. Into the vacuum created by no swift explanation has rushed a large quantity of hot air and now discredited or denied theorising. He was a sado-masochist ("more James Bondage than James Bond", as The West Australian leeringly put it) with a flat full of porn and restraint equipment. Not true, say police. He had 12 gay lovers. Wrong again on several levels, apparently. He was poisoned "by a foreign power" or "terrorist group" (he had worked, briefly, on systems in both Northern Ireland and Afghanistan), possibly by being injected with polonium, the substance that did for Alexander Litvinenko. There is no evidence for this, either.

What has some credibility is the latest idea, floated by yesterday's Daily Mail, that "MI6 spook did not die alone". This was an answer to the stories that Mr Williams died as a result of a hazardous sex game, a form of auto-eroticism that involved him being able to confine himself in the holdall and then somehow close the zip and secure the padlock. A woman police officer had, according to previous reports emanating from the Mail group and others, re-enacted this scenario to a fully padlocked conclusion.

This theory, which left the locking of the front door from the outside somewhat unexplained, was now, however, pooh-poohed, and, according to the Mail, "He was padlocked into the bag by someone else... and was alive when he got into – or was forced into – the bag." Yet the sex game idea was not entirely abandoned, as it was now speculated that he may have been shut in the bag, his assistant (or assistants) locking it before departing the flat; they were due to return to release him but miscalculated and found him dead when they came back.

This line of thought, outré though it sounds, does lead back to the remaining known facts about Mr Williams' life in London. Both of them involve his association with a couple who have yet to be traced. It has been established, for instance, that, twice a week over a period of a few months, Mr Williams had gone to the Patisserie Valerie in Holland Park, ordered an americano and waited. After a while, a couple would appear, order nothing, talk to Mr Wiliams for some minutes and then leave. Then there is a couple, described as "of Mediterranean appearance" (which the couple in the café were not, eye-witnesses say), who had a key, or at least ready access to Mr Williams' MI6 flat. Neighbours say that this pair did not, as far as they casually observed, need to be "buzzed up" to the flat by Mr Williams.

And so the mystery now lies, doomed – unless clarity is achieved soon – to churn for ever in the articles and websites of conspiracy theorists, leaving the name and reputation of a brilliant man in the service of his country tainted by the failure to explain his death adequately.

UPI : Dead MI6 agent also worked in Washington

Dead MI6 agent also worked in Washington

September 25, 2010

LONDON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The FBI is helping British police in their investigation into the death of an intelligence analyst who had worked in the United States, officials say.

Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, the British military intelligence agency, attended Gareth Williams' funeral Friday at the Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey, Wales, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Williams' body was found in his London apartment locked into a sports bag on Aug. 23. Investigators had not determined a cause of death.

Williams, 31, made several trips to the United States to work with the National Security Agency at Fort Meade in Maryland, the Telegraph said. He returned from his final trip on Aug. 10.

A couple reportedly visited Williams in London. The FBI has been using face recognition technology to determine if the couple were with Williams on any of his flights into or out of the United States.

Agents have also asked baggage handlers in Washington if they remember a bag like the one where the body was found and have searched an apartment where he stayed in the city, the Telegraph said.

UKPA : Police refuse comment on spy's death

Police refuse comment on spy's death

September 25, 2010

Police have refused to comment on a report that a spy found dead in a holdall could not have died alone.

Gareth Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month.

His naked body was discovered in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. They regard the case as "suspicious and unexplained".

The Daily Mail said police were certain he was padlocked into the large holdall by someone else.

It said he was alive when he got into, or was forced into, the bag, and died from suffocation.

There have previously also been reports elsewhere that Mr Williams died alone.

Scotland Yard declined to comment on the new claim, or a suggestion in the same story that the outer door of Mr Williams' Government flat in Pimlico, central London, had been locked from the outside.

The Yard has previously announced that it wants to identify a man and woman, both of Mediterranean appearance and aged between 20 and 30, who were let into the communal entrance of his flat late one evening in June or July.

