Mirror : Spy in the bag Gareth Williams was killed to protect Russian 'mole' in MI6, ex-KGB agent claims

Spy in the bag Gareth Williams was killed to protect Russian 'mole' in MI6, ex-KGB agent claims

Boris Karpichkov says police claims that the MI6 operative's death was 'a tragic accident' are 'nonsense' and believes he was killed by the Russians

By Justin Penrose | November 17, 2013

Spy in the bag Gareth Williams was assassinated because he was about to reveal the identity of an MI6 employee working for the Russians, a former KGB agent has claimed.

Boris Karpichkov dismissed as “nonsense” Scotland Yard’s conclusion last week that Mr Williams’ death was an accident.

He says the spy had been working for a unit focusing on Russian intelligence and that Mr Williams, 31, a former codebreaker, had also been on training courses on field operations and had been given a new false passport with a secret identity.

Mr Karpichkov, a Latvian who fled to Britain in the late 1990s when his double life was exposed, said intelligence sources had passed on the bombshell new information.

Mr Karpichkov, who successfully turned foreign spies into double agents in Eastern Europe, told the Sunday Mirror: “I believe Gareth Williams was targeted by the Russian security services and was unlawfully killed.

“I am 100 per cent sure he was working for a unit against Russian intelligence, had a passport in a false name and had been on field operative training courses.

“One of two things happened. First Russian security services could have tried to recruit him as a mole, probably through blackmail.

“But if people refuse this, then it is all part of counter espionage games and he would not have been killed. It does not fit.

“During the course of his work he came across a mole inside MI6 working for the Russians. They probably tried to recruit him to keep this information hidden.

“When he refused, he became a threat to Russian security services and at the point when he was going to reveal the mole agent inside MI6, he was killed.

“When I was exposed in Latvia, my bosses told me to kill those who had betrayed me, giving me a licence to kill as was about to be exposed. I didn’t and left the country.”

Mr Karpichkov claims the FSB - the successor organisation to Russia's KGB - would have placed him under surveillance by using hidden cameras in unmarked cars’ rear view mirrors.

Video would have picked up from the cars simply by driving past.

The former KGB agent said he saw several cars with Russian diplomatic number plates in the area in the two months before Mr Williams died and a Russian agent in unmarked British car.

Police last week claimed that “on the balance of probabilities” nobody else was present when Mr Williams got into a bag in his bath and padlocked himself inside.

This was despite there being no DNA on the pad lock and no palm prints on the bath - making it impossible for him to get in by himself.

Between 10 and 15 unidentified traces of DNA were found at the flat.

The door of the flat in Pimlico, South West London was also locked from the outside.

Despite being a strict time keeper, none of Mr Williams’ colleagues reported him missing for over a week and none went into his flat.

His boss, known as Agent G, went and only knocked on the door twice.

The heating in the flat had been turned onto full blast despite it being in the height of summer - rapidly increasing the speed that the body decomposed.

Mr Karpichkov added: “To say that he died accidentally is ridiculous and nonsense.

“MI6 failed to report him being missing as they would not have wanted it being revealed that they may have an operative working for the Russian security services.”

Last year, Coroner Fiona Wilcox ruled that on the balance of probabilities Mr Williams was unlawfully killed and it was unlikely that he got into the bag himself.

But Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt last week said it was “beyond credibility” that Scotland Yard had been duped by MI6 as part of a cover up.

He said: “I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes. "I believe that we are dealing with a tragic, unexplained death.”

Mr Williams’ parents Ian and Ellen have rejected the police claims.A

Wales Online : Lawyer of dead Welsh spy Gareth Williams' family claims he was gagged at inquest

Lawyer of dead Welsh spy Gareth Williams' family claims he was gagged at inquest

Anthony O'Toole believes there has been a security cover-up over Mr Williams' death after police yesterday insisted his death was probably accidental

By WalesOnline | November 14, 2013

The parents of spy Gareth Williams whose body was found in a bag rejected police claims yesterday that his death was accidental.

And their lawyer has said he was gagged at the 2012 inquest. Anthony O’Toole told the Daily Mirror there had been a security services cover-up, adding: “My suggestion is that the dark arts were involved.”

The body of MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams, a 31-year-old maths genius, was found inside a padlocked sports holdall in a bath at a central London safehouse in August 2010.

It is believed he had been dead for more than a week.

Yesterday it was claimed that his grieving parents, Ian and Ellen, have been prevented from finding out the truth about how he died.

Mr O’ Toole, the family’s lawyer, revealed yesterday that he was banned from grilling an MI6 agent during the original inquest last year.

He said he was prevented from asking a key question of Mr Williams’ line manager – known only as Agent G – on how secret service officers could have entered his apartment.

Mr O’Toole said: “I was not allowed by the coroner to say to the spook, ‘You know how to get into the flats without keys, don’t you?’ I was told it was contrary to national security.”

He added: “My suggestion is that the dark arts were involved and there was a curious lack of evidence in there, almost like it had been swept clean.”

Mr O’Toole spoke out as Mr Williams’ family rejected a statement from Scotland Yard yesterday stating that his death was “probably an accident”.

The claim, following an 18-month review of the investigation, contradicts the findings of last year’s inquest, which pointed to the likely involvement of a “third party”.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said in a narrative verdict that she was “satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully”.

His family fear that spies gained access to his apartment and removed crucial evidence before police found the body.

In a statement they said: “We are naturally disappointed that it is still not possible to state with certainty how Gareth died.

“And the fact that the circumstances of his death are still unknown adds to our grief.

“We note that the investigation has been conducted with further interviews upon some of the witnesses who gave evidence at the inquest, and that the investigation team were at last able to interview directly members of GCHQ and SIS.

“We consider that on the basis of the facts at present known, the coroner’s verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth’s death.”

They said they were “disappointed” over the failure of MI6 to make inquiries “concerning Gareth’s welfare” when he failed to show up for work.

