The Journal : MI6 spy was unhappy with “rat race”, inquest hears

MI6 spy was unhappy with “rat race”, inquest hears

April 23, 2012

THE FIRST DAY of the inquest into the death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams has drawn to a close.

Williams’ decomposing body was found in a holdall bag in the bath of his home in central London on 25 August 2010.

Sky News reports this evening that police laywer Vincent Williams told the Coroner, Fiona Wilcox, that “there may be criminal proceedings further down the line”, so disclosure “has to be done with some care”.

Williams worked for Britain’s secret eavesdropping service GCHQ and was attached to the country’s MI6 overseas spy agency.

While detectives have suggested Williams, 31, may have died in a sex game gone wrong, his family has countered that British spy agencies may have been involved in the death.

An inquest being held into his death will investigate whether Williams could possibly have climbed inside the sports bag and locked it from the inside. There were no signs of struggle, and no drugs or poison in Williams’ body, the discovery of which launched a flurry of conspiracy theories.

The coroner leading the inquest agreed to allow four intelligence agents to give evidence anonymously. Coroner Wilcox acknowledged “there will be a real risk of harm” to national security and international relations if the identities of some of those giving evidence at the inquest are exposed.

William’s sister was the first to give evidence to the inquest, saying that her brother was unhappy with the “rat race” in London and had requested to be sent back to GCHQ’s headquarters in Gloucestershire, western England.

“The job was not quite what he expected,” Ceri Subbe said. “He encountered more red tape than he was comfortable with.”

Subbe told the inquest Monday that she did not believe her brother would let a potential killer into his flat, saying he was extremely careful.

Policeman John Gallagher told the inquest how he made the grim discovery of William’s body when he went to the man’s apartment to check on the missing spy.

Gallagher said a real estate agent let him into Williams’ flat when his knocks went unanswered. In the apartment, he recalled seeing a mobile phone with two Sim cards on a table and a women’s wig hanging on a chair. Gallagher said when he entered the bathroom, he noticed a bulging North Face sports bag in the tub with the zippers padlocked together.

“At this point I am realizing it is something serious and my concern was to not damage anything in a crime scene,” he recalled, describing how he lifted the bag up and saw red fluid seeping out.

Gallagher said he then called for backup. Experts later consulted by police said Williams could not have locked himself inside the bag.

Police have made no arrests in the case and are still not certain exactly how Williams died. But Scotland Yard raised the possibility that criminal charges could still be filed, telling the inquest that it objected to the release of some material to the media because that could prejudice future criminal proceedings.

- Additional reporting AP

Metro : Spy Gareth Williams complained of 'friction' at work, sister tells inquest

Spy Gareth Williams complained of 'friction' at work, sister tells inquest

By METRO NEWS REPORTER | April 23, 2012

MI6 spy Gareth Williams, whose decomposing body was found padlocked in a sports holdall in his bath, had complained of 'friction' at work prior to his death, his sister told an inquest today.

Ceri Subbe told coroner Fiona Wilcox that Mr Williams, 31, from Anglesey, north Wales, had become disillusioned at work in London and was due to return to GCHQ in Cheltenham the week before he died.

'He disliked office culture, post-work drinks, flash car competitions and the rat race. He even spoke of friction in the office,' Ms Subbe said at Westminster Coroner's Court.

'The job was not quite what he expected. He encountered more red tape than he was comfortable with.'

She described Mr Williams as the 'perfect' big brother and could not 'emphasise enough his conscientiousness'.

Mr Williams' body was found in a padlocked North Face holdall in the bath of his top floor flat on Alderney Street in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.

Earlier Ms Wilcox ruled some evidence would be heard in public but that sensitive information would be withheld, warning of a real risk to national security.

Ms Wilcox has already given four intelligence agents 'public interest' anonymity.

No one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with Mr Williams' death, with the Metropolitan Police drawing a 21-month blank.

But lawyer Vincent Williams said there was a 'real possibility' the inquest could lead to eventual prosecutions.

Guardian : MI6 spy Gareth Williams complained of friction at work, inquest told

MI6 spy Gareth Williams complained of friction at work, inquest told

Sister says Williams disliked office culture and had been due to return to GCHQ one week after his body was found in holdall

Caroline Davies | April 23, 2012

Gareth Williams, the intelligence worker found dead in a padlocked holdall at his London flat, had requested a transfer from MI6 because he was unhappy and he had been due to move a week after his body was found, an inquest heard.

He had wanted to return to the intelligence agency GCHQ in Cheltenham after complaining of "friction" at work and his dislike of the "rat race", his sister, Ceri Subbe, told the Westminster coroner's court on the opening day of the inquest.