The Mail reported that they are understood to have had a set of keys to the flat, though again the Yard had no comment.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Metro : FBI 'joins investigation' into MI6 worker's body in a bag death

FBI 'joins investigation' into MI6 worker's body in a bag death

September 25, 2010

The FBI has joined the investigation into the mysterious death of MI6 code breaker Gareth Williams, according to a report.

Mr Williams's body was discovered inside a sports bag in the bath at his London home on August 23rd, triggering a high-profile police operation.
MI6 worker Gareth Williams was laid to rest on Friday (PA) MI6 worker Gareth Williams was laid to rest on Friday (PA)

Despite the efforts of police officers and pathologists, it is still unclear how the 31-year-old died and his funeral took place on Friday with his family in the dark about the circumstances that led to his passing.

Reports on Saturday suggested the police have finally ruled out the possibility he died alone, having previously considered whether he may have climbed into the bag by himself as part of a sex game.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, police are now focusing their attention on the hunt for a couple of Mediterranean appearance who are believed to have visited Mr Williams during the summer.

The newspaper claims that British investigators have asked the FBI for help, as Mr Williams made regular trips to the US after spending time on secondment with the National Security Agency, including one less than a fortnight before his body was found.

FBI officers are said to have searched a flat used by the MI6 worker in the US, as well as using facial recognition software to study airport CCTV tapes and questioning baggage handlers.

It is thought that investigators on both sides of the Atlantic have concluded that Mr Williams's death had nothing to do with espionage.

His funeral in Holyhead was attended by Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, who praised the valuable work undertaken by Mr Williams during his time with the Secret Intelligence Service and GCHQ.

Independent : Police refuse to comment on suspicions surrounding spy's death

Police refuse to comment on suspicions surrounding spy's death

By Tim Moynihan, Press Association | September 25, 2010

Police today refused to comment on a report that a spy found dead in a holdall could not have died alone.

Gareth Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month.

His naked body was discovered in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. They regard the case as "suspicious and unexplained".

Today's Daily Mail said police were certain he was padlocked into the large holdall by someone else.

It said he was alive when he got into, or was forced into, the bag, and died from suffocation.

There have previously also been reports elsewhere that Mr Williams died alone.

Scotland Yard declined to comment on the new claim, or a suggestion in the same story that the outer door of Mr Williams' Government flat in Pimlico, central London, had been locked from the outside.

The Yard has previously announced that it wants to identify a man and woman, both of Mediterranean appearance and aged between 20 and 30, who were let into the communal entrance of his flat late one evening in June or July.

The Mail reported that they are understood to have had a set of keys to the flat, though again the Yard had no comment.

The report comes a day after Mr Williams' funeral in North Wales.

The head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey to support Mr Williams' family and represent the maths genius's colleagues who could not attend.

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John said it was not for him to say.

He insisted it was a police matter and said: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

"It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service.

"My deepest sympathies go to the family.

"Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

"He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Guardian : MI6 chief attends funeral of intelligence worker Gareth Williams

MI6 chief attends funeral of intelligence worker Gareth Williams

Sir John Sawers pays tribute to 'hugely talented person' who did 'really valuable work in the cause of national security'

Press Association | September 24, 2010

The head of MI6 has attended the funeral of Gareth Williams, the intelligence officer found dead in a padlocked holdall in his London flat.

Police are still investigating the death last month.

Sir John Sawers, the public face of the agency, took his place in the Methodist chapel in Anglesey through the front door – unlike some agents who used a back door to protect their identities.

Outside the church Sir John said Williams's death was a police matter, adding: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

"He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

In the church, tributes were led by Islwyn Williams, the headteacher of the code breaker and cipher specialist's primary school, Ysgol Morswyn.

Mr Williams said of all the children he taught, Gareth made the strongest lasting impression and was academically brilliant.

Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found.

CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station.

Police have not categorised his death as murder.Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in Vauxhall, London.

He was due to return to a rented flat in Cheltenham where Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, is based.

Williams also worked for the United States National Security Agency and made regular trips to Washington DC and Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

Daily Mail : MI6 spook did NOT die alone: Police certain he was padlocked in bag by someone else

MI6 spook did NOT die alone: Police certain he was padlocked in bag by someone else

By Stephen Wright | September 24, 2010

The MI6 spy whose naked body was found in a sports bag in his bath could not have died alone, police believe.

