The Australian : Spy in bag reportedly had mysterious links to Kazakh oil oligarch

Spy in bag reportedly had mysterious links to Kazakh oil oligarch

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by: Staff reporter | December 31, 2012

THE MI6 code breaker who was found dead inside a sport's bag in a London flat had reportedly been in contact with the son of a Kazakh oil oligarch.

Police in the UK are investigating Gareth Williams' contact with Furkat Ibragimov, the son of a Kazakh billionaire, in the months leading up to his death Britain's Daily Telegraph reports.

The 25 year old is one of four sons of oil baron Alijan Ibragimov, listed in the 400 richest people in the world, and lives in London where he has invested millions in oil and a health drink company. Just how they met and if Mr Ibragimov knew Mr Williams worked for MI6 is not known, though the pair are thought to have a mutual friend in Miss Elizabeth Guthrie.

Miss Guthrie met Mr Williams in the last year of his life and shared a flat with his old school friend, she is also said to be close with Mr Ibragimov and calls him 'Shark', The Telegraph reported.

News of a new police investigation into the 31-year-old's death comes just days after a Scotland Yard review of the case found he most likely locked himself in the bag where his body was found. A fresh investigation came after Westminster Coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, said earlier this year she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.

Witnesses at the coronial inquest were questioned about any possible link between Mr Williams and Mr Ibragimov.

Miss Guthrie told the coroner that Mr Williams "never mentioned" Mr Ibragimov to her.

But a MI6 officer who gave evidence behind a screen and was identified only as F, refused to answer when asked if Mr Williams knew or was in contact with anyone from the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan where Mr Ibragimov's father was born. F said she was unable to provide answers to those questions on security grounds.

The Telegraph also reports that Williams was involved in field activities with MI6 and there are suggestions he may have been followed after meeting with undercover agents for the intelligence service.

MI6 is fully co-operating with this new investigation after it was criticised for failing to pass on vital information into previous probes and witnesses, friends and acquaintances have been re-interviewed.

Photographs, videos and outfits kept in the MI6-owned flat said to be related to Mr Williams' supposed interest in bondage are being re-examined to see if they were staged.

"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," a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

Perth Now : Spy in bag reportedly had mysterious links to Kazakh oil oligarch

Spy in bag reportedly had mysterious links to Kazakh oil oligarch

December 31, 2012

THE MI6 code breaker who was found dead inside a sport's bag in a London flat had reportedly been in contact with the son of a Kazakh oil oligarch.

Police in the UK are investigating Gareth Williams' contact with Furkat Ibragimov, the son of a Kazakh billionaire, in the months leading up to his death Britain's Daily Telegraph reports.

The 25 year old is one of four sons of oil baron Alijan Ibragimov, listed in the 400 richest people in the world, and lives in London where he has invested millions in oil and a health drink company. Just how they met and if Mr Ibragimov knew Mr Williams worked for MI6 is not known, though the pair are thought to have a mutual friend in Miss Elizabeth Guthrie.

Miss Guthrie met Mr Williams in the last year of his life and shared a flat with his old school friend, she is also said to be close with Mr Ibragimov and calls him 'Shark', The Telegraph reported.

News of a new police investigation into the 31-year-old's death comes just days after a Scotland Yard review of the case found he most likely locked himself in the bag where his body was found. A fresh investigation came after Westminster Coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, said earlier this year she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.

Witnesses at the coronial inquest were questioned about any possible link between Mr Williams and Mr Ibragimov.

Miss Guthrie told the coroner that Mr Williams "never mentioned" Mr Ibragimov to her.

But a MI6 officer who gave evidence behind a screen and was identified only as F, refused to answer when asked if Mr Williams knew or was in contact with anyone from the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan where Mr Ibragimov's father was born. F said she was unable to provide answers to those questions on security grounds.

The Telegraph also reports that Williams was involved in field activities with MI6 and there are suggestions he may have been followed after meeting with undercover agents for the intelligence service.

MI6 is fully co-operating with this new investigation after it was criticised for failing to pass on vital information into previous probes and witnesses, friends and acquaintances have been re-interviewed.

Photographs, videos and outfits kept in the MI6-owned flat said to be related to Mr Williams' supposed interest in bondage are being re-examined to see if they were staged.

"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," a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

Nigeria News : Body-in-the-bag MI6 spy Gareth Williams and his mystery links to Kazakh oligarch

Body-in-the-bag MI6 spy Gareth Williams and his mystery links to Kazakh oligarch

* Gareth Williams 'in contact with Furkat Ibragimov, son of Kazakh billionaire'
* Ibragimov's father involved in oil and mining and in world's top 400 richest
* Police 'probing claims Williams could have been asked to befriend Ibragimov'
* Codebreaker mysteriously found dead in central London flat in August 2010

By Mark Duell | December 30, 2012

The 31-year-old MI6 spy found dead inside a locked bag in his flat was in contact with a Kazakh oligarch’s son before his mysterious death, it was claimed today.

Gareth Williams - whose naked and decomposing body was found in August 2010 in Pimlico, central London - was allegedly in touch with Furkat Ibragimov, 25, the son of a billionaire from Kazakhstan.

Police are said to be probing their relationship amid claims that Mr Williams could have been encouraged by British intelligence forces to befriend Mr Ibragimov in the months before he died.

Officers have re-questioned Mr Williams’s friends and family, reported The Sunday Telegraph. It was also revealed today that the spy was engaged in more MI6 field work than previously thought.

There is no suggestion Mr Ibragimov - whose father Alijan is one of the world’s 400 richest people - played a part in the death. But it’s not known whether detectives have yet spoken to father or son.

Alijan Ibragimov is known in Kazakhstan as part of the ‘Trio’, along with business partners Alexander Mashkevich and Patokh Chodiev, who are behind an empire of oil, gas, mining and banking.

His London-based son Furkat Ibragimov, who invests in oil, had a mutual friend with Mr Williams of Missa Elizabeth Guthrie, daughter of a US tycoon. She befriended the spy in the year before he died.

Miss Guthrie had shared a flat with Mr Williams’s school friend Sian Lloyd-Jones, a fashion stylist.

Secret court papers revealed that Furkat Ibragimov and Miss Guthrie were friends and business partners - and that she allegedly asked Mr Williams if he could make a fake degree certificate.

But she told the inquest into Mr William’s death that he had ‘never mentioned’ Mr Ibragimov, reported The Sunday Telegraph. Last week police claimed the spy probably locked himself inside the bag.

The inquest found he could have been the victim of foul play, as the coroner expressed doubts that he could have locked the bag himself.

However, investigators 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.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox ruled earlier this year that it was unlikely Mr Williams could have locked himself into the 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 possible, casting doubt on the assertion that someone else must have been involved in the 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, reported the Daily Telegraph.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding Mr Williams's 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 concerns that there could have been 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 Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘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.'

Mr Ibragimov was abroad and could not be reached. Miss Guthrie was unavailable for comment.