Williams, 31, a cipher and codes expert, was so secretive about his work that his parents and sister did not know the nature of his job. He was on a three-year secondment to MI6 when he was found in the locked bag in his bath on 25 August 2010.

Describing her brother as a cycling enthusiast and someone who was happiest "in the mountains" and engaged in outdoor pursuits, Subbe said: "He disliked office culture, post-work drinks, flash car competitions and the rat race. He even spoke of friction in the office."

PC John Gallagher was first on the scene at 5pm after Williams's family reported him missing. He said he searched the "extremely tidy" top-floor flat in Pimlico before noticing a red holdall in the bath in a bathroom that was devoid of toiletries.

"I noticed a bulge," he said, describing the bag as having the two zips padlocked together. He lifted the bag six or seven inches. "That's when I noticed some red fluid. It was seeping out of the bag," he said.

Williams's body was found in the bag, naked and decomposing.

Detective chief superintendent Hamish Campbell said he had been made aware later that evening of the nature of Williams's job with MI6, and that this had prompted senior level talks between homicide and counter-terrorism about the chain of the command in the investigation.

It was decided that homicide officers would conduct the investigation, with participation at senior level from the security intelligence services, and Campbell said Scotland Yard had full cooperation.

He added that he was not aware of MI5, MI6 or SO15 carrying out their own independent investigations into the death.

Inside Williams's rented flat, police found a woman's wig hanging on a chair, two sim cards, a mobile phone and a laptop. Designer women's clothing worth £20,000 was also discovered.

The flat was owned by a company called New Rodina, registered in the British Virgin Islands, but the tenancy had been taken over by the secretary of state in 2003, the inquest heard.

Williams had been in the process of packing up in preparation for his transfer.

The coroner, Fiona Wilcox, described Williams's death as highly controversial and said that four intelligence officers giving evidence would be given anonymity in the public interest. There would be "a real risk of harm to national security" and international relations, she said, if some of those giving evidence were identified.

Scotland Yard said it might have problems with allowing some exhibits to be released to the media.

A 21-month investigation into Williams's death has left detectives baffled, but Vincent Williams, a lawyer for the Metropolitan police, said the inquiry was ongoing and, though "not straightforward, it may at some stage result in criminal proceedings".

Asked whether she was surprised that £20,000 worth of women's clothing had been found at the flat, Williams's sister said she was not, as her brother had been generous and it was "possibly a gift".

In a statement, Subbe said: "In terms of a big brother figure, Gareth was perfect."

They were incredibly close as a family, she said, and he would visit his parents often. "It was impossible to do justice to Gareth's impressive character without meeting him."

The inquest heard that Williams had taken his O-levels aged 10 and had begun a degree course at Bangor University aged 16. He loved cycling and fell walking, said Subbe. "His passion was undoubtedly the mountains."

He was a scrupulous risk assessor, she said. He adored music, the theatre, the arts and fashion. He had undertaken two six-week design courses at Central St Martin's College in London.

His sister said he was secretive about his job. "Gareth didn't tell us what specifically he did as a job – of course we knew where he worked, but he didn't speak about it in any great detail," she said.

He was very strict about only allowing people who had been security vetted to visit his flat, she said, and would not have lent his keys to anyone.

Subbe said the family had not heard from Williams, who was originally from Anglesey, for 10 days before his body was found.

Subbe said her brother's job with MI6 had not been "not quite what he expected".

"He encountered more red tape than he was comfortable with," she said. In April 2010 he had applied to return to GCHQ earlier than had been planned, but MI6 "dragged their feet", eventually approving that he would return to the Cheltenham listening post on September 1 2010.

She said her brother had failed to turn up for a meeting he was supposed to chair on 16 August.

"He is very conscientious," she said, and MI6 had agreed he was like "a Swiss clock – very punctual, very efficient".

She added that the family wanted to know why the alarm was not raised when he initially failed to turn up at work. She also said her brother had never told her he was being followed, or felt threatened in any way.

"I cannot think as to why anybody would want to harm him," she said.

Williams's family urged the coroner not to release to the media video footage of a reconstruction – made for the purposes of the inquest – to establish if someone could lock themselves into a holdall.

Anthony O'Toole, a lawyer for Subbe and her parents, Ian and Ellen, who were at the inquest, said it would be "upsetting" for the family if the "speculative film were released".

At a pre-inquest hearing, the coroner heard that a battery of post-mortem tests had failed to determine how Williams died and that police had originally decided it would have been impossible for him to lock himself in the bag.