The family added: “We believe that if proper steps had been taken in the same manner as any reasonable employer further information relating to the cause of his death might have become apparent and not have been lost due to the length of time before Gareth’s body was found.

“This lack of concern for Gareth’s well-being remains an overriding feature of our thoughts following the death of a dear son and brother.”

The initial police inquiry concluded, like the inquest, that someone else was probably present. But in a dramatic U-turn yesterday, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: “The Metropolitan Police’s position is that, on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.”

But he admitted: “The reality is that for both hypotheses, there exist evidential contradictions and gaps in our understanding.”

Mr Hewitt said detectives still could not explain why none of Mr Williams’ DNA was found on the padlock of the holdall or why his palm prints were not on the rim of the bath. They also don’t know why the heating had been left on in the flat despite it being summer.

Up to 15 unidentified DNA samples were recovered from the flat, but there was no positive evidence of a third party being present at the time of death.

Mr Hewitt insisted it was “beyond credibility” that Scotland Yard had been duped by MI6 and GCHQ as part of a cover-up.

He said: “I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes. I believe that what we are dealing with is a tragic unexplained death.”

He admitted mistakes had been made during the original inquiry including the failure to access Mr Williams’ MI6 vetting and personnel files for two years.

Mirror : Spy-in-the-bag Gareth Williams' lawyer was banned from asking MI6 agent how secret service could have entered his flat

Spy-in-the-bag Gareth Williams' lawyer was banned from asking MI6 agent how secret service could have entered his flat

He revealed that he was banned from grilling the agent during the original inquest last year

November 14, 2013

The bizarre death of MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams has baffled investigators for more than three years.

The 31-year-old maths genius was found inside a padlocked sports holdall in a bath at a Central London safehouse in August 2010.

It is believed he had been dead for more than a week.

And yesterday it was claimed that his grieving parents, Ian and Ellen, have been prevented from finding out the truth about how he died.

The family’s lawyer, Anthony O’Toole, revealed that he was banned from grilling an MI6 agent during the original inquest last year.

He said he was prevented from asking a key question of Mr Williams’ line manager – known only as Agent G – on how secret service officers could have entered his apartment.

Mr O’Toole said: “I was not allowed by the coroner to say to the spook, ‘You know how to get into the flats without keys, don’t you?’ I was told it was contrary to national security.”

He added: “My suggestion is that the dark arts were involved and there was a curious lack of evidence in there, almost like it had been swept clean.”

Mr O’Toole spoke out as Mr Williams’ family rejected a statement from Scotland Yard yesterday stating that his death was “probably an accident”.

The claim, following an 18-month review of the investigation , contradicts the findings of last year’s inquest, which pointed to the likely involvement of a “third party”.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said in a narrative verdict that the death was “unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated”.

She was “satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully”.

Mr O’Toole fears spies gained access to his apartment and removed crucial evidence before police found the body.

In a statement the family said:“We are naturally disappointed that it is still not possible to state with certainty how Gareth died.

“And the fact that the circumstances of his death are still unknown adds to our grief.

“We note that the investigation has been conducted with further interviews upon some of the witnesses who gave evidence at the inquest, and that the investigation team were at last able to interview directly members of GCHQ and SIS. We consider that on the basis of the facts at present known, the coroner’s verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth’s death.”

They went on to say they were “disappointed” over the failure of MI6 to make inquiries “concerning Gareth’s welfare” when he failed to show up for work.

The family added: “We believe that if proper steps had been taken in the same manner as any reasonable employer further information relating to the cause of his death might have become apparent and not have been lost due to the length of time before Gareth’s body was found.

“This lack of concern for Gareth’s well-being remains an overriding feature of our thoughts following the death of a dear son and brother.”

The initial police inquiry concluded, like the inquest, that someone else was probably present.

But in a dramatic U-turn yesterday, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: “The Metropolitan Police’s position is that, on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.”

But he admitted: “The reality is that for both hypotheses, there exist evidential contradictions and gaps in our understanding.”

Mr Hewitt said detectives still could not explain why none of Mr Williams’ DNA was found on the padlock of the holdall or why his palm prints were not on the rim of the bath.

They also don’t know why the heating had been left on in the flat despite it being summer.

Up to 15 unidentified DNA samples were recovered from the flat, but there was no positive evidence of a third party being present at the time of death.

Mr Hewitt insisted it was “beyond credibility” that Scotland Yard had been duped by MI6 and GCHQ as part of a cover-up.

He said: “I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes. I believe that what we are dealing with is a tragic unexplained death.”

He admitted mistakes had been made during the original inquiry including the failure to access Mr Williams’ MI6 vetting and personnel files for two years.

But during the latest probe officers were given full access to details of Mr Williams’ work, interviewing a total of 27 members of staff from the two agencies as part of their investigation.

Mr Williams, described as mild-mannered and a keen cyclist, had been on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ.

His line manager, Agent G, was severely criticised at the inquest for failing to issue an alert despite the agent not being at work for more than a week. Some believe this would have given the intelligence agencies more than enough time to remove any evidence that could be potentially embarrassing to the state.

Mr Williams’ job was said to involve tracking the flow of money from Russia to Europe. One theory is that he was killed by Russian agents.

Family lawyer Mr O’Toole remains convinced a “third party” was involved in Mr Williams’ death.

He said: “The coroner said there was a third party, there is no doubt about it. The coroner also suggested there was an unlawful killing by a third party.

“There is no doubt there was somebody else there.”

Asked if he believed an intelligence agency went into the flat before police found the body, he said: “The curious thing in cross-examination of spooks was that his line manager went to his flat twice, before it all hit the fan, and merely knocked on the door.

“Now these people by their profession can make entries anywhere, so you would have thought if someone had been missing five days and he was a spy they might have gone into the flat and had a look.”

There was also no physical evidence of any forced entry or any sign that Mr Williams was involved in a struggle.