Daily Mail : Body in the bag MI6 spy Gareth Williams and his mystery links to Kazakh oligarch

Body in the bag MI6 spy Gareth Williams and his mystery links to Kazakh oligarch

* Gareth Williams 'in contact with Furkat Ibragimov, son of Kazakh billionaire'
* Ibragimov's father involved in oil and mining and in world's top 400 richest
* Police 'probing claims Williams could have been asked to befriend Ibragimov'
* Codebreaker mysteriously found dead in central London flat in August 2010

By Mark Duell | December 30, 2012

The 31-year-old MI6 spy found dead inside a locked bag in his flat was in contact with a Kazakh oligarch’s son before his mysterious death, it was claimed today.

Gareth Williams - whose naked and decomposing body was found in August 2010 in Pimlico, central London - was allegedly in touch with Furkat Ibragimov, 25, the son of a billionaire from Kazakhstan.

Police are said to be probing their relationship amid claims that Mr Williams could have been encouraged by British intelligence forces to befriend Mr Ibragimov in the months before he died.

Officers have re-questioned Mr Williams’s friends and family, reported The Sunday Telegraph. It was also revealed today that the spy was engaged in more MI6 field work than previously thought.

There is no suggestion Mr Ibragimov - whose father Alijan is one of the world’s 400 richest people - played a part in the death. But it’s not known whether detectives have yet spoken to father or son.

Alijan Ibragimov is known in Kazakhstan as part of the ‘Trio’, along with business partners Alexander Mashkevich and Patokh Chodiev, who are behind an empire of oil, gas, mining and banking.

His London-based son Furkat Ibragimov, who invests in oil, had a mutual friend with Mr Williams of Missa Elizabeth Guthrie, daughter of a US tycoon. She befriended the spy in the year before he died.

Miss Guthrie had shared a flat with Mr Williams’s school friend Sian Lloyd-Jones, a fashion stylist.

Secret court papers revealed that Furkat Ibragimov and Miss Guthrie were friends and business partners - and that she allegedly asked Mr Williams if he could make a fake degree certificate.

But she told the inquest into Mr William’s death that he had ‘never mentioned’ Mr Ibragimov, reported The Sunday Telegraph. Last week police claimed the spy probably locked himself inside the bag.

The inquest found he could have been the victim of foul play, as the coroner expressed doubts that he could have locked the bag himself.

However, investigators 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.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox ruled earlier this year that it was unlikely Mr Williams could have locked himself into the 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 possible, casting doubt on the assertion that someone else must have been involved in the 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, reported the Daily Telegraph.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding Mr Williams's 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 concerns that there could have been 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 Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘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.'

Mr Ibragimov was abroad and could not be reached. Miss Guthrie was unavailable for comment.

Telegraph : Body in the bag spy Gareth Williams and his mystery links to Kazakh oligarch

Body in the bag spy Gareth Williams and his mystery links to Kazakh oligarch

The spy whose body was found in a locked bag in his London flat was in contact with the son of a Kazakh oligarch before his death.

By Jason Lewis, Investigations Editor | December 29, 2012

Police are now examining Gareth Williams’s relationship with Furkat Ibragimov, whose father is a billionaire from Kazakhstan, in the months before the spy’s body was found in an MI6-owned flat.

The disclosure raises fresh questions over the death of Williams and what he was doing in his work for British intelligence and whether he had been encouraged by MI6 to develop a connection with the oligarch’s son.

It is one of a series of key new facts uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph which include how:

* Williams was involved in field activities for the intelligence services and was more than just the computer analyst he had been portrayed as;
* One theory is that Williams may have been followed from secret meetings with undercover MI6 agents;
* MI6 is now fully co-operating with the police inquiry after criticism of its failure to do so initially;
* Police have re-interviewed every one of his friends and acquaintances in the hunt for clues to his bizarre death;
* The mystery couple seen near his flat, who were the subject of the police investigation for months, far from being an assassination squad, were, in fact, trying to find a pizza party in a neighbouring property.

The disclosure of the relationship with Mr Ibragimov, whose father is listed as among the 400 richest people in the world, comes after an exhaustive search by police for answers into how Mr Williams – a GCHQ computer expert on secondment to MI6 – came to die.

His naked body was found locked inside a red North Face bag in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.

An inquest failed to uncover how he had died and left open the possibility that he had been murdered and that his death might have been connected to his intelligence role.

The coroner ruled that the cause of his death was “unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated” and that she was “satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully”.

A fresh police investigation was ordered in the wake of the inquest, leading to the new leads. Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that the spy was murdered.

Crucially, they have secured the full co-operation of MI6. Earlier this year Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe ordered a “voluntary” mass DNA screening of MI6 officers to try to identify genetic material found on the bag in which Mr William’s body was found.

Sir Bernard said he was angered by an “unacceptable” breakdown in communication which saw evidence withheld from his senior investigating officers. When asked what powers he had to ensure MI6 co-operated, he said: “It’s the law.”

According to a source with detailed knowledge of the inquiry, one of the first things that the detectives learned from this new “openness” on the part of the intelligence agencies is that far from being a back room technician, Mr Williams was “directly involved with two MI6 assets in the field”.

Witnesses were asked what they knew of his connection to Mr Ibragimov., though there is no suggestion he played any part in Mr Williams’ death.

It is unclear whether detectives have yet spoken to Furkat Ibragimov or his father Alijan, the Kyrgyzstan-born businessman who is a member of a circle of oligarchs in Kazakhstan known as the “Trio”.

The other two are his business partners, Alexander Mashkevich and Patokh Chodiev, who own a mining, oil and gas, and banking empire in Kazakhstan.

Mr Ibrigamov, 25, is one of his four sons, and is based in London, where he has invested millions in a oil company and most recently a health drink firm called Rebootizer.

How Mr Ibragimov met Gareth Williams and whether he knew he was a spy is unclear.

They had at least one mutual friend, Missa Elizabeth Guthrie, the daughter of an American millionaire.

Miss Guthrie befriended Mr Williams in the year before his death after she shared a flat with Sian Lloyd-Jones, his school friend and a fashion stylist. She is also close to Mr Ibragimov, calling him “Shark”.

The Telegraph has learned that court papers, never made public, described Mr Ibragimov as Miss Guthrie’s friend and business partner and suggest that she asked Mr Williams if he could make a fake a degree certificate for him.

But when Miss Guthrie was asked about the connection between Mr Williams and Mr Ibragimov by the coroner at the inquest she said Mr Williams had “never mentioned” him.

An MI6 officer known only as witness “F”, who gave evidence from behind a screen during the hearing, was asked whether, if Mr Williams had been in contact with anyone from the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, he should have reported this to service’s vetting team. “F” said she could not answer for security reasons.

Mr Ibragimov’s father and his partners are the major shareholders in the London-based Eurasian National Resources Corporation (ENRC), which controls mines in Kazakhstan, Africa, Eastern Europe and Africa. In 2009, ENRC reported profits of more than £900 million.