They are now certain he was padlocked into the large holdall by someone else.

Gareth Williams, 31, who was working on secondment for MI6, was alive when he got into - or was forced into – the bag and died from suffocation.

There were no injuries on his body to suggest a struggle and police have still not ruled out the possibility that his death was the culmination of a bizarre sex game that went wrong.

But in another mysterious twist, the Mail can reveal that the outer door to Mr Williams’s flat in Pimlico, Central London, had apparently been locked from the outside when police arrived on the scene.

Detectives have now intensified their search for a Mediterranean couple known to have been with Mr Williams in the weeks before his death. They are understood to have had a set of keys to the flat.

The disclosures come after a month of frenzied speculation about what happened in the flat last month, including theories that Mr Williams committed suicide alone.

But as the head of MI6 attended Mr Williams’s funeral near his family home in North Wales yesterday, the Daily Mail can reveal that this line of inquiry has been discounted.

We can also reveal that there is no evidence to support claims that Mr Williams was a cross-dresser, that bondage equipment was found at his home, that a laptop was missing from the flat, or that he had reported to spy bosses that he was being followed.

Nor, as was claimed in one report, was any suspicious liquid found next to his body in the sports bag.

Police have also dismissed allegations of irregularities in his finances and there is no evidence that Mr Williams had committed any criminal acts.

Inquiries continue into his private life, which officers remain convinced will be the key to solving the case.

Mr Williams’s decomposing body was found inside a zipped and padlocked North Face bag in his flat on August 23.

Initially it was thought the cycling enthusiast had been murdered, but the case remains officially classified as ‘suspicious and unexplained’.

Detectives believe that whoever was present around the time of his death might have been too scared to come forward to explain what happened.

The revelation that the Mediterranean couple had their own keys emerged after the Daily Mail returned to the scene of Mr Williams’s death earlier this week and spoke to neighbours.

Detectives believe the man and woman, in their thirties, were known to Mr Williams because neighbours do not recall their being ‘buzzed’ into the address.

Despite repeated appeals, the couple – who visited the flat owned by the intelligence services in late June or early July – have not come forward.

Their reluctance to identify themselves has hampered ‘Operation Finlayson’, the code name given to the Metropolitan Police investigation into Mr Williams’s death.

The Mail can reveal that the results of two post-mortem examinations, carried out by respected pathologists Ben Swift and Dick Shepherd, are expected to be made public in the next fortnight.

Initial tests are understood to suggest that Mr Williams died of suffocation while in the bag. Toxicology tests showed no traces of alcohol or rec­reational drugs in his system.

Mr Williams’s body was found in an extra-large North Face bag, which features 140 litres of storage capacity, durable material, double stitching, twin haul handles and locking zips.

Claims that a WPC or escapologist of similar height and build to Mr Williams had locked the padlock while inside the same type of bag, during a ‘re-enactment’ of the possible events leading to his death, have been dismissed.

A former senior Met detective said: ‘Cases like this are not like an episode of CSI. They are not solved neatly in 45 minutes.’

The head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey for yesterday’s funeral to support Mr Williams’s family and represent colleagues who could not attend.

Mr Williams was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service from GCHQ in Cheltenham.

The mourners were led by his parents Ian and Ellen, his sister Ceri and her husband Chris Subbe.

A tribute was paid by Islwyn Williams, headteacher of Ysgol Morswyn, the primary school attended by the code-breaker and cipher specialist.

He said: ‘He accomplished more in three short decades than the rest of us do in a lifetime.’

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John insisted it was a police matter.

He said: ‘It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

‘Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security.’

Mr Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park Tube station.

Daily Mail : 'Spooks' in mourning: Head of MI6 attends funeral of spy found locked in sports bag

'Spooks' in mourning: Head of MI6 attends funeral of spy found locked in sports bag

By Daily Mail Reporter | September 24, 2010

Spy Gareth Williams, who was found dead in a sports bag in a Central London flat, has been laid to rest in a service attended by the head of MI6.