Another theory is that agents may have returned to the apartment through a skylight to clean up evidence – even while police officers were on guard outside the flat.

Scotland Yard said Mr Williams’ interest in women’s clothing had fuelled speculation over his death. Around £20,000 worth of clothing was found in his flat, including many dresses still in their wrapping.

But the coroner had found these were a “fashion collection” and did not believe they were relevant.

The inquest heard the most likely cause of death was either oxygen depletion or hypercapnia – a build-up of carbon dioxide inside the holdall.

[video here]

ABC : Mystery Still Surrounds Bizarre 2010 Spy Death in London

Mystery Still Surrounds Bizarre 2010 Spy Death in London

By Jean-Nicholas Fievet | November 13, 2013

Police in London have admitted that they still don’t know why the dead body of a 31-year-old British intelligence officer was found locked inside a bag in 2010, but deny there was any cover-up by spy agencies. The investigation is now closed, pending new evidence, police told ABC News today.

Gareth Williams was working as a code breaker for the U.K.’s Secret Intelligence Service when his naked body was discovered curled up inside a locked duffle bag in the bathtub of his London apartment on Aug. 23, 2010.

The senior police officer overseeing the investigation says he believes Williams’ bizarre death was probably an accident and unconnected to his job as a spy, but admits there’s not enough evidence to prove what really happened.

The conclusion of the police investigation is in stark contrast to the findings of last year’s inquest, when the coroner found that it was likely Williams was killed by someone, and that the secret services may have been involved in some way.

It’s also very different from the view of the officer initially in charge of the police investigation, who said last year that it was “highly likely” that a third party was involved.

Williams was recruited by GCHQ, the British equivalent of the National Security Agency, and was described by his boss as a “world-class” intelligence officer and “something of a prodigy.” He was loaned out to MI6 at the time of his death.

After an investigation lasting over three years, several important questions in the case remain unsolved.

Speaking about the Williams case, Scotland Yard detectives say they believe it’s theoretically possible for a person acting alone to get into a bag measuring only 32 inches by 19 inches, but no prints were found on the bathtub or the external lock on the bag. No possible motive for murder has been found. A dozen DNA traces found in the apartment are still unexplained because they are not sufficient to build full DNA profiles.

In addition, police have found no explanation for why the heating in the apartment was set at maximum in the middle of summer, or why it took the Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, eight days to contact police after Williams didn’t show up for work. A postmortem examination by a government pathologist was unable to find a cause of death.

In response to questions over a possible cover-up by the intelligence services, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt says that it’s “beyond credibility” that the spy agencies have “entirely pulled the wool” over his eyes.

Gareth Williams’ family have expressed their disappointment that that his bosses at MI6 failed to raise the alarm when he didn’t show up for work. In a statement issued in response to the police investigation, they said, “We believe that if proper steps had been taken … further information relating to the cause of his death might have become apparent and not have been lost due to the length of time before Gareth’s body was found.”

During their investigation, police interviewed 27 staff at MI6 and GCHQ and were able to look at Williams’ personnel and vetting files. The agencies are said to have fully cooperated, although police concede that they had insufficient access to them during the initial phase of their investigation.

Given that fingermarks and DNA traces were found in the spy’s home, police say it is highly unlikely that a “forensic clean”– deliberately removing DNA traces – was carried out on the apartment.

Sky News : Spy In Bag: MI6 Man Probably Locked Himself In

Spy In Bag: MI6 Man Probably Locked Himself In

Police believe spy-in-the-bag Gareth Williams probably died accidentally and no-one else was involved in his bizarre death.

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent | November 13, 2013

GCHQ codebreaker Gareth Williams probably died after locking himself inside his own holdall, a fresh police review of the case has found.

The naked body of the 31-year-old was discovered in the bag in his central London flat in August 2010 triggering speculation that he had been targeted by foreign agents because of his work.

However, the latest investigation by the Metropolitan Police has found that Mr Williams, who had a keen interest in escapology, probably died alone in an accident.

Detectives believe the codebreaker, who was on secondment to MI6, locked himself into a sports bag in his bath and managed to padlock it from the outside without leaving any DNA traces.

The conclusion of a 16-month Scotland Yard review reverses the view of its own original investigators who found it was "highly likely" there was third-party involvement.

And it effectively overturns the finding of a coroner who said last year that Mr Williams was probably killed unlawfully.

The inquest had heard that two experts had tried 400 times to lock themselves in a similar bag but had failed.

However, days after the inquest had finished, an Army Sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into the North Face holdall and do up the zip before padlocking it shut.

Mr Williams' family issued a statement responding to the outcome of the police investigation saying that they still felt the coroner's verdict best represented the circumstances of Mr Williams' death.

They also slammed MI6 or failing to raise concerns after Mr Williams went missing, therefore jeopardising the chances of getting information that might have helped to find the cause of his death.

The statement said: "This lack of concern for Gareth's well-being remains an over-riding feature of our thoughts following the death of a dear son and brother.

Announcing the findings on Wednesday, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said the investigation had included that "on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died".

He said that suggestions police had been duped by the intelligence service because the investigation contradicted the coroner's findings were "beyond credibility" and said he had not had the "wool pulled over my eyes".

He admitted that initially restricted access to MI6, using a team of counter-terrorism police to act as a go-between for the murder squad and the security services, was "cumbersome" and meant they couldn't do the investigation as they wished.

However, he said, that had changed and officers had been given full access to details of Mr Williams' work.

He said: "Three years of extensive investigative activity have developed a very clear profile of Gareth. He was, without doubt, a private person who was very close to his family and had few other close friends. That said, the universal view of colleagues was of a conscientious and decent man with a few well-known hobbies such as his cycling and climbing.

"There is no evidence of any animosity towards Gareth, and it has not been possible to identify anyone with a motive for causing him harm."

Mr Williams was found inside the bag in the bath at his Pimlico flat on August 23, 2010.