Mr Ibragimov senior was ranked at 382 on Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires, with an estimated worth of £1.73 billion, and has homes which include a secluded estate on Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

His son controls an investment portfolio called Glendesk Overseas based in the British Virgin Islands, and with his brothers Davron and Dostan, is also overseeing the construction of the first motor racing circuit in Kazakhstan, where they, and the country’s controversial ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev, hope to stage Formula One racing.

Last week Mr Ibragimov, a graduate of the private European Business School in London, was on holiday in Far East and could not be contacted. Miss Guthrie was also unavailable for comment.

The connection to central Asia is only one of the new leads being followed by detectives.

They are also examining closely his MI6 role and his involvement with two field agents. Until now it had been believed that Mr Williams’ work involved only computer analysis.

According to the source, detectives have been exploring the idea that the MI6 agents could have been followed to their meetings with Mr Williams leading to him being identified by foreign agents or terrorists and murdered.

This area was originally ruled off limits by intelligence chiefs when murder squad detectives were called in to examine Mr Williams’ death.

At the time no MI6 officers were interviewed by detectives and only “security cleared” officers attached to police counter terrorism operations were allowed into the Secret Intelligence Service headquarters at Vauxhall Cross, south London, to examine Mr Williams’ office and its contents.

It is unclear whether Mr Williams’ engagement with field agents involved him going “undercover” himself or if, as seems more likely, he was giving the agents technical help and advice after meeting them at a secure location like an MI6 safe house.

Eavesdropping and computer experts from GCHQ are regularly sent on operations abroad, including with the Army in war zones, while others have played a role in bugging foreign embassies or agents in the UK.

It is known that Mr Williams had been previously sent to the US to work alongside agents from America’s National Security Agency.

Detectives have also been able to finally solve one of the outstanding questions which have bedevilled the inquiry.

In December 2010 detectives issued an “e-fit” of “a man and a woman, both of Mediterranean appearance and aged between 20 and 30 years old, who, they said, were seen entering the communal area late one evening in June or July.

At the time a police spokesman said: “Having gained access to the communal area of the building, they intimated that they had a key to Gareth’s flat, number 4, and were last seen walking towards it. It is believed they said they had been given a key by a 'Pier Paulo’, or something similar.”

The request for assistance led to wild speculation about who the couple were and what there connection was to the dead spy, including that they were part of a Mossad hit squad.

It was almost two years before the police were able to rule the couple out of their enquiries. In fact, it can be revealed, that the pair were guests who got lost on their way to a pizza party thrown by an Italian language student at a flat down the road from where Mr Williams was living.

Pierpaolo Pittari, who gave the party, lived in Alderney Street between February and November 2010 while he was learning English. He worked in a local bar and as an archivist at the Italian consulate before returning home at the end of 2010.

Last week, speaking from his home in Salerno, near the Amalfi Coast, he said: “Some of my guests got lost on the way to my flat and knocked on the wrong door.

"Someone later gave their details to the police. I saw the e-fit at the time but I did not recognise them as my friends. I still can’t see any likeness.

"The picture was so generic, so vague, it was just a man with black hair and a woman with long black hair. It could have been anyone and I thought nothing of it at the time.”

Detectives are also said to be re-examining details of Mr Williams’ lifestyle seeking new witnesses who knew him and who might shed some light on his strange death.

His family and friends dismissed claims that he was involved in cross dressing or had an interest in bondage. But his landlady in Cheltenham told the inquest into his death how she and her husband had found Mr Williams tied to a bed in the flat he rented from them and police found internet searches for bondage sites on his computer.

Forensic officers are painstaking viewing the photographs, videos and a computer generated mock up of his apartment again trying to rule out the idea that the scene was staged by someone with a detailed knowledge of forensic investigation techniques to suggest that Mr Williams was a sexual deviant to detract from other evidence that he was murdered.

However the theory also remains that, however unlikely it seems, Mr Williams may have simply locked himself in the sports bag in his bath in a bizarre sex game and suffocated after becoming trapped inside.

A series of experts attempted to show how this could be done for the benefit of the inquest but, once inside the bag, they were unable to secure the lock to the zip. However, they did not rule out that it could be done.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “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.”

BBC : Profile: MI6 spy Gareth Williams

Profile: MI6 spy Gareth Williams

May 8, 2012

The inquest into the death of MI6 employee Gareth Williams, whose body was found in a padlocked sports bag in his central London flat in August 2010, found that he was "on the balance of probabilities" unlawfully killed.

But what is known about the 31-year-old code-breaker - described by his family as "a very private person"?

Mr Williams, originally from Holyhead, north Wales, worked as a communications officer at government listening post GCHQ, in Cheltenham, but was on a three-year secondment to MI6 in London.

Police officers went to his MI6-owned top-floor flat at 36 Alderney Street - in a part of Pimlico described by a neighbour as "a very mixed area of bankers and politicians" - on Monday 23 August.

They went there after colleagues contacted the police earlier that day saying they had not seen Mr Williams for at least 10 days.

They found his naked body, which had been padlocked inside a zipped-up large red North Face sports holdall, in the empty bath of an ensuite bathroom of the master bedroom.

Police, who have repeatedly said the death remains "suspicious and unexplained", now believe he died in the early hours of Tuesday 16 August.

Mr Williams, a keen cyclist who often took part in road races and time trials, was brought up on the island of Anglesey and attended Bodedern High School.

A talented pupil, he graduated from Bangor University with a first class degree in maths aged 17 after beginning his university studies while at secondary school.

His maths teacher at Bodedern, Geraint Williams, has praised Gareth as an "exceptional" pupil who was "the best logician" he had met.

"If you explained something once to Gareth he remembered it, you didn't have to explain it again," he said.

"It didn't surprise me at all that he was very interested in codes and ciphers and it didn't really surprise me that he was recruited by GCHQ.

"He was definitely going to go into something like that, with his brain."

'Loving son'

Mr Williams went on to study for a postgraduate certificate in mathematics at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, in 2000, but dropped out a year later before taking up the job at GCHQ in Cheltenham.

His boss there has spoken of him as a "world-class" intelligence officer and "something of a prodigy".

Stephen Gale said it was "quite remarkable" that Mr Williams - who joined GCHQ aged 21 - had achieved what he had at such a young age.

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."

In the days after his death, his family described Mr Williams in a statement as a "generous, loving son, brother, and friend" whose loss had devastated them.

They remembered him as "a great athlete" who "loved cycling and music", and as "a very private person".

He often returned home to Anglesey to mother Ellen and father Ian, who works at the Wylfa Nuclear Power Station.

Keith Thompson, of Holyhead Cycling Club - joined by Mr Williams at the age of 17 - said he had last seen the "lovely young man" at a club meeting on Boxing Day.

"We were club mates but Gareth wasn't the sort to go to the pub after a race, so he didn't have any close friends in the group," he said.

And a cyclist at Cambridge University's bicycle club described Mr Williams as "a shy chap" with a "peculiarly memorable laugh and smile".