His family believe that by the time the officers arrived at his flat, his body was so decomposed that possible vital evidence was lost.

The hearing continues.

News 24 : UK 'sadomasochistic' spy inquest opens

UK 'sadomasochistic' spy inquest opens

April 23, 2012

London - An inquest resumed on Monday into the mysterious death of a British spy whose naked body was found padlocked in a bag at his home two years ago.

The decomposing remains of Gareth Williams, 31, were discovered in August 2010 in a holdall in the bath at his London home, near the headquarters of Britain's MI6 external intelligence service, where he worked.

His family believe secret agents versed in the "dark arts" tried to cover up his death, but Scotland Yard detectives have found no evidence that anyone else had been with Williams in his flat at the time of his death.

Around 30 witnesses are expected to give evidence in the five-day inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court in London, but four intelligence agents among them were granted anonymity.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said "there will be a real risk of harm" to national security and international relations if their identities are revealed.

The coroner said a practical demonstration of how Williams could have got into the bag and locked it by himself was "at the very heart of this inquiry", given that one suggestion is that it was part of a sadomasochistic sex ritual.

An expert consulted by police will not be asked to perform the demonstration in the courtroom "to prevent proceedings becoming ridiculous", the coroner said.

Vincent Williams, a lawyer for Scotland Yard, said a video of the demonstration would instead be shown to the court.

Anthony O'Toole, a lawyer for Williams' family, said they were anxious the video was not released to the public "to ensure that this sort of reconstruction does not become bandied around by media outlets".

Williams' sister Ceri Subbe took the stand to tell the inquest her brother was "a country boy" who found it hard to adapt to life in London.

"The job was not quite what he expected," she said, adding: "He encountered a lot more red tape than he was comfortable with".

But she insisted that although he was disillusioned with the "rat race" in London, his family had not been worried about his state of mind at the time of his death. He had been "upbeat" in their last conversation.

Asked about a report in The Sunday Times newspaper that he had told a friend he feared he was being followed just before he died, Subbe said her brother had never mentioned such concerns to her.

She also said she was not aware that he had an extensive wardrobe of female clothing in his flat and speculated it could possibly be "a gift... or collectibles".

The coroner said the clothing had an approximate value of £20 000.

Williams, believed to be a mathematics genius, was just days from completing a one-year secondment at MI6 from his job at GCHQ, Britain's electronic "listening post" which monitors communications for intelligence purposes.

O'Toole said at a pre-inquest review hearing last month that the family believe someone else was either present when he died, or broke into his home afterwards to destroy evidence.

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

- AFP

Independent : Criminal charges a 'real possibility' in investigation into death of ‘unhappy’ spy Gareth Williams

Criminal charges a 'real possibility' in investigation into death of ‘unhappy’ spy Gareth Williams

John Hall | April 23, 2012

The inquest into the death of an 'unhappy' spy, whose body was found locked inside a sports holdall just a week before he was due to leave his job, today heard how police may still bring criminal charges in the ongoing investigation.

Gareth Williams, originally from Holyhead in Wales, had been due to leave London and return to the Government’s Communications Headquarters in Gloucestershire just a week after his naked, decomposing body was found crammed inside the padlocked bag on August 25 2010.

Williams, a 31-year-old codebreaker who begun his university studies while at secondary school, graduating from Bangor University with a first class degree in Mathematics aged 17, had requested to leave London because he hated the “rat race” and the “flash car competitions”, his sister Ceri Subbe told the inquest.

In her statement, Ms Subbe said her brother “disliked office culture, post-work drinks, flash car competitions and the rat race. He even spoke of friction in the office.”

She added: “The job was not quite what he expected. He encountered more red tape than he was comfortable with.”

Ms Subbe spoke after Metropolitan Police barrister Vincent Williams said criminal charges over Gareth Williams’ death were still a “real possibility”.

Lawyers for Scotland Yard tried to block the coroner from releasing to the media video footage which could be key to a prosecution.

He warned that a “careful line must be struck between open justice” at the inquest and the ongoing criminal investigation.

Explaining their objection to some material going into the public domain, a lawyer for Scotland Yard said: “It is because there is a live complex ongoing investigation taking place.”

The inquest heard how Williams had failed to turn up for an MI6 meeting on August 16 2010, a matter Ms Subbe raised with one of his colleagues.

Ms Subbe said: ”He is very conscientious. The person I spoke to agreed, and said Gareth was like a Swiss clock - very punctual, very efficient, and it was very unlike him not to attend a meeting.“

Although he was supposed to be on a three-year secondment in London, Williams’ bosses agreed for him leave on September 1 2010.