Pathologists said he would have suffocated within three minutes of being locked inside the bag. They said that none of his DNA had been found on the lock on the bag and his palm prints were not found on the rim of the bath.

At his inquest in April last year, the coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox warned that it was unlikely the mystery of Mr Williams' death would ever be satisfactorily explained.

She said: "The cause of his death was unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated.

"I am therefore satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully."

The Metropolitan Police review into the case was launched after the inquest.

BBC : MI6 spy Gareth Williams death 'probably an accident', police say

MI6 spy Gareth Williams death 'probably an accident', police say

November 13, 2013

The death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams, whose body was found in a padlocked sports bag, was probably an accident, police have said.

Last year, a coroner said it was likely Mr Williams, 31, from Anglesey, had been unlawfully killed in August 2010.

But the Metropolitan Police said an evidence review had found "it was more probable" no other person was present when he died in his London flat.

Mr Williams's family said they stood by the coroner's findings.

In a statement, they said: "We are naturally disappointed that it is still not possible to state with certainty how Gareth died and the fact that the circumstances of his death are still unknown adds to our grief.

"We consider that on the basis of the facts at present known, the coroner's verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth's death."

Bath

Mr Williams's body was found naked at his flat in Pimlico on 23 August 2010 after colleagues raised concerns for his welfare.

He had been on a secondment with MI6 from his job as a communications officer at the GCHQ "listening post" in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Police discovered his body inside a zipped-up red sports holdall, in the empty bath of his bathroom.

It had taken a week for MI6 to investigate the code-breaker's disappearance, and a post-mortem examination carried out by a Home Office pathologist failed to determine the cause of death.

During a seven-day inquest in May 2012, the question of whether Mr Williams could have padlocked himself into a bag in a bath was central.

Pathologists said he would have suffocated within three minutes if he had been alive when he got inside it.

None of his DNA was found on the lock attached to the bag and his palm prints were not found on the rim of the bath.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox concluded that "most of the fundamental questions in relation to how Gareth died remain unanswered".

But she said he was, "on the balance of probabilities", unlawfully killed.

At a briefing on Wednesday, the Met Police announced the conclusion of its three-year investigation into the incident.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said he was satisfied it was "theoretically possible" Mr Williams could have padlocked the bag from the inside, although "many questions remain unanswered" as to the circumstances of his death.

But he said there was no evidence that the MI6 officer had intended to take his own life or that his death was connected to his work.

And he insisted it was "beyond credibility" that he had been misled.

"I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes. I believe that what we are dealing with is a tragic unexplained death," he said.

There were about 10 to 15 traces of DNA in the flat from which it had not been possible to gain full DNA profiles, but all other DNA profiles and fingerprints had been eliminated, said DAC Hewitt.

'Endless speculation'

DAC Hewitt also said there was no evidence that Mr Williams' flat had been forensically cleaned, adding it was a "fallacy" that it had been deep-cleaned in such a way that only certain DNA was left in the premises.

The Met Police said they were closing their investigation into the death

He acknowledged that the coroner, having studied "all the evidence available at that stage" had made "the logical inference that it was more likely someone else was involved in Gareth's death".

"However, she also recognised that there has been endless speculation but little real evidence and it was her view [that] 'it is unlikely that his death will ever be satisfactorily explained'," he said.

"Now at the end of our investigation, based on the evidence, or where we have been unable to find positive evidence, we believe that it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.