Mr Williams' uncle, Anglesey councillor William Hughes, meanwhile, said his "very talented" nephew "would never talk about his work - and the family knew not to ask, really".

A neighbour in Pimlico said he and others had never seen Mr Williams, adding: "It's not like you'd tell your neighbours if you were a spy."

Police 'did wrong'

In late December 2010, police revealed some "embarrassing, hurtful and distressing" details about Mr Williams which they said was necessary in the search for evidence.

They said he owned £15,000-worth of unworn women's designer clothing, which were kept in six boxes at his flat, and that he had visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and had tickets to two more.

Police said he occasionally spent between 30 minutes and an hour on bondage sites.

They also said a witness had reported seeing him in a gay bar but that they did not know for certain he was gay.

However, in April 2011 Mr Williams' close friend Sian Lloyd-Jones questioned suggestions his death was linked to his private life and called on police to broaden their inquiry.

She told the police "did wrong" by releasing information about women's clothing "but didn't reveal that there was £10,000 of mountaineering equipment as well".

Ms Lloyd-Jones said he was not gay and the women's clothes were too small for him and may have been intended for her or her sister.

Elizabeth Guthrie - the second friend to appear before the coroner - described her friendship with Mr Williams as based on their mutual love of history, art, Japanese Manga cartoons, travel and humorous anecdotes.

Ms Guthrie remembered his "brilliant sense of humour" and "enormous intellect".

She also said the women's clothing found by police "certainly would not be for him" - that he had no interest in cross-dressing and she believed he was "straight".

Mr Williams' sister, Ceri Subbe, said she believed the items of women's clothing were possibly intended as gifts.

She also told the inquest her brother's enthusiasm about his job had begun to fade.

"He disliked office culture, post-work drinks, flash car competitions and the rat race. He even spoke of friction in the office," her statement said.

Ms Subbe added that Mr Williams had "encountered more red tape than he was comfortable with" in his role.

The inquest into the death of the MI6 officer later heard he was once found tied to his bed by his former landlady in Cheltenham.

Jennifer Elliot said she once found him tied to his bedstead in his boxer shorts in what she thought was a "sexually motivated" act. She said he had called for help when he could not untie himself.

'Dark arts'

Mr Williams returned to his flat - half a mile from MI6 headquarters on the banks of the River Thames - on Wednesday 11 August 2010 after a fly-drive holiday to the west coast of the US.

Police say he had been shopping in London's West End and Knightsbridge areas a number of times since then.

CCTV images captured on Saturday 14 August showed him entering Holland Park tube station at about 1500 BST.

On Sunday 15 August, he went to Harrods after visiting a cash machine and, at about 1430 BST, CCTV images showed him in Hans Crescent, heading towards Sloane Street, near the Dolce & Gabbana store.

A post-mortem examination and toxicology tests - which found no trace of drugs, alcohol or poison - and the police investigation have all failed to establish a cause of death.

Police believe that Mr Williams, whose family think may have been killed by an agent "specialising in the dark arts of the secret services", was helped into the bag.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said it was unlikely he got into the bag by himself but doubted his death would ever be explained.

The Australian : Elusive truth of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams

Elusive truth of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams

by: Fay Schlesinger and Fiona Hamilton | from: The Times | May 4, 2012

FOR a man whose private life rivalled the machinations of his employer in its layers of secrecy, it was a hard task for investigators to piece together the real Gareth Williams.

Each nugget of evidence uncovered by forensic scientists, computer analysts and escapology experts seemed to deepen the mystery, raising many questions that, the coroner said on Wednesday, may never be answered.

The women's clothes and wigs, the bondage websites and an episode in which his landlady found him tied to his bed - all were red herrings, the inquest concluded.

There was no suggestion that details were either planted to smear, or part of a blackmail plot, or even linked to a lover or another acquaintance. They were just elements of a life that Williams, a child maths prodigy and fitness enthusiast, lived happily - aside from frustrations with the "red tape" of MI6 and the "rat race" existence of London life.

His tutor at Central Saint Martins college where, unknown to his family, Williams completed two courses in fashion design less than a year before his death, described him as guarded about his private life but open and loquacious in his manner. It is a paradox also reflected in the spy's understated love of expensive and luxurious things.

Asked whether Williams dreamt of moving into the fashion industry, Celia Wain-Heapy told The Times: "A lot of people are quite guarded, they don't want to put their hopes and aspirations out there. They tell you they enjoy it but no more. Gareth was quite private.

"He ended up being painted as a bit of a loner, but that wasn't how I saw him at all. He didn't lack social skills. He was milder-mannered and quiet ... [but] he seemed quite guileless."

Half of all Williams's internet activity concerned women's fashion, the inquest was told, and he had a £20,000 collection of unworn women's clothes, many bought from the couture store Dover Street Market, supposedly for a "tall, slim girlfriend", though Williams was single. There were also 26 pairs of designer shoes, four of them worn, a lot of unused make-up and several wigs, though no women's underwear.

The coroner, Fiona Wilcox, said there was no evidence that he was a transvestite. If the wigs were for himself, she said, they would have been quality specimens rather than the garish orange one found in his flat. A video on a work iPhone, which was deleted but retrieved by police, showed him gyrating naked but for a pair of leather boots, and suggested that he might have derived sexual pleasure from shoes, Dr Wilcox said.

He was not alone in that view, the coroner suggested, and she ruled that this had nothing to do with his death. "Gareth was naked in a bag when he was found, not cross-dressed, not in high-heeled shoes," she said. By contrast with fashion browsing, a "tiny, tiny, tiny" percentage of Mr Williams's web searches were on the subject of bondage or claustrophilia. Four searches in two years was a negligible number, the coroner said, and certainly not enough to suggest that bondage played any part in his death.

His family's lawyer has pointed out that such searches coincided with training courses or potential moves within the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), though police could find no explanation that would put them down to research.

Witness reports that Mr Williams visited gay bars around Vauxhall Bridge, near the MI6 headquarters where he was based, could not be verified by police. Only two friends were identified as being close to Williams. Sian Jones, a former teenage sweetheart who grew up with him in Anglesey, North Wales, said: "I feel he would have been able to confide in me ... and I would not have judged him."

The other friend, Elizabeth Guthrie, 27, seemed a more complex character, who gave different names in a police statement. The name "Misa Guseiri" was dismissed by officers as an administrative error, and they confirmed that she had co-operated with the investigation. Ms Guthrie did not respond to attempts to contact her.

His closest friend was his sister, who described him as the perfect brother and a "scrupulous risk-assessor" on whom no one would wish harm.

Williams was "exceedingly intelligent", the coroner said. He passed a maths GCSE while still at primary school and graduated from university at 17, before joining the government listening post, GCHQ, at the age of 21. As well as cycling, fell running and mountaineering, he loved collecting: maps, CDs, climbing equipment and women's clothes, all stored neatly in his flat, in a trait that matched his "Swiss clock" precision. A bathrobe and duvet, discarded on the floor when Mr Williams was found dead, stood out like a sore thumb, it was said.