Sir John Sawers made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey on Friday to support Mr Williams's family and represent the maths genius's colleagues who could not attend.

Sir John, the public face of the agency, took his place in the 115-year-old church through the front door - unlike a number of other spooks ushered into the building through a back door to protect their identities.

Mr Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month.

His body was discovered trapped in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. No trace of drugs or alcohol was found in the cycling enthusiast's body.

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John said it was not for him to say.

He insisted it was a police matter and said: 'It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

'It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service.

'My deepest sympathies go to the family. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well.

'He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security.'

Tearful relatives followed Mr Williams's pine-coloured coffin into church with his parents Ian and Ellen and sister Ceri, whose husband Chris Subbe also paid tribute to Mr Williams during the service.

Mr Williams's parents issued a short statement saying: 'Ellen, Ian, Ceri, Chris and all the family wish to thank everyone for all the sympathy and kindness shown to them in their bereavement.'

In church, tributes were led by Islwyn Williams, the headteacher of the code breaker and cipher specialist's primary school, Ysgol Morswyn.

Mr Williams said of all the children he taught, the spy made the strongest lasting impression and was academically brilliant.

The teacher applauded his pupil for transferring to secondary school at age 10 and passing his maths GCSE at age 13.

'He accomplished more in three short decades than the rest of us do in a lifetime,' he said.

Mr Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station.

Police have refused to categorise his death as murder.

Mr Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in Vauxhall, London.

He was due to return to a rented flat in Cheltenham where Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, is based.

Mr Williams also worked for the United States National Security Agency and made regular trips to Washington DC and Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

Canadian Press : Head of MI6 attends funeral of British spy whose body was found in bag in his bathtub

Head of MI6 attends funeral of British spy whose body was found in bag in his bathtub

By The Associated Press (CP) | September 24, 2010

LONDON — The head of Britain's MI6 spy agency has attended the funeral of an intelligence officer whose body was found inside a padlocked sports bag.

The 31-year-old code-breaker Gareth Williams was found dead last month inside his London apartment. He worked for the eavesdropping agency GCHQ, and was on secondment to the foreign spy service, known as MI6, when he died.

His death sparked speculation and theories ranging from assassination to a sex game gone wrong. Police say only that it remains unexplained.

Williams was laid to rest Friday in his home town of Holyhead, north Wales.

MI6 chief John Sawers paid tribute to Williams for doing "really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

UKPA : MI6 chief attends funeral of spy

MI6 chief attends funeral of spy

UKPA | September 24, 2010

Spy Gareth Williams, who was found dead in a flat in central London, has been laid to rest in a service attended by the head of MI6.

Sir John Sawers made the journey from London to the small Bethel Methodist Chapel in Anglesey on Friday to support Mr Williams's family and represent the maths genius's colleagues who could not attend.

Sir John, the public face of the agency, took his place in the 115-year-old church through the front door - unlike a number of other spooks ushered into the building through a back door to protect their identities.

Mr Williams, 31, was on secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service from GCHQ in Cheltenham, when he was found dead last month. His body was discovered trapped in a padlocked North Face holdall placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico.

Mystery surrounds his death and police continue to investigate. No trace of drugs or alcohol was found in the cycling enthusiast's body.

Outside church, when asked if the investigation would ever get to the bottom of what happened to Mr Williams, Sir John said it was not for him to say. He insisted it was a police matter and said: "It has been a desperately sad period for the family since Gareth died.

"It has been very difficult for them and I wanted to be here today as the only public face of the Secret Intelligence Service. My deepest sympathies go to the family. Gareth was a hugely talented person and he was very modest and generous as well. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security."

Tearful relatives followed Mr Williams's pine coloured coffin into church with his parents Ian and Ellen and sister Ceri, whose husband Chris Subbe also paid tribute to Mr Williams during the service. Mr Williams's parents issued a short statement saying: "Ellen, Ian, Ceri, Chris and all the family wish to thank everyone for all the sympathy and kindness shown to them in their bereavement."

Mr Williams was last seen alive eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station. Police have refused to categorise his death as murder.