Ms Subbe accused MI6 of “dragging their feet” in approving his request to return to GCHQ, which was originally made in April 2010.

Asked about £20,000 of women's clothes found in Williams' flat after he died, she said it was ”not particularly“ surprising, adding their presence was ”possibly as a gift“.

Williams' sister said her brother was ”the most scrupulous risk-assessor“ she had ever known.

She said Williams, a keen cyclist, fell runner and mountaineer, and passionate about art, music and fashion, would turn back a few hundred yards from the summit of mountains if there was ”the hint of adverse weather conditions“.”Better to be safe than sorry,“ she added.

Ms Subbe said her brother never told her he was being followed or felt threatened in any way, adding: ”I cannot think as to why anybody would want to harm him.“

She said he was a private, very tidy man who never talked about his work.

BBC : MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'scrupulous risk assessor'

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'scrupulous risk assessor'

April 23, 2012

An MI6 officer found dead in his flat had been a "scrupulous risk-assessor" and only let "vetted" people into his home, his sister has told an inquest.

The body of Gareth Williams, 31, originally from Anglesey, was found padlocked in a bag in a bath in his Pimlico flat in August 2010.

Ceri Subbe said only family had keys to her brother's flat and that he would not have let in a potential killer.

The inquest is expected to examine whether anyone else was involved.

Ms Subbe said her brother had never told her he had been followed or felt threatened.

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

In a statement read to the court, Ms Subbe said MI6 had been "dragging their feet" over her brother's request to return to government communications surveillance agency GCHQ's headquarters in Gloucestershire.

The mathematics prodigy had worked as a cipher and codes expert for GCHQ since 2001.

He had been working for MI6 in London on what had been meant to be a three-year secondment, but "as time went by his enthusiasm began to fade", Ms Subbe said.

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

Giving evidence at Westminster Coroner's Court, Ms Subbe added: "The job was not quite what he expected. He encountered more red tape than he was comfortable with."

Mr Williams had asked to return to GCHQ in April 2010 and MI6 had agreed he could leave on 1 September 2010.

The inquest was told that he failed to show up to a meeting that day and Ms Subbe had spoken to one of his colleagues.

"He is very conscientious. The person I spoke to agreed, and said Gareth was like a Swiss clock - very punctual, very efficient, and it was very unlike him not to attend a meeting," she said.

Ms Subbe told the inquest he had seemed upbeat the last time she spoke to him.

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

The police officer who discovered the bag in the bath, PC John Gallagher, told the inquest he was let into the locked flat by a letting agent after reports that Mr Williams was missing.

He said that, once inside, his attention was drawn to a woman's wig hanging on the corner of a chair.

When he got to the bathroom, there was a bathrobe on the floor outside the closed door, he added.

When he opened it, he noticed the bag in the bath but only became aware of the "particular smell" of a body when he tried to lift it.

"I noticed that the side nearest the door had a round bulge," he said.

"I noticed there was a padlock with the two zips joined together.

"At this point I am realising it is something serious and my concern was to not damage anything in a crime scene."

He said he could only see red fluid seeping out after he lifted the bag up "by six or seven inches".

He called for back-up and Det Sgt Paul Colgan arrived who cut open the holdall to reveal the body inside.

The inquest has been adjourned until Tuesday.

Opening proceedings earlier, coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said evidence into Mr Williams's death would be heard in public but that some sensitive information would be withheld because of a "real risk of harm" to national security.

Summaries or "gists" of any withheld evidence would be revealed in court and there would be "a full, fair and fearless inquest into this highly controversial death", she said.

The inquest will hear from Mr Williams's colleagues from MI6 and the GCHQ, toxicology experts and bag experts.

Most of the 37 witnesses will give evidence in person, but some officers will be able to testify anonymously and behind screens.

Broadcasters and newspaper have applied for photographs, video and documents referred to in open court to be supplied to the media.

But a lawyer for the Met Police, Vincent Williams, said there was a "live complex ongoing investigation" into the death and charges were still a "real possibility".

Dr Wilcox suggested that the lawyers agree a compromise outside court.

A lawyer for Mr Williams's family said they opposed the release of video footage showing an attempted reconstruction of how he may have climbed into the bath.

'Dark arts'

A post-mortem examination and further 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 originally found it would have been impossible for Mr Williams to have locked himself inside the holdall his naked body was found in.

But they have been unable to establish whether he died at the hands of a third party.

Dr Wilcox told a pre-inquest hearing in March that whether the code-breaker was able to lock himself in the bag would be "at the very heart" of the inquest.