So the manner of his death: the lurid speculation, the destruction of privacy and the unknowns, must exacerbate the pain felt by Williams's family. The waste of life seemed to be summed up by his brother-in-law, Chris Subbe, at his funeral in Holyhead. Describing how Williams took his sister and him for tea at the Ritz Hotel in London to celebrate their wedding anniversary, he said they sat listening to a Welsh harpist as the sun set. He said: "It seemed as though the world was there for the taking and yet here we are, trying to describe your rich life with our poor words."

Telegraph : Gareth Williams profile: the codebreaker with a secret double life

Gareth Williams profile: the codebreaker with a secret double life

Gareth Williams was the spy with the very secret double life - but not the one you might expect.

Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | May 2, 2012

When at work in one of the most sensitive secretive organisations, Gareth Williams was a maths genius carrying out "world class" work for the intelligence services.

But at home he had a penchant for womens' clothing, dancing naked in leather boots and visiting bondage websites.

Over the course of an eight day inquest in to his bizarre death an extraordinary picture of this seemingly unassuming, quiet man emerged.

A devoted son and brother, the 31-year-old codebreaker appeared to have a bright future ahead of him until his untimely and very strange demise.

But his death opened a door on a completely alternative lifestyle, no doubt to the shock and surprise of loved ones.

On the outside, to work colleagues he appeared a little introvert and not willing to join in the office camaraderie.

Having been seconded to MI6 in London from GCHQ he had asked, and been granted, an early return to Cheltenham because he disliked the city life because, in his sister Ceri Subbe’s words, he was really a “country boy”.

The job wasn’t what he had expected and he hated the “rat race, flash car competitions and post-work drinking culture”.

A keen cyclist and walker, he wanted to return to the freedom of the outdoors.

One colleague even suggested he wanted to the head back to GCHQ because people there were more on his technical level.

He didn’t appear to make, or want, many friends. His landlady in Cheltenham for 10 years said he never had anyone to the flat.

In London, one friend, Elizabeth Guthrie said she had never visited his home but he was happy to sit at hers watching DVDs rather than go out drinking.

Only too aware of the sensitivities of his job, he was a “scrupulous risk-assessor" and as meticulous as a “Swiss clock”.

He appeared to be a super intelligent prodigy who didn’t find it easy, or wanted, to fit in.

But he had another life, one that could not have contrasted more with his public image.

Police arriving at his flat found £20,000 worth of exclusive designer women's clothing and shoes, including Christian Laboutin, Christian Dior and Chloe.

It would have taken a substantial chunk of his annual salary of just under 40k.

Carol Kirton, who worked at upmarket west London fashion store Dover Street Market recalled how he was “different from other male customers”

She described him as “shy” but "on a mission to buy an item" when he came in.

Most of the clothes were untouched and it remains uncertain why he had them.

It may have been a genuine healthy interest as it also emerged he had completed two six week fashion courses St Martin’s College in London.

Perhaps he was planning for a life after spying and his friends insisted he was not gay or a transvestite.

But the deeper the police delved in to his life the stranger it became.

In 2007, his Cheltenham landlady Jennifer Ellliot discovered him tied to his own bedposts wearing only boxer shorts.

He insisted he was attempting some escapology – at 1.30am - but Mrs Elliot and her husband were convinced it was “sexual”.

Evidence of visits to bondage and fetish websites were also found on his phones and lap tops as well as images of high profile drag queens.

Some searches related to models in various forms of a “hogtie” – a bondage position often performed naked.

There was also a link to an article about a woman who was enclosed in plastic before having the air sucked out with a vacuum.

However, police said the searches only occurred during four separate periods over two years and described it as “sporadic research” rather than an active interest.

But they also found a homemade video showing Mr Williams naked except for black leather boots in which he “wiggles and girates” with his back to the camera was on one of his iPhones.

It remains unclear if Mr Williams spymasters knew any of his alternate lifestyle but one unnamed witness appeared to suggest even if they had it would not necessarily have stopped him being employed.

The senior MI6 manager SIS F said vetting processes focused on “trustworthiness, integrity and reliability” and that people can have “lifestyle choices” that are “perfectly legitimate”.

There was no question over Mr Williams’ talent.

Originally from Holyhead, north Wales, he gained a maths O-level aged 10, graduated from Bangor University at 17 before completing a PhD and post-graduate studies at Manchester and Cambridge Universities.

At GCHQ he was described as a prodigy who did “world class” work and at MI6 he was working alongside undercover operatives.

In 2009 he was part of team that won a national award for technical prowess and after his death he was given a posthumous one for significant achievement in crypt analysis

But he left the world in very unceremonious circumstances, naked in a sports bag in a bath and as the mystery over how he came to meet end continues the enigma that was Gareth Williams may never be unravelled.

BBC : MI6 officer Gareth Williams and the 'missing hours' before his death

MI6 officer Gareth Williams and the 'missing hours' before his death

By Danny Shaw | Home affairs correspondent, BBC News | May 2, 2012

Just after 15:00 BST on Sunday 15 August 2010, a young man strolled into Alderney Street in Pimlico clutching two carrier bags.

CCTV shows the slim, wiry figure, in chinos and a red T-shirt, heading towards a block of flats at number 36.

It was the last time Gareth Williams was seen alive.

What happened in the next 19 hours, before the time Gareth was expected at his desk at the headquarters of MI6, holds the key to his death.

But there is little that is known with any certainty about those mysterious, missing hours.

Evidence heard at the inquest suggests that during the evening, Gareth cooked one of the two peppered grill-steaks he had bought from Waitrose that day, and had it for his supper.

There are also indications that at 23:30 BST he backed up data to a laptop from one of his phones, before viewing a cycling website at about 01:00 BST.

However, even these details cannot be confirmed - as it is possible someone else may have been using his phone and computer.

Like much of the case, speculation fills the void of those missing hours. In a way it is entirely in keeping with the strange and secretive life that Gareth Williams led.

'Somewhat naive'

To his friends, colleagues and family Gareth was an exceptionally gifted and hard-working young man whose spare time was spent on outdoor pursuits - rock-climbing, fell-running and cycling.

He also loved art, fashion, good food and shopping - Harvey Nichols and Harrods were just two of the stores he had visited that weekend.

But Gareth did not get close to many people. His former landlady in Cheltenham, Jennifer Elliot, described him as a "private person" who "kept himself to himself" and rarely had visitors.

Cheryl Eastap, who ran a 10-week fashion course at Central St Martin's College, in London, said that Gareth attended without his friends knowing, and that he was a "loner" who was very nervous and kept apologising.

"I considered him to be naive somewhat", she said in a statement read to the inquest, "not worldly or streetwise."

'Scruprulous risk assessor'

It is an interesting description that perhaps should have received closer scrutiny at the hearing than it did.