Mr Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in Vauxhall, London. He was due to return to a rented flat in Cheltenham where Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, is based. Mr Williams also worked for the United States National Security Agency and made regular trips to Washington DC and Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

UKPA : Funeral of MI6 man found dead in bag

Funeral of MI6 man found dead in bag

September 24, 2010

The funeral of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams, whose body was found in London, is to take place.

The 31-year-old's naked body was found padlocked shut in a holdall in a bath at his London flat on August 23.

Scotland Yard is treating his death as "unexplained".

He died while on secondment to the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from his work at Government Communications HQ (GCHQ) in Cheltenham.

The public funeral will be held at 1pm at the Bethel Chapel, Holyhead, Anglesey.

Mr Williams's parents, Ian and Ellen, asked for donations in the keen cyclist's memory to go to their local mountain rescue service.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

UKPA : Funeral date for MI6 man found dead in bag

Funeral date for MI6 man found dead in bag

September 22, 2010

The funeral of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams, whose body was found in London, will take place on Friday.

The 31-year-old's naked body was found padlocked shut in a holdall in a bath at his flat on August 23.

Scotland Yard is treating his death as "unexplained".

In a death notice in the North Wales Daily Post, his family announced that the public funeral will take place at 1pm on Friday at the Bethel Chapel, Holyhead, Anglesey.

The notice went on to pay tribute to Mr Williams, saying he was the "beloved" son of Ellen and Ian and the "adored brother and best friend" of sister Ceri and her husband Chris.

The family of Mr Williams, a keen sportsman, has asked for donations to the local Mountain Rescue Service in his memory.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

The First Post : MI6 man ‘locked himself in his holdall’. Oh yes?

MI6 man ‘locked himself in his holdall’. Oh yes?

Latest theory about the death of Gareth Williams is preposterous, say security experts

By Jack Bremer | September 20, 2010

National security experts reached by The First Post last night have reacted with a mixture of astonishment, ridicule and suspicion to the idea that Gareth Williams, the MI6 agent found dead in a London flat last month, padlocked himself in a zip-up holdall in search of a sexual thrill and then suffocated because he couldn't get out again.

"With all due respect to Williams and his family, I haven't stopped laughing since I read the paper at breakfast," one former agent said. "It's more than unlikely - it's preposterous."

The hypothesis was reported by the Sunday Times, quoting anonymous "security sources".

The paper claimed police had established that Williams, a single man, had a record of engaging in autoerotic practices, and that the greatest likelihood was that he had died as result of an experiment going wrong.

According to the Sunday Times' source, police recently invited an escapologist to show them whether it was possible to lock oneself in a holdall and get out again. The escapologist duly climbed into the bag, padlocked it from the inside and then unzipped it using a sharp-tipped pen.

Convinced by this - and without addressing whether a 31-year-old codebreaker would necessarily have the skills honed over the years by a seasoned escapologist - the police were apparently persuaded that Williams must have got into the bag and then suffocated in the August heat before he could release himself.

"The emerging background is something almost certainly autoerotic," a "senior official" told the paper.

The "emerging background", to coin a phrase, for those observing this case unfold, is that the police are at a total loss as to how Williams died.

This is either because forensics are revealing nothing - it is possible he was murdered by an enemy using undetectable poison, for instance - or because someone somewhere has succeeded in throwing the police off the scent.

According to The First Post's security sources, there are good reasons why government agencies might want this investigation to "go away". These include the possibility that what Williams was working on - and what might have led to his murder - is simply too sensitive to be allowed to go public. It is also possible that his employers slipped up in some respect.

One security consultant who spoke anonymously to The First Post said he had been surprised from the start at the considerable delay - at least a week, longer according to some reports - before anyone was alerted to Williams's absence.

This did not tally with our source's experience of working for British intelligence: he said the slightest hiccup in established routine would bring instant inquiries.

Another source was puzzled by the differing messages being leaked - mainly to the Sunday Times - by those claiming to be close to the investigation. "One minute we're looking for a suspicious couple of Mediterranean appearance, the next we're being told he could have been poisoned by polonium-210 like Alexander Litvinenko - now we're expected to believe that he locked himself in a suitcase."