"But the reality is that for both hypotheses, there exist evidential contradictions and gaps in our understanding."

~~~

Danny Shaw | Home affairs correspondent, BBC News

Scotland Yard's conclusion is not only different to that of the coroner - but also to that of Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who led the original inquiry.

After the inquest she said it was "highly likely" a third party was involved in Gareth Williams's death.

So what has changed? There doesn't appear to have been any stunning revelation or startling piece of new evidence.

What has happened is that a re-evaluation of the material and fresh interviews with the MI6 officer's colleagues have led detectives to make different "inferences" from those made before.

The police's new findings are likely to fuel theories of a successful cover up by the intelligence agencies - but DAC Hewitt said it was "beyond credibility" that he, as an experienced investigator, had had the wool pulled over his eyes.

Scotsman : Police not duped by MI6 over ‘spy in bag’ death

Police not duped by MI6 over ‘spy in bag’ death

by MARGARET DAVIS AND JAMES EDGAR | November 13, 2013

Police insisted yesterday they have not been duped by the intelligence services after an investigation starkly contradicted a coroner and found that a spy discovered in a locked holdall probably died alone in an accident.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said it was “beyond credibility” that he had “the wool pulled over my eyes” by MI6 and GCHQ, despite his team reaching entirely different conclusions to coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox, who said that it was likely codebreaker Gareth Williams was unlawfully killed.

Dr Wilcox concluded last year that Mr Williams was probably killed by another person in a “criminally meditated act”.

The 31-year-old was found dead in the locked bag in the bath at his flat in Pimlico, central London, on 23 August 2010.

None of his DNA was found on the padlock on the bag and there were no palm prints on the rim of the bath. The heating had been left on in the flat, despite it being summer, and MI6 failed to raise the alarm about his disappearance for more than a week.

Dr Wilcox heard from experts who had repeatedly failed to padlock themselves into bags identical to his. One said Harry Houdini “would have struggled” to pull off the feat.

But a retired army sergeant later showed it was possible to climb into a similar bag and lock it from inside.

Mr Hewitt said: “I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes. I believe that what we are dealing with is a tragic unexplained death.

“The Metropolitan Police’s position is that, on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.”

However, he admitted: “No evidence has been identified to establish the full circumstances of Gareth’s death beyond all reasonable doubt.”

Mr Williams’s family still believe that he was unlawfully killed, and released a statement saying they were disappointed about the lack of conclusions in the case.

They said: “We are naturally disappointed that it is still not possible to state with certainty how Gareth died, and the fact that the circumstances of his death are still unknown adds to our grief.

“We consider that, on the basis of the facts known at present, the coroner’s verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth’s death. “

In May last year at the end of the inquest, Dr Wilcox found that Mr Williams was probably killed and it “remained a legitimate line of inquiry” that the secret services may have been involved in the death.

She said she was sure a third party locked the codebreaker inside the red holdall in which his naked body was found, and that “the cause of his death was unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated”.

Pathologists said he would have suffocated within three minutes if he was alive inside the 32in by 19in holdall.

Mr Williams worked for GCHQ but was on secondment to MI6 when he died. Police interviewed 27 members of staff from the two agencies as part of their investigation.

Following the inquest, they looked for a second time at the codebreaker’s personnel and vetting files, but found there was no evidence to support the theory that Gareth’s death was related to his work.

Mr Hewitt said: “I am convinced that Gareth’s death was in no way related to his work, either current or previously.”

Wales Online : Death of Welsh spy found in holdall 'probably an accident'

Death of Welsh spy found in holdall 'probably an accident'

By WalesOnline | November 13, 2013

Police investigation into death of Anglesey-born spy Gareth Williams finds 'no evidence to establish cause of death beyond reasonable doubt'

Spy Gareth Williams, whose body was found in a holdall, probably died alone in an accident, police have concluded.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt revealed that his team disagree with the conclusion of a coroner last year that the codebreaker was probably killed unlawfully.

He said: "With the conclusion of the investigation, the Metropolitan Police's position is that, on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.

"But the reality is that for both hypotheses there exist evidential contradictions and gaps in our understanding."

Reacting to the development, Mr Williams's family said they were "naturally disappointed" and said they still believe he was killed.

But Mr Hewitt said the 31-year-old's death was "most probably" an accident, although he admitted: "No evidence has been identified to establish the full circumstances of Gareth's death beyond all reasonable doubt."

Mr Williams, a fitness enthusiast originally from Anglesey, was found in the bag in the bath at his flat in Pimlico, central London, on August 23, 2010.

Pathologists said he would have suffocated within three minutes if he was alive when he got inside the 32-inch by 19-inch holdall.

None of his DNA was found on the lock on the bag and his palm prints were not found on the rim of the bath.

However, Mr Hewitt said there was no evidence that the flat had been "deep-cleaned" to remove forensic traces and nothing to suggest a struggle or a break-in.

He said it was "beyond credibility" that the secret services had "pulled the wool" over his eyes.

"I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes. I believe that what we are dealing with is a tragic unexplained death."

Mr Williams's family said in a statement issued through the police: "We are naturally disappointed that it is still not possible to state with certainty how Gareth died and the fact that the circumstances of his death are still unknown adds to our grief.

"We consider that on the basis of the facts known at present the Coroner's verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth's death. "

"We note that the investigation has been conducted with further interviews upon some of the witnesses who gave evidence at the inquest, and that the investigation team were at last able to interview directly members of GCHQ and SIS.

"We consider that on the basis of the facts at present known, the Coroner's verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth's death.

"We still, however, remain very disappointed over the failure of his employers at MI6 to take even the most basic inquiries concerning Gareth's welfare when he failed to attend for work on August 16, 2010.

"We believe that if proper steps had been taken in the same manner as any reasonable employer would have undertaken, further information relating to the cause of his death might have become apparent and not have been lost due to the length of time before Gareth's body was found.

"This lack of concern for Gareth's well-being remains an over-riding feature of our thoughts following the death of a dear son and brother.

"We do not propose to make any further comment now concerning Gareth's death, either personally nor through our legal representatives."

Mr Williams worked for GCHQ but was on secondment to MI6 when he died. Police interviewed a total of 27 members of staff from the two agencies as part of their investigation.

Following the inquest, which finished in May last year, they were also given access for the first time to the codebreaker's personnel and vetting files, but found that there was "no evidence to support the theory that Gareth's death was in any way related to his work".