Lawyer Anthony O'Toole told the pre-inquest hearing that Mr Williams's family believed a third party was present at his death or later destroyed evidence.

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

Independent : 'Spy in a bag' may have been executed by secret agents, coroner hears

'Spy in a bag' may have been executed by secret agents, coroner hears

Dirty tricks may mean killers will never face justice

Kim Sengupta | March 31, 2012

An MI6 officer whose body was found in a holdall may have been executed by secret agents specialising in the "dark arts", with a cover-up subsequently organised to ensure that his killers did not face justice, a court heard yesterday.

The highly charged allegations came at a coroner's hearing which was also told it was virtually impossible for Gareth Williams to have locked himself inside the bag, but that the hunt for those who may have killed him was sidetracked by a major forensic blunder.

The mix-up, over DNA found on the body, was discovered only two weeks ago – while the investigation into one of the most high-profile spy cases of recent times has been going up a blind alley for the best part of a year.

Westminster Coroner's Court in London was also told that MI6 (the Secret Intelligence Service) had not checked on Mr Williams's whereabouts for more than a week, even though he had failed to turn up for work. As a result, his remains were so decomposed and contaminated that scientists had been unable to ascertain the cause of death.

Anthony O'Toole, representing Mr Williams's relations, told the court: "The impression of the family is that the unknown third party was a member of some agency specialising in the dark arts of the secret services – or evidence has been removed post mortem by experts in the dark arts."

Mr O'Toole said Mr Williams "could have been actively deployed" as an agent up to five months before his death. There was a "bland statement" from MI6 "that the death was nothing to do with his work", said the lawyer. "To properly explore the circumstances of the death, we need to establish the deceased's work," he added.

Mr Williams worked as a cipher and codes expert for GCHQ, the Government listening station, but had been on secondment with MI6 since March 2010. His body was found at his flat in Pimlico, south-west London, in August 2010 in a North Face holdall sealed by a padlock.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire told the court that traces of DNA found on one of Mr Williams's hands were previously been regarded as a "key line of inquiry". But it subsequently emerged that "actually the DNA evidence was contamination by a scientist at the scene".

The laboratory responsible, LGC Forensics, last night apologised to Mr Williams's family. "LGC identified the partial profile as matching that of a Metropolitan Police scientist who was involved in the original investigation," a spokeswoman for the company said.

The coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, said: "What I am concerned about is that there is a system in placed to detect the error. Human errors will always occur.

"There has been so much public speculation and so much public anxiety that this is the reason the court has to act to address it."

Mr Williams's family, said Mr O'Toole, was concerned a third party who may have been present at his death has still not been traced. There was the DNA evidence which turned out to be contaminated and also, supposedly, a footprint. But both leads had come to "dead ends".

Examination of a door knob which may have provided incriminating material could not be carried out because the expert tasked with doing so found the door had been removed and the knob taken out, said the lawyer.

The inquest into Mr Williams's death, expected to begin in April, will hear from his colleagues at MI6 (who will give evidence anonymously) and GCHQ, toxicology experts, bag experts, as well as from his sister. It will also hear that he may have died after breathing too much carbon dioxide.

Dr Wilcox said she wanted the circumstances of Mr Williams's death to be re-enacted in court. "I want it demonstrated in court how somebody could have got into the bag, done it up and locked it from outside when confined inside. It's the fundamental issue in this case: whether Gareth Williams was able to lock the bag when he was inside."

But Vincent Williams, representing Scotland Yard, held there was no need for such a demonstration. A panel of experts had concluded it "would have been very difficult, if not impossible" for him to lock the bag from the inside.

Timeline: The mysterious death of Gareth Williams

15 Aug 2010

31-year-old Gareth Williams, a cipher and codes expert who worked at the GCHQ listening post in Cheltenham, is seen alive for the last time.

23 Aug 2010

A colleague at GCHQ reports Williams missing. His body is found later that day at his flat in Pimlico, London.

30 Aug 2010

Detectives say they are looking at whether Williams may have been killed by a foreign intelligence agency.

1 Sept 2010

An inquest hears that Williams's remains were discovered padlocked into a sports bag, which was in an empty bath at his flat.

6 Sept 2010

Police appeal for help in tracing a couple of Mediterranean appearance, pictured left, who were seen entering Williams's flat earlier in the summer.

22 Dec 2010

Police reveal that Williams had accessed bondage websites and visited a drag show, amid suggestions that the death could have been the result of a sex game gone wrong.

March 2012

After 18 months of investigation, police discover that a trace of DNA found on Williams's hand came from a crime scene scientist. They also find that the couple they were tracing were irrelevant to the inquiry.