Did Gareth get himself into a situation in his private life where he was out of his depth? If so, what could it have been?

Although Gareth's sister, Ceri Subbe, said he was the "most scrupulous risk assessor" she had ever known, he had interests that his sister - to whom he was arguably closer than anyone else - did not know about, and which may have posed considerable risks.

One of his interests was in bondage. It may have been no more than curiosity that drew Gareth to view bondage websites, but the evidence is, that on one occasion at least, he took his interests to another level.

In 2007, Jennifer Elliot was woken in the middle of the night by Gareth's cries for help. The Cheltenham landlady and her husband found him in his boxer shorts, lying on his bed, his hands tied to the knobs of the headboard.

"He just said 'I just wanted to see if I could get myself free'," said Mrs Elliot in a statement.

She and her husband thought the escapade was a sexual act rather than an attempt at escapology, and Gareth promised his landlady it would not happen again.

But within two years he was in London, which would have afforded him greater opportunities to experiment if he had wanted.

Nothing has been discovered so far to suggest that Gareth did meet anyone in the capital who shared such interests, let alone invite them back to his flat.

But secrecy was the MI6 officer's trade. If he had wanted to keep something hidden in his private life, he would have surely found a way.

London certainly did provide Gareth Williams with the chance to indulge his love of women's fashion.

It might even be called an obsession. He had accumulated a collection of designer clothes and footwear worth around £20,000.

Identity crisis

Neither his closest friend, Sian Jones, a fashion stylist, nor Elizabeth Guthrie, with whom he was planning to attend a fancy dress ball, knew about the dresses and shoes.

That is perhaps more significant than the collection itself. It is another illustration of Gareth's secretive nature and suggests a hinterland of which no-one else was aware.

What else was hidden away? Gareth surely never intended that a video of him naked but for a pair of boots, bending down and wiggling his hips in front of a camera, would be found by a policeman and referred to in a courtroom. So who was it intended for?

Police investigators have tried to find out.

Almost 18 months ago, they appealed for information to confirm sightings of Gareth Williams at a gay bar in the Vauxhall area.

He had tickets for drag shows in the area and had previously gone to see Jonny Woo - a drag cabaret act - in east London.

But detectives appear to have made little progress tracking down anyone he met or with whom he was romantically involved.

What does appear clear, however, is that Gareth was to some extent struggling with his identity.

The wigs found in his flat, as well as the female clothing and shoes, may well be one sign. Another clue is provided by a newspaper clipping, found under a book on his living room table.

The cutting, from an Observer article, listed the "Top five regrets of the dying". Among them was having the courage to "live a life true to myself", "express my feelings" and "let myself be happier".

Those last unexplained hours of Gareth Williams' life were probably not happy ones. But the details of what went on remain as puzzling as the man himself.

Gareth Williams: What the evidence tells us

INJURIES: Nine days passed between the death of Gareth Williams and his post-mortem examination. His body had become badly decomposed, making the work of pathologists and toxicologists difficult. Dr Benjamin Swift only found small injuries on Mr Williams, which could have been the result of accidents. He noted that poison or asphyxiation were the most likely causes of death. Toxicologists said some substances, such as cyanide, chloroform and anaesthetic agents, would not have been detectible.

THE LOCKED BAG RIDDLE: One key question before the inquest was whether Mr Williams had locked himself in the bag. Expert witness Peter Faulding, shown above, said that he had tried and failed to lock the bag from inside 300 times. "I couldn't say it's impossible, but I think even Houdini would have struggled with this one," he said. William MacKay, another expert witness, said that he and an assistant had failed in more than 100 attempts to lock the bag from inside - but couldn’t rule out that Mr Williams had been able to.

INSIDE THE BAG: Did Mr Williams die inside the bag? Pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said: "The balance of probability is that Gareth was alive when he got in the bag.” He added: "I think there could have been a period of awareness that he needed to get out. The length of time might have been short." But Mr Faulding said he believed that Mr Williams was dead or unconscious before being placed in the bag. He suggested it would have been possible to shut Mr Williams in the holdall as long as rigor mortis had not set in.

WEBSITES AND SMARTPHONES: As part of the inquest, Mr Williams's computers and phones were examined. Detectives said the computers had been used to visit bondage websites. But, the inquest heard, this did not necessarily suggest an ongoing interest in such sites. Mr Williams's phones also had bondage websites in their browser history, while a smartphone found on a table contained no data because its factory settings had been restored.

WOMEN'S CLOTHES: Shoes and women’s designer clothing valued at £20,000 were found in the flat. Detectives also said that about half of the internet use on Mr Williams's computers had been in the area of women's high fashion, including handbags, cosmetics, belts and gloves. Friends and family members said they did not believe the clothes were for Mr Williams, but were probably intended as gifts. Friend Elizabeth Guthrie told the inquest Mr Williams had no interest in cross-dressing and she believed he was "straight".

SMH : Landlady found British spy tied to bed in underwear

Landlady found British spy tied to bed in underwear

April 27, 2012

LONDON: The MI6 spy, Gareth Williams, was discovered tied to his own bed wearing only boxer shorts three years before he was found dead, naked in a sports bag, an inquest has heard.

The maths prodigy was living alone in Cheltenham in 2007 when he had to call for help in the middle of the night. His landlady and landlord, who lived below him, heard his yells and were met with the "shocking" scene, Westminster coroners' court heard.

The incident was disclosed in a written statement from the landlady, Jennifer Elliot, at the inquest into the death of Mr Williams, whose decomposing body was found in a holdall in the bath of his London flat in 2010. One of the theories surrounding his death included suggestions that he had been involved in a sex game that went wrong. Searches of his home computers showed that he visited "claustrophilia", bondage and sadomasochism websites, the inquest heard.
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The inquiry also heard that Mr Williams's boss, identified only as "G", said he waited a week before raising the alarm after his colleague went missing.

In another dramatic day of evidence, a senior counter-terrorism officer said he could not guarantee that Mr Williams's work computers had not been tampered with after his death.

The inquest heard that in 2007, Mr Williams was living in an annexe above Jennifer and Brian Elliot's home when the couple heard cries for help at about 1.30am one winter night. They discovered Mr Williams, who was working at GCHQ at the time, lying on his back with both hands tied to the bedposts and wearing only boxer shorts.

The spy did not "appear aroused", Mrs Elliot said, but he was "very embarrassed, panicky and apologetic" and insisted that he was "just messing about".

The inquest has previously heard that traces of DNA belonging to another person were discovered on the bag containing Mr Williams's body but they were too small to be of use to the police. Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said it had always been her opinion that another party was involved in locking the padlock on the bag and placing it in the bath.

It also emerged that the spy, regularly bought women's clothing at an upmarket store, claiming that they were for his girlfriend. Police found women's clothing, shoes and wigs valued at more than £20,000 ($31,204) in his flat.

A friend, Elizabeth Guthrie, insisted Mr Williams was "straight" and would never consider cross-dressing for sexual purposes.