Mr Hewitt went on: "Three years of extensive investigative activity have developed a very clear profile of Gareth. He was, without doubt, a private person who was very close to his family and had few other close friends. That said, the universal view of colleagues was of a conscientious and decent man with a few well-known hobbies such as his cycling and climbing.

"There is no evidence of any animosity towards Gareth, and it has not been possible to identify anyone with a motive for causing him harm."

Last year coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox found that he was probably killed and it "remained a legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services may have been involved in the death.

She said she was sure a third party locked the code-breaker inside the red holdall in which his naked body was found in his bathtub.

Mr Williams would have been unlikely to invite a third party who was not a family member into his home, Dr Wilcox observed, adding: "If a third party was present at the time of his death, in my view that third party would have to have been someone he knew or someone who was there without an invitation."

She warned it was unlikely the mystery would "ever be satisfactorily explained", but added: "The cause of his death was unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated.

"I am therefore satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully."

She highlighted the lack of hand and footprints found in the bathroom, and said if he had been "carrying out some kind of peculiar experiment, he wouldn't care if he left any foot or fingerprints".

Police said that Dr Wilcox has accepted their findings, but decided that there is insufficient new evidence to justify re-opening the inquest.

Daily Mail : Will MI6 spy death mystery never be solved? Scotland Yard reveal Gareth Williams 'probably' DID lock himself in bag... but also admit 'we will never know exactly how he died'

Will MI6 spy death mystery never be solved? Scotland Yard reveal Gareth Williams 'probably' DID lock himself in bag... but also admit 'we will never know exactly how he died'

Gareth Williams found dead in his Central London flat in August 2010
31-year-old's death was ruled to be 'probably' foul play by a coroner
But Scotland Yard announced that he seems to have locked himself in bag
Police admitted that they could not reach a conclusion 'beyond doubt'
Family believe he was killed and refuse to accept result of investigation

By Hugo Gye | November 13, 2013

Police today admitted that they are unable to explain the death of an MI6 spy whose body was found locked in a holdall bag.

Gareth Williams' mysterious death has been the subject of fierce speculation since he was found dead in his Central London flat three years ago.

Following a year-long investigation by Scotland Yard, officers today announced that they believe his death was accidental and that no one else was involved, although they concluded that it is impossible to reach a definite verdict on the case.

The finding contravenes the verdict of a coroner who last year ruled that Mr Williams had 'probably' been killed by someone else.

Scotland Yard detectives said that since it was possible for the codebreaker to climb in to the bag and lock it unaided, it is not necessary to posit any outside involvement.

They added that there was no evidence of anyone else in his flat at the time of his death, and no sign that the home had undergone a 'deep clean' to avoid incriminating a third party.

However, the review also found traces of DNA in the flat from 10 to 15 different people, none of whom they were able to identify.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: 'With the conclusion of the investigation, the Metropolitan Police's position is that, on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.

'But the reality is that for both hypotheses, there exist evidential contradictions and gaps in our understanding.'

Although he said that Mr Williams' death was 'most probably' an accident, he admitted: 'No evidence has been identified to establish the full circumstances of Gareth's death beyond all reasonable doubt.'

However, the family of the 31-year-old disagree with the verdict, and continue to support the coroner's theory that he was unlawfully killed.

They said in a statement: 'We are naturally disappointed that it is still not possible to state with certainty how Gareth died and the fact that the circumstances of his death are still unknown adds to our grief.

'We consider that on the basis of the facts known at present the coroner's verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth's death.'

Mr Hewitt admitted that the police and MI6 had failed to co-operate fully, but said it was 'beyond credibility' that his investigation had been deliberately deceived by anyone trying to hide the truth about Mr Williams' death.

'I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes,' he said. 'I believe that what we are dealing with is a tragic unexplained death.'

Following the inquest, police were given access to the codebreaker's personnel and vetting files, but found that there was 'no evidence to support the theory that Gareth's death was in any way related to his work'.

Mr Hewitt went on: 'Three years of extensive investigative activity have developed a very clear profile of Gareth. He was, without doubt, a private person who was very close to his family and had few other close friends.

'That said, the universal view of colleagues was of a conscientious and decent man with a few well-known hobbies such as his cycling and climbing. There is no evidence of any animosity towards Gareth, and it has not been possible to identify anyone with a motive for causing him harm.'

Mr Williams, who was found dead inside the locked bag in the bath of his flat in Pimlico in August 2010, is known to have had an interest in escapology.

He once had to be rescued by his landlady after he apparently tied himself to his bed wearing only boxer shorts and was unable to free himself.

MI6 failed to raise the alarm about his disappearance for more than a week after he failed to turn up for work at the agency's headquarters in Vauxhall.

His family said: 'We still remain very disappointed over the failure of his employers at MI6 to take even the most basic inquiries concerning Gareth's welfare when he failed to attend for work on August 16 2010.

'We believe that if proper steps had been taken in the same manner as any reasonable employer would have undertaken, further information relating to the cause of his death might have become apparent and not have been lost due to the length of time before Gareth's body was found.

'This lack of concern for Gareth's wellbeing remains an overriding feature of our thoughts following the death of a dear son and brother.'

Coroner Fiona Wilcox ruled in May last year that the spy would not have been able to lock himself in the bag and was therefore likely to have died at somebody else's hands.

She concluded: 'The cause of his death was unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated. I am therefore satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully.'

But within days of the verdict investigators claimed that it was in fact possible for a skilled escapologist to climb in to the red North Face holdall and lock it from the inside.

Police launched a review of the case following the inquest, over concerns that some evidence had been handled improperly.

The investigation included interviews with 27 officials from both MI6 and GCHQ, from where Mr Williams, who was originally from Anglesey, had been seconded.

Police said that Dr Wilcox has accepted their findings, but decided that there is insufficient new evidence to justify re-opening the inquest.

Foreign spies, the Russian mafia, a sex game gone wrong... or just a tragic accident?

The Metropolitan Police's conclusion that the Gareth Williams' death was nothing more than a tragic accident could put to rest the various theories which have attached themselves to the case.

It has long been suspected that Mr Williams could have been targeted by foreign agents because of his highly sensitive MI6 work.

He was said to be a mathematical prodigy, sent by GCHQ to work at MI6 for a year thanks to his exceptional skills as a codebreaker.