The facts are that Gareth Williams was a GCHQ codebreaker on secondment to MI6, where his work made him privy to highly classified anti-terrorism material. On August 23, at least a week after he had last been seen, his body was found in a North Face holdall in the bath at his top-floor apartment in Pimlico, a short walk from MI6 headquarters.

Yes, there are instances of auto-asphyxiation fetishists accidentally killing themselves. But invariably these cases involve hanging, not climbing into airtight suitcases.

As Crispin Black wrote for The First Post a week ago, the discovery of Gareth Williams's corpse bore all the hallmarks of a murder by someone who had killed before.

The perpetrator had prepared the victim for transport, put the bag in the bath where any final traces of the crime could most easily be washed away, and was then presumably interrupted before being able to remove the body for disposal.

The Australian : Sex-game spy Gareth Williams suffocated

Sex-game spy Gareth Williams suffocated

From The Sunday Times | September 20, 2010

BRITISH spy Gareth Williams suffocated because he was unable to escape after padlocking himself inside a bag, officials say.

The code-breaker, whose naked body was found in a locked bag in his London flat, had not been murdered but died during a bizarre "autoerotic" experiment, security sources have disclosed.

Government officials monitoring the police case say they believe Williams, 31, suffocated because he was unable to get out of the bag.

Williams worked on highly classified anti-terrorism material at GCHQ, the government's eavesdropping centre at Cheltenham, southern England, and had moved to London for a one-year assignment with MI6, the overseas intelligence service.

Officials said they uncovered evidence that Williams had a record of engaging in autoerotic practices, and that he died when a sex game went wrong.

"The emerging background is something almost certainly autoerotic," said a senior official who has been briefed on the Scotland Yard investigation.

Numerous conspiracy theories regarding the reason for Williams's death have circulated since his body was discovered on August 23.

This Is Gloucestershire : GCHQ man 'died in sex game' - claim

GCHQ man 'died in sex game' - claim

September 19, 2010

GCHQ codebreaker Dr Gareth Williams died during a bizarre "autoerotic" experiment, according to a report.

Dr Williams, who worked at the Government base in Cheltenham for 10 years, was found dead inside a bag in his London flat on August 23.

Now, The Sunday Times has reported an unnamed security official as saying detectives believe his death may have been self-inflicted.

The paper quotes its source as saying: "The emerging background is something almost certainly autoerotic."

WorldNetDaily : Toxins investigated in spy's death

Toxins investigated in spy's death

Analyst: 'Look east: Chinese have history of creating poison'

September 17, 2010

Scientists at Porton Down, Britain's chemical and biological warfare establishment on the edge of Salisbury Plain, have ruled out that Gareth Williams, the GCHQ spy, was poisoned by polonium, the lethal radioactive poison that killed Alexander Litvinenco, a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin confirms.

But they have identified a number of lethal fast-acting toxins which would have left no trace in his body long before it was found inside a padlocked holdall inside his MI6 safe house in Pimlico, London.

Porton Down has a special unit housed in the building where government microbiologist Dr. David Kelly had his own research laboratories. The unit specializes in analyzing poisons used by foreign intelligence services.

Last week it was reported that the Russian government had given the Foreign Office a "guarantee" that its intelligence service, SVR, had not murdered Williams. The Foreign Office has refused to discuss the matter. But MI6 insist the Russians were not involved.

An intelligence source close to the Williams investigation suggested "look east: The Chinese have a long history of creating the perfect poison."

China's scientists work in laboratories inside the Ministry of State Security, MSS, complex. Their department is known as the Investigative Bureau, and near the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The bureau has ultimate control over all China's intelligence operations. These including recruiting double agents and paying the fees of Chinese students to study abroad. Graduates are urged to find jobs in the defense industries like Britain and the United States.

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Daily Rosetta : US Expert to Solve Gareth Williams Death Mystery

US Expert to Solve Gareth Williams Death Mystery

by Violeta Bahin | September 14, 2010

Concern is growing within the intelligence community that the MI6 spy Gareth Williams, who was found dead in his London flat, may have been the victim of a professional hit man by a foreign power.