Ms Guthrie, who had known Mr Williams since 2009, said he may have had women's clothing in his flat as a "support strategy" for women friends. The hearing continues.

Telegraph, London; Associated Press

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.

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”.

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.

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.

ITV : Insight into spy's life

Insight into spy's life

April 25, 2012

wig on chair inside Gareth Williams' flat A wig and £20,000 worth of designer women's clothes were found in Gareth Williams' flat Photo: Metropolitan police

Gareth Williams' family have always maintained they believe his mysterious death was somehow linked to his work for MI6 and today the inquest into the 30 year-olds death heard from his boss.

The MI6 worker, who gave evidence behind a 10ft blue screen to protect his identity, said he had wrongly assumed Mr Williams was stuck on a train when he missed a meeting seven days before his rotting remains were found. He spoke of his regret of failing to raise the alarm that Gareth was missing.

He went on to tell the coroner that Mr Williams wanted to leave MI6 because he was bogged down in bureaucracy and described Mr Williams as a "quiet intellectual" who rarely joined colleagues for drink.

The job Mr Williams never discussed remained under the spotlight, as a counter terrorism officer told the inquest that he had found no connection between the codebreaker's work and his death.

Questioned by the Williams' family lawyer Det Supt Michael Broster said he could not testify absolutey that Mr Williams' computers at his office hadn't been interefered with by M16 before they were seized by his team - but said he had no reason to suspect that they had.

The inquest also heard from Elizabeth Guthrie, a friend of Mr Williams, who gave an insight into his life and personality saying that despite living nearby she had never visited the flat where Mr Williams' body was found.

She insisted that she had only known him to let family into his immaculately kept home.

The inquest heard that following the discovery of the body, when police entered the property on the 23rd August 2010 they found a wig in the living room on the back of a chair. They also found clothing folded neatly on the bed but his duvet was discarded on the floor.

In another bedroom £20,000 worth of designer women's clothes were found but his close friend Ms Guthrie insisted that they certainly wouldn't have been for him.

She told the inquest he had never shown any interest in cross dressing, and that the two of them were planning to go to a fancy dress party together, wearing wigs and makeup.

After being asked by the family lawyer - she revealed Gareth had told her he sometime used another name. A line of questioning stopped by the Coroner.

There was more insight into Mr Williams' background with evidence from his former landlady who had owned the flat he lived in in Cheltenham for ten years while he worked at CCGQ.

In a statement Jennifer Elliot told the inquest that three years before his death, Gareth had called for help in the middle of the night and she and her husband had found him with his arms tied to his bed.

He told the couple he just wanted to see if he could "get himself free"

His landlady said the incident was never mentioned or repeated again - and that she was expecting him to go back to renting her flat just days after his body was discovered padlocked in a holdall in the bath in his flat.

The inquest continues.

Telegraph : MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'discovered in bed with hands tied to headboard'

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'discovered in bed with hands tied to headboard'

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was discovered in bed with his hands tied to a headboard when living in Cheltenham, the inquest in to his death heard.

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | April 25, 2012

Mr Williams was living in an annexe of his landlady Jennifer Elliot’s home in Cheltenham at the time.

He had to call for help in the middle of the night and when Mrs Elliot and her husband went to his yells they found him on the bed in just boxer shorts, his hands tied to the headboard.

He told them he was just “messing about” and trying to see “if I could get myself free”.

But in her written statement, Mrs Elliot said it was likely “to be sexual rather than escapology”.

He offered to pay more money (for rent) but she declined.

The court also heard that Mr Williams was “straight” and would never consider cross-dressing for sexual purpose.

Friend Elizabeth Guthrie, who had only known Mr Williams since 2009, said he may have had women’s clothing in his flat as “support strategy” for female friends.

Miss Guthrie, known as Missa, also revealed he had never talked of being followed in the weeks before his death.

She said he would not have let anyone in to his flat unless he had a “very strong relationship” with them.

She also said she worked out he was working for the security services and that he would sometimes go by another name and would call her from different phone numbers.

But she never asked about his work and he never discussed it, she said.

Miss Guthrie revealed the pair had planned to go to a fancy dress party in bright clothes and wigs as Manga characters - Japanese cartoon characters.

The inquest has already heard there was £20,000 worth of expensive women’s clothing and shoes in Mr Williams flat.

Miss Guthrie told the hearing at Westminster Coroner’s Court: “I have a personal view that he was straight”.

Asked if he had shown any interest in cross-dressing, she added: “Not of a sexual reference.

“He was going (to the fancy dress ball) as a ninja not a queen.”

Mr Williams’ naked and decomposing body was discovered in a padlocked North Face holdall in the bath of his two-bedroom rented flat in Pimlico, London on August 23 2010.

The inquest has already heard how fragments of DNA belonging to another person were discovered on the bag containing Mr William’s body.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said it had always been her opinion that a third party was involved in locking the padlock on the bag and placing it in the bath.

However, she said the mystery DNA samples were so small police have been unable to build a usable profile in order to identify a suspect.

Westminster Coroner’s Court was also given in an insight into Mr William’s secretive life, including the revelation that he had 26 pairs of womens’ shoes and boots as part of a £20,000 collection of female clothing.

Sian Lloyd Jones, the 31-year-old’s best friend, rejected suggestions that Mr Williams had an interest in transvestism, insisting the large collection of designer clothing and footwear would have been intended as gifts.

A graphic showing how his naked body folded up in a “foetal position” inside with his arms across his chest has already been shown to the inquest.

As has a harrowing police video showing the interior of Mr Williams’ flat, shot shortly after officers arrived and including scenes of the bulging red bag which contained his body.

The inquest also heard that police had discovered a newspaper cutting that listed the main regrets as expressed by dying people.

The article had been removed from a copy of The Observer newspaper and was found stored in the living room area.

Almost 40 witnesses will give evidence during the hearing, which is expected to last eight days.

Mr Williams was a maths prodigy who graduated from Bangor University at the age of 17 before going on to complete a PhD and post-graduate studies at Manchester and Cambridge Universities.

After starting work for GCHQ in Cheltenham in 2001 he had been seconded to MI6, the secret intelligence service, where he qualified for “operational deployment” in the field.

But earlier the hearing was told that he was unhappy in London and disliked working for the Secret Intelligence Service.

He had applied to return to Cheltenham and had been due to transfer just weeks after he died.

The hearing continues.

Guardian : MI6 officer Gareth Williams found tied to bedposts by landlords, inquest told

MI6 officer Gareth Williams found tied to bedposts by landlords, inquest told

Officer shouted for help at 1.30am and told Cheltenham couple: 'I just wanted to see if I could get myself free'

Caroline Davies | April 25, 2012

The MI6 officer found dead in a padlocked bag in the bath at his flat once had to be rescued by his landlords after they found him tied to his bedposts, an inquest heard.

Jennifer Elliot, who rented a flat in Cheltenham to Gareth Williams while he worked at GCHQ, said she and her husband heard him shouting for help one night at 1.30am about three years ago.