Another theory was that the Russian mafia assassinated him in a bid to stop him investigating money-laundering networks.

Others suspected that his death might have been the result of a sex game gone wrong, after it was claimed that he had close links with London's drag and bondage scenes.

A collection of women's designer clothes and shoes worth £15,000 was found in his closed, raising the possibility that he may have been a cross-dresser, although friends insisted that he had bought the clothes as gifts for others.

Mr Williams' relatives have previously suggested that incriminating items were planted in his flat after his death to cast doubt on his character.

Police issued e-fit images of a couple who were apparently seen visiting the spy shortly before he died, amidst suggestions they could hold the answer to the mystery.

Today's finding that Mr Williams's death was probably accidental has failed to satisfy not only his family, but dozens of members of the public who took to Twitter to express scepticism about Scotland Yard's verdict.

Many people continue to insist that it would have been impossible for the 31-year-old to lock himself inside the holdall without leaving any traces of DNA on the padlock.

THE MYSTERY CONTINUES: KEY QUESTIONS THE MET COULDN'T ANSWER

Despite the Metropolitan Police's conclusion that the death of Gareth Williams was probably an accident, a number of questions surrounding the mystery remain unanswered.

Scotland Yard claims that no one else was present in the spy's flat when he died, but investigators were unable to identify the DNA of 10 to 15 people which was found at the property.

By contrast, there were no traces of Mr Williams' own DNA on the padlock of the bag he was found in, nor were his palm prints found on the bathtub which held the bag.

The central heating was turned on in the Central London flat where the spy was living, even though it was August, a mystery not explained by the police investigation.

Moreover, it remains unclear why MI6 failed to report Mr Williams missing for a week after he repeatedly failed to turn up to work, a failing for which his manager publicly apologised during his inquest.

Attention initially focussed on a Mediterranean-looking couple believed to have visited the spy's home around the time of his death, but they have never been found or identified.

Daily Mail : Fury of spy in the bag's family: As police dismiss MI6 man's death as an accident, parents insist coroner was right and their son WAS unlawfully killed

Fury of spy in the bag's family: As police dismiss MI6 man's death as an accident, parents insist coroner was right and their son WAS unlawfully killed

Gareth Williams found dead in his Central London flat in August 2010
31-year-old's death was ruled to be 'probably' foul play by a coroner
But Scotland Yard announced that he seems to have locked himself in bag
Family believe he was killed and refuse to accept result of investigation
They accuse MI6 of allowing circumstances of death to be 'covered up'

By Rebecca Camber | November 13, 2013

Serious question marks remained in the spy in a bag mystery last night after a three-year police investigation failed to explain his death.

Scotland Yard chiefs said they thought Gareth Williams died alone – but were forced to admit that gaps in the evidence made it impossible to be sure.

His furious parents rejected that verdict and said they stood by a coroner’s ruling that the brilliant codebreaker was probably killed unlawfully. They also accused MI6 of allowing the circumstances of his death to be covered up.

The body of the 31-year-old lay undiscovered in a red holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat for a week before security service bosses raised the alarm. Significantly, ten to 15 DNA traces found in the apartment are still unidentified, despite the efforts of leading forensic experts.

Police have also been unable to explain why his DNA was not on the lock on the bag and his prints were not found on the rim of the bath.

In a statement, Mr Williams’ parents Ian and Ellen said: ‘We are naturally disappointed it is still not possible to state with certainty how Gareth died, and the fact that the circumstances of his death are still unknown adds to our grief. We consider that on the basis of the facts at present known, the coroner’s verdict accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth’s death.

‘We still, however, remain very disappointed over the failure of his employers at MI6 to take even the most basic inquiries concerning Gareth’s welfare when he failed to attend for work on August 16, 2010.’

‘If proper steps had been taken in the same manner as any reasonable employer would have undertaken, further information relating to the cause of his death might have become apparent and not have been lost due to the length of time before Gareth’s body was found.’

Mr Williams’ naked body was found on August 23, 2010.

Last year Westminster Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said it ‘remained a legitimate line of inquiry’ that the secret services may have been involved – and Mr Williams was probably killed unlawfully by a third party.

But Martin Hewitt, a deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, insisted his investigation showed Mr Williams probably locked himself inside the bag without help.

He admitted however that ‘evidential contradictions and gaps in our understanding’ meant no theory – police or coroner’s – could be proved ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’.

Scotland Yard accepted that its investigation had been flawed from the outset.

Detectives were unable to access the spy’s personnel and vetting files and formally interview GCHQ and MI6 staff until after the inquest because all liaison with MI6 was carried out through the counter-terrorism squad.

But Mr Hewitt said it was ‘beyond credibility’ that the secret services had covered up the death.

‘I do not believe that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes,’ he said. ‘I believe that what we are dealing with is a tragic unexplained death.

‘I am absolutely satisfied that every question we have had to ask has been asked, and every person we felt it necessary to talk to we have spoken to.

‘No evidence has been identified to establish the full circumstances of Gareth’s death beyond all reasonable doubt.

‘With the conclusion of the investigation, the Metropolitan Police’s position is that, on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died. I’m convinced that Gareth’s death was in no way related to his work.’

Pathologists said the fitness enthusiast would have suffocated within three minutes if he was alive when he got inside the 32in by 19in North Face holdall.

During his inquest in April last year two experts found it impossible to lock themselves into the bag – despite trying 400 times. However, retired Army sergeant William MacKay has since demonstrated it is possible to squeeze inside the holdall and lock it from the inside.

Mr Hewitt dismissed the theory that the flat had been ‘deep-cleaned’ to remove any evidence of a struggle or a break-in.

Following the inquest, police launched a full review of the case, interviewing 27 staff from the security services for the first time.

The spy worked for GCHQ but was on secondment to MI6 when he died.

Mr Hewitt added: ‘We didn’t get it right at the beginning and the way that we did it was cumbersome and didn’t allow us to do the investigation in the way that we wanted to.

'We recognised that fact and we changed it fundamentally for the subsequent two years of the investigation. I don’t think that process stopped us getting any evidence that we needed to get.’
He said police had re-examined the spy’s telephones and laptops.

The agent had used the internet to search bondage websites before his death but there were no specific searches around getting into a bag, Mr Hewitt said.

He also said a stash of designer women’s clothing found at the flat had no bearing on his death. Although police are not pursuing any more active lines of inquiry, the case will remain under review.

12 crucial questions that still need an answer

The three-year police investigation into Gareth Williams’ death has left a number of crucial questions unanswered, including:

Why did a week elapse before he was reported missing by MI6?