Now, a leading pathologist from US may fly this week to try to unravel the mystery behind the mystery death of Williams after a post-mortem examination failed to reveal the cause of death as detectives remain puzzled over his death. The said expert has been trained in CIA and FBI techniques to look for sophisticated methods of assassinations using hard-to-detect substances.

Reports claimed that Williams had told his bosses he believed he was being followed by two men. On Monday police discarded this idea then admitted they wanted to trace the mystery couple.

“I would appeal to anyone who may have seen or had contact with Gareth in the period between August 11 and 23 to come forward and speak with us at the Incident Room on 0208 358 0200, or to remain anonymous by calling Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111,” Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline Sebire of Homicide and Serious Crime Command, who is leading the investigation, said.

Williams was discovered dead at his home on August 23. His naked remains were found inside a locked sports bag. He was working on systems to defend British banks and transport infrastructure from cyber attack and to eavesdrop on terrorist communications. He had been on assignment with the MI6 spy agency. He also played an important role creating equipment to listen to Taliban communications in Afghanistan and had helped to fit out three aircraft with the equipment, making them airborne-listening stations.

MercatorNet : Lonely life, lonely death

Lonely life, lonely death

The mysterious death of a British spy in the heart of London shows the hazards of the profession.

by Michael Coren | September 13, 2010

The British have a dark, sardonic sense of humour. It’s what got them through depressions, Nazi bombing raids and even socialist governments! So it took only a day or two late last month for the joke to circulate that the British intelligence services were so clever that their agents could commit the most extraordinary suicides in the world. The reference was to Gareth Williams, a young man seconded to MI6, whose body was found in a padlocked and sealed sports bag in the bath of his apartment.

Not funny for his friends and family of course. The 31-year-old was actually an employee of GCHQ, the Government Communications Headquarters based in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. It is part of three main branches of British intelligence along with MI5 (domestic intelligence) and MI6, also known as the SIS or Secret Intelligence Service (foreign intelligence). GCHG is, as it were, the least glamorous of the trio and most of its work involves listening to and monitoring communications and – vital work – deciphering what potential threat targets are saying to each other.

Williams had been seconded to MI6 in London, based on the south bank of the River Thames just down the road from the Houses of Parliament and from MI5, both establishments across the river over Lambeth Bridge. He lived nearby in Pimlico, which is where his body was found. It’s likely that he wasn’t a field agent but a mathematical genius recruited from university and employed to work on codes. He was an isolated figure, a passionate cyclist, quiet, reliable and with few if any friends. It is also claimed that his body was found two weeks after he was killed, that there were no signs of struggle or even of how he died and that various identity cards were arranged in his home as if to leave some sort of signal.

I say “claimed” because there is no way to know if any of this is true. Would even a low-level member of the intelligence community not be searched for by colleagues if he had not checked in for work for two weeks? Front-line agents have to call in under a secret code at regular, usually daily intervals but even ordinary staff members are scrutinized. The police still claim to have no leads and the story is no longer receiving much coverage in the British press but all sorts of questions remain unanswered.

One being why there were suggestions of sexual violence – the implication being of a homosexual variety – made within 24 hours of the story breaking. There was never any evidence of this but some newspapers ran with the report that bondage equipment was founded in Williams’ home. According to local police officers who later spoke to the press this was utter nonsense. As was the idea that the poor man cruised gay bars – there is a gay bathhouse directly across the road from the MI6 offices – or that he had some sort of guilty and clandestine double life.

This is British intelligence for goodness sake. They know about double lives and investigate every person who works for them. Gay men and women are openly employed by MI6 and MI5 – it is the possibility of blackmail and not sexual preference that determines the suitability of an applicant. In other words, as long as there is nothing to hide there is nothing to worry about. in any case, his relatives have furiously denied that he was a homosexual and say that he is being smeared by the government.

Was it MI6 who discredited Williams or was it a foreign agency? Was his death political and if so was he killed by a friend or an enemy? We may know eventually but likely not for some time. There is and always has been a reciprocal if not symbiotic relationship between the intelligence services and the media in Britain – less a case of the “spooks”, as they are known, exploiting the press than the intelligence people letting it be known that if journalists want good stories and leaked information they need to do what they’re told at other times.