When the couple went into the flat, they were shocked to find him in boxer shorts on his back on the bed "with both hands tied with material attached to the headboard".

"He said: 'I just wanted to see if I could get myself free,'" she said in a statement read to the court. "He was very embarrassed and panicky and apologising."

She said his hands were tied with some kind of material which was "tight enough to cut his wrists".

"My husband said: 'What the bloody hell are you doing?' He said he was just messing about to see if he could get free."

Her husband cut him free and said: "Gareth, we cannot have you doing this here," the statement went on. Williams apologised and said it would not happen again, said Elliot, and offered the couple more rent, which they declined.

The statement continued: "We never spoke to anyone about it." Elliot said Williams did not look aroused but the couple decided it "was more likely to be sexual rather than escapology". Her husband believed he had secured himself using a slip knot.

She added: "The main concern was what would have happened if we had been away."

Questions were raised over the police investigation into the death of the 31-year-old, as the inquest heard detectives found no connection with his work.

Police did not retrieve electronic equipment used by the codes and ciphers expert from GCHQ in Cheltenham until five days after his death. Equipment used by Williams at MI6 HQ in London took four days, Westminster coroners court heard.

Detectives relied on "assurances" from senior security intelligence services (SIS) staff that equipment had not been tampered with, Anthony O'Toole, a lawyer for Williams's family, told the inquest.

No formal witness statements were taken by police from intelligence staff. Instead detectives made a note or typed record afterwards, which was not later shown to the witnesses.

The body of Williams was found in a padlocked sports holdall in the bath in his top-floor flat in Pimlico, central London, on 23 August 2010.

The criticism of the investigation came as Superintendent Michael Broster, of the SO15 counter-terrorism command, whose job was to liaise between homicide command and the intelligence agencies, said all electronic equipment used by Williams had been examined.

The coroner, Fiona Wilcox, asked him: "You spent a lot of time trying to find a connection between Gareth's work and his death. Did you ever find a connection?"

"No, I did not," he replied.

O'Toole asked him why no signed witness statements had been produced from those interviewed at either MI6, where Williams was on secondment, or GCHQ, where he was due to return.

All three witnesses had complained that they had not had the opportunity to verify the contents of the "quasi-formal" statements produced and on at least two occasions the contents were inaccurate, said O'Toole.

He asked Broster how he could be sure the electronic equipment "had not been interfered or tampered with" before police retrieved it.

Broster said he had been assured by both GCHQ and SIS it had not.

"So almost under the old boys' act. They told you that and you accepted it?" said O'Toole.

Broster said the assurances were from senior staff. The equipment at MI6 had been sealed with tape. Elizabeth Guthrie, a friend of Williams in London, said of the designer female clothing found in his flat that "they certainly wouldn't have been for him".

Asked about her personal opinion of his sexuality, she said he was straight.

Guardian : MI6 code expert Gareth Williams 'previously found tied to bed'

MI6 code expert Gareth Williams 'previously found tied to bed'

Landlord tells inquest how she had to free cipher officer as boss admits taking seven days to report him missing

Caroline Davies | April 25, 2012

The MI6 cipher officer found dead in his flat in a padlocked bag had previously been rescued after tying himself to his bedstead, an inquest was told, as police said there was nothing to link his death to his intelligence services work.

Gareth Williams's decomposed body was found in the bag in the bath at his home in Pimlico on 23 August 2010, and 21 months later police remain baffled over the circumstances of his death.

But his former landlady, Jennifer Elliot, told the inquest that three years before his death, she and her husband had heard Williams call for help at 1.30am from the annex flat he was renting from them in Cheltenham, where he worked at GCHQ.

They let themselves in with the spare key and found the codes expert lying on his back on the bed, in boxer shorts, with his hands tied to the bed posts with material so tight it had cut his wrists.

In a statement read to the inquest, Elliot said she and her husband had both been in shock. Her husband asked Williams: "What the bloody hell are you doing?" Williams told them: "I just wanted to see if could get myself free."

The statement added that he did not appear sexually aroused, and was "very embarrassed, panicky and apologetic."

The couple, who never spoke to anyone about the incident, said they concluded it was "sexual rather than escapology".

The Westminster coroner, Fiona Wilcox, heard that Williams was only reported missing seven days after he failed to turn up for work, despite missing two meetings, and working in a small office of four people, two of whom were away.

He had been on secondment from GCHQ to MI6. His line manager, known only as Witness G, said that at first he believed Williams's absence was "a misunderstanding" and it was possible "he was engaged in other activities that I was unaware of". G said he had made attempts to contact Williams by telephone on day two of the unexplained absence. G was away from the office the following two days, but on Friday 20 August (day 5) he made more attempts to make contact through phones and email, then visited William's flat. He got no response on the intercom.

Only after the weekend did Witness G finally report him missing and contact William's sister, Ceri Subbe.

The coroner said she was struggling to understand why no action was taken sooner, and G was asked to explain the delay by the family's lawyer, Anthony O'Toole. "What concerns the family is that Gareth was in a profession in which there are risks. And they are concerned that such a long time took place, and four days were effectively left without any investigation."

G told the inquest "with hindsight I wish I had taken different steps over that week". He added there was nothing to indicate Williams was at risk at that time.

Evidence from Carol Kirton, an assistant at the upmarket west London fashion store Dover Street Market, stated testified that Williams regularly bought women's clothes.

In a statement, Kirton said he was shy and "on a mission to buy" and told her the clothing was for his girlfriend, who was "tall and slim". Police found £20,000 worth of designer women's clothing at his flat and 26 pairs of shoes and boots, many in pristine condition, still in tissue paper.

His friend Elizabeth Guthrie said Williams, who often used another name and had several phones, might have bought the clothing "as a support strategy" for somebody. "Certainly they would not have been for him," she said. Asked about his sexuality, she said: "I have a personal view that he was straight."

Questions were raised about the police investigation as A senior SO15 counter-terrorism officer, Supt Michael Broster, the conduit between homicide and the intelligence agencies, said there was "no link as far as we can tell, between his work and his death".

Williams's personal laptop was examined, and there was nothing work-related on it. The inquest heard that he had visited Claustrophillia, bondage and sado masochism websites, O'Toole asked if Broster could guarantee evidence was not tampered with during the several days before police retrieved William's electronic equipment from SIS (Security Intelligence Services) and GCHQ.

He said he had been assured it had not. "So, its almost an Old Boys act. They told you that and you accepted?" said O'Toole. "Certainly not, said Broster. They're a responsible organisation." The hearing was also told no formal signed statement were submitted by intelligence witnesses questioned. Instead police compiled "notes" after interviewing, which witnesses did not see and which, according to O'Toole, contained "inaccuracies".

The hearing continues

Money Control (India) : UK "spy in the bag" was once found tied to a bed

UK "spy in the bag" was once found tied to a bed

Reuters | April 25, 2012

LONDON (Reuters) - A British 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 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)