Gareth Williams was meticulous about timekeeping and attendance at work.

Yet despite being based in an office of just four people at MI6 headquarters, it took a week before his employers contacted police to say he was missing.

This potentially allowed evidence to be lost as the body decomposed – or for the scene to be tampered with.

On MI6’s failure to report the codebreaker’s absence, Dr Fiona Wilcox, the coroner who presided over the inquest into Mr Williams’ death, said that evidence given anonymously by Mr Williams’ MI6 line manager, known only as Witness G, had ‘stretched the bounds of credibility’.

Even after Mr Williams’ bosses decided he was missing there was a further four hours delay before raising the alarm.

Why was the death scene so spotless?

When a police officer finally arrived at the flat in Pimlico where Mr Williams lived on August 23, 2010, he was struck by how ‘extremely tidy’ the property was.

His mobile phone and two SIM cards were neatly arranged on a table and a laptop was on the floor. Could the scene have been cleaned up after he died?

The smell of the decomposing body became apparent only when the bathroom door was opened. In the bath was a bulging, padlocked holdall from which it was noticed that red fluid was seeping into the bathtub.

Could he have locked himself in the holdall?

The naked body of 5ft 8in Mr Williams was discovered inside the 32in by 19in North Face holdall. The Metropolitan Police concluded yesterday his death was an accident – he must have placed himself inside the bag, locked it and died from suffocation.

But during the inquest last year Dr Wilcox watched video footage of expert witnesses attempting – and failing – 400 times to perform this feat.

There were no signs that once inside the bag Mr Williams had violently struggled, despite the fact that it could have taken him three minutes to lapse into unconsciousness from the build-up of carbon dioxide within.

In stark contrast to the police, Dr Wilcox concluded a third party placed the bag in the bath and locked it.

Could he have been poisoned?

The coroner found that Mr Williams probably died rapidly from hypocapnia, the fatal accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood.

But she also refused to rule out that he was killed by a mystery poison such as cyanide, insulin, laughing gas, chloroform or amyl nitrate.

None of these could be detected if they had been used because of the terribly decomposed state of his body.

Where were his fingerprints?

Mr Williams’ DNA was not found on the bag’s lock and there were no foot or finger prints left on the bath and tiles – something that would have been expected had he climbed into the holdall while it was in the bath.

Forensic experts said at least one unidentified person may have been in the bathroom between the time the bag was put in the bath and its discovery by police eight days later.

Commenting on the lack of prints, the coroner added: ‘In relation to the prints found within the bathroom, in my view what was more significant was what was not found rather than what was found.’

Elsewhere in the flat there was a similar lack of clues with police finding all the fingerprints belonged to Mr Williams or his close family.

Of the DNA found, ten to 15 traces cannot be developed into full profiles, including those found on a green hand towel in his kitchen.

There was no sign of a break-in, but police found that the front door latch could be reached and raised through the letterbox.

Why was the heating on in mid summer?

Mr Williams, an extremely fit cyclist and lover of the outdoors, died during August, when the central heating would normally be switched off.

The fact that it was on in his top floor flat has raised a suspicion that it is linked to his death – or at least an attempt to destroy evidence by speeding up the decomposition of his body inside a sealed holdall.

The fact that the holdall was placed in a bath meant fluids released from the bag drained away.

Was there a phone call to a killer?

An iPhone left lying on a table in Mr Williams’ flat was one of the key lines of inquiry after the inquest.

The £500 device, one of four owned by the MI6 officer, was ‘restored to factory settings’, in the late evening of August 15, 2010, just hours before Mr Williams died.

A mobile phone operator told police it had not been used over the previous three months.

Investigators believed the phone might have somehow been used to contact whoever might have killed him.

What took MI6 so long?

After the inquest Dr Wilcox said it remained ‘a legitimate line of inquiry’ that the secret services were involved in Mr Williams’ death, noting however that there was no evidence to show that he died at the hands of spies.

But his family remain convinced that MI6 undermined the inquiry, whether deliberately or by unintentional errors.

In the initial investigation, Scotland Yard created a ‘firewall’ between MI6 and the murder squad by insisting all inquiries must go via the force’s counter-terror branch, which has specialist security clearance.

MI6 failed to provide formal, sworn statements to the inquest because the counter-terror branch did not press for anything more than anonymous summaries of informal interviews.

The inquest also heard that Mr Williams’ GCHQ computer was not handed over until six days after his body was discovered and the MI6 one four days later.

Did the police bungle the investigation?

Police missed potentially vital clues by failing to recover Mr Williams’ possessions from a shared locker in his office.

Two counter terrorism officers were criticised for failing to document or seize the items, which include nine computer memory sticks and another bag. Incredibly, they also failed to tell the murder squad about the evidence.

Was there a false trail?

While family and friends portrayed Mr Williams as a very private man of conventional tastes, a different picture emerged following his death.

Police discovered a £20,000 collection of women’s designer clothing and shoes in his flat, and a video on one of his phones showed Mr Williams ‘gyrating’ in nothing more than a pair of women’s calf-length boots while a former landlady told how she had once found him tied to his bedposts wearing only his boxer shorts.

Police also found evidence that Mr Williams looked at bondage websites and visited transvestite clubs and gay bars – but they could not identify a single sexual partner.

The family raised concerns about how such material appeared to be being leaked to the media – so fuelling speculation that Mr Williams was a transvestite who was the victim of a sex game that went wrong.

During the inquest Dr Wilcox concluded that Mr Williams was not a transvestite and that his collection of women’s clothes were probably gifts for friends.

She dismissed claims that Mr Williams had entered the sports bag seeking sexual gratification.

The coroner said: ‘I wonder what the motive was for the release of this material to the media. I wonder whether this was an attempt by a third party to intimate a sexual motive.’

Could he have been blackmailed?

The question of whether Mr Williams’ death connected to his work is complicated by the fact that MI6 obtained a public interest immunity certificate keeping secret details of the work he carried out for them and GCHQ.

They have been keen to paint a picture of Mr Williams as a ‘low risk’ official, whose academic skills kept him deskbound.

But during the inquest it became clear he was a highly skilled computer scientist who had recently met two informants and was ready to be deployed on an active mission.

One manager said he made a ‘small number’ of unauthorised searches on the MI6 database which could have left him open to blackmail.

A Knightsbridge waitress recalled how the reclusive loner regularly came to her café.

When she reported him missing, GCHQ’s human resources chief told a police worker that Mr Williams had been ‘just taken off an operation’ and was unhappy.

Why was he in Las Vegas?

Just days before his death Mr Williams was sent by GCHQ to attend a secretive conference in Las Vegas.

Called DefCon, the event is a magnet for spies from agencies across the world and included classes in opening padlocks without keys, escaping from handcuffs, tampering with objects without leaving traces and confounding drug tests.