When I was at university in England one of my professors, an avuncular and kindly man, told me that I was “Intelligent and lazy. You’ll make a good journalist or a good spy.” I laughed, went on my way and eventually became a journalist. I realize now that he was probably making preliminary recruitment inquiries. A talent spotter. Not that I was very talented. A fellow student who was studying Russian did eventually join the MI5 – something he did not tell his friends until he had left. He refused to say very much about what went on – “boring really, just lots of listening to the radio and reading Soviet newspapers” – but did tell us that what surprised him was how untidy the offices always were.

“Thing is, you see, it’s quite difficult to do thorough security checks on people who clean offices and empty the bins. So the cleaning up is left to the people who work there and we resented doing it. Always argued about whose turn it was to do it. So most days it was a mess. Not as glamorous as I’d hoped.”

Not glamorous at all for the unfortunate Gareth Williams but British intelligence still enjoys a fine reputation and, apart from a bad period during the cold war, has performed its tasks extremely well. The problems of double-agents working for Moscow in the 1940s, 50s and early 60s was that many of the men and women who has done such excellent work spying on and monitoring the Nazis and their supporters during the 30s and the Second World War had a sympathy for Communism based on their hatred of fascism. Thus their loyalties became clouded once the war was over. It led to betrayal and to lack of faith on the part of the always more bellicose CIA.

The intelligence war against Irish extremism, the modern hard left and small far right was and is far more successful but today an estimated 70 percent of the efforts, energy and finance of the security services is devoted to Islamic fundamentalism. Mosques are certainly infiltrated, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu speakers recruited and trained and a whole network of informants and intelligence-gatherers maintained. The country is on a permanent “high alert” level and it’s estimated that more than a dozen serious and up to a hundred potential Islamic terror attacks have been prevented by MI5, MI6 and their support group within the police – Special Branch.

So whatever happened to the unfortunate Mr Williams – may he rest in peace – is fascinating but has no effect on the work of a constantly challenged and, apparently, untidy British intelligence service. Will all of the secrets eventually be revealed? Don’t bet on it. The river Thames that back on to MI6 hides its treasures darkly and deeply; so do the spies who work next to it.

Las Vegas Sun : Police hunt for 2 people in slain UK spy case

Police hunt for 2 people in slain UK spy case

The Associated Press | September 13, 2010

Police investigating the mystery death of a British spy say they are hunting for two people seen entering his apartment block.

Gareth Williams was discovered dead at his home on Aug. 23. Officers said he had been dead for some time, and his naked remains were found inside a locked sports bag. No cause of death has been established.

The 30-year-old worked for GCHQ, Britain's eavesdropping service, and had been on assignment with the MI6 spy agency.

Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline Sebire said on Monday that police are searching for a man and a woman seen entering the apartment block one night in June or July.

Police said there was no sign of forced entry, and no property was stolen.

Sun : Dead holdall spy 'zipped himself in'

Dead holdall spy 'zipped himself in'

By CHRIS POLLARD | September 13, 2010

A SPY found dead inside a padlocked holdall may have zipped HIMSELF in for sexual kicks, it emerged yesterday.

Police are still trying to explain how MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams came to his end.

According to Met sources, a female officer climbed into the £150 North Face bag to re-enact possible events leading to his death. She zipped it up and padlocked it from the inside.

Cops now think the fitness fanatic, 31, may have done the same for sexual gratification and suffocated when he could not reopen it.

A padlock key was alongside his naked body inside the bag, which was found lying in his bathtub last month.

Erotic asphyxiation is the deliberate restriction of oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal.

Gareth had a small frame and fitted easily in the 32 x 19ins bag. Tests showed last week there was no trace of alcohol or drugs in his system.

His flat, in Pimlico, central London, did not appear to have been disturbed prior to his discovery.

Officers are still trying to trace a couple who visited the spy's flat weeks before he died.

A Met source said: "We remain baffled."

Mr Williams' body is being tested for radioactive poison polonium - used by Russian agents to kill ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

But Whitehall officials insist espionage or terrorism is not yet suspected.