‘Spy in bag' would need 'to be Houdini' to lock himself in holdall
By ALEX WEST | May 1, 2012
'SPY in the bag' Gareth Williams would have needed the skill of Harry Houdini to lock himself into the holdall in his flat, an inquest heard today.
The MI6 agent was either dead or unconscious when he was placed inside, experts believe.
Ex-para Peter Faulding said even world famous escapologist Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze into the bag.
Cops discovered the naked decomposing body of the 31-year-old spy padlocked inside a red North Face holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London, on August 23, 2010.
Mr Faulding, a former Parachute Regiment reservist who specialises in rescuing people from confined spaces, made 300 unsuccessful attempts to lock himself inside an identical 81cm x 48cm bag.
He said: "I couldn't say it's impossible, but I think even Houdini would have struggled with this one."
The expert added: "My conclusion is that Mr Williams was either placed in the bag unconscious, or he was dead before he was in the bag."
He suggested it would have been "very easy" to fold the dead spy's arms and place him in the holdall as long as rigor mortis had not set in.
The inquest was shown a video of Mr Faulding trying to squeeze himself into the bag while it was in a bath of the same size as the one in Mr Williams' flat.
He flayed around, starting with his torso, then tucking his head in, and finally pulling his legs in one by one.
He said: "The only way I could get myself into the bag was to lie on my back, put my shoulders and head in first, and bending my body at my stomach, pulling my knees up and pulling the bag over my body."
Mr Faulding told the hearing it would have been "extremely hot" in the holdall and Mr Williams would only have been able to survive for a maximum of 30 minutes once he was inside.
He added: "I am used to confined spaces, and once I'm in that bag, it is a very unpleasant place to be."
But a second expert refused to rule out Mr Williams could not lock himself in the bag.
William MacKay and a yoga expert assistant tried more than 100 times to recreate the feat without success.
But he said it was possible that Mr Williams, a fitness-loving maths genius, died without a third party being present.
He told Westminster Coroner's Court: "I would not like to say that it could not be done.
"There are people around who can do amazing things and Mr Williams may well have been one of those persons."
Mr MacKay, who has previously worked with the military, suggested the spy would have needed extensive training to have pulled off the act in the middle of summer and in pitch darkness.
He said: "I think you could continue to work on this for a long period of time."
Video reconstructions played to the hearing showed Mr MacKay's assistant, of similar height and build to Mr Williams, curling his body inside the bag but then struggling to pull the zip shut.
Mr Williams' mountaineering experience would have given him an advantage as it would have strengthened his fingers, the inquest heard.
But Mr MacKay said: "It was very painful to do it. You tend to move the zip with your finger nails, straggling about.
"It was very frustrating, fiddly, you just can't get the thing together."
The expert said it was possible for someone locked inside the bag who wanted to get out to poke a small hole through the zip with their fingers.
This would give them more oxygen and allow them to unlock the padlock as long as they had the key.
He said: "There was an option of saving oneself."
Mr MacKay said the holdall was not airtight, and as long as the person inside did not panic they would be able to breathe for some time.
He said: "If the person was in the bag willingly, then I am tending more towards the heat side being a problem than the oxygen side.
"It depends on how calm you are in terms of oxygen intake."
The inquest heard that one way of getting into the holdall would be to use the "baggage handler's technique" employed by thieves to steal from locked luggage.
This involves breaking the zip apart with a pen, opening it as wide as possible, and then crawling inside and closing it again.
But in tests the zip did not close neatly, leaving a gap between the two ends, and became damaged.
Mr MacKay said it was "probably unlikely" that Mr Williams would have been able to do this successfully on his first attempt.
He said: "There are so many intricate things to do.
"If he hadn't been trained, he wouldn't have had lots of knowledge, it probably wouldn't have happened."
The inquest also heard today that video recovered from Mr Williams’ flat appears to show him dressed in nothing but black leather boots.
He “wiggles and gyrates” with his back to the camera in the footage found on a mobile phone by detectives.
The spy also kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and browsed self-bondage websites on his computers and phone.
He spent 50 per cent of his time online looking at “couture” women’s fashion and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.
Detective Constable Robert Burrows said some images showed “a model enclosed in plastic and using a vacuum cleaner to suck the air out”.
Det Con Burrows said film also “appears to show him being filmed from the back naked apart from a pair of leather boots”.
Describing the footage, Det Con Burrows said: “He walks up to the chair and stands directly behind the back of the chair.”
He appears to reach down and touch his boots before he “wiggles and gyrates his posture”.
He then turns towards the camera before walking out of view.
Web records also showed he once searched for bondage sites and watched a YouTube video after typing “dress bondage training”.
Pages from 2008 showed he may have looked at sites relating to “hogtie”, a bondage method of tying the limbs together.
Detective Constable Simon Warren said: “I would say that Gareth was keenly interested in ladies’ fashion but the very high end couture fashion.”
He said the bondage footage on his computer was “an isolated (incident) among a sea of other data”.
Showing posts with label drag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drag. Show all posts
Sun : ‘Spy in bag' would need 'to be Houdini' to lock himself in holdall
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
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BBC : MI6 officer inquest hears claim of third party role
Friday, April 27, 2012
MI6 officer inquest hears claim of third party role
April 27, 2012
A third party must have been involved in putting MI6 officer Gareth Williams in the padlocked bag in which his body was found, an expert witness believes.
Peter Faulding told Mr Williams's inquest he would have been dead within 30 minutes of being put in the holdall.
The body of Mr Williams, from Anglesey, was found in his London flat in 2010.
The inquest was shown footage of two experts' attempts in which they struggled to lock themselves in a bag - but neither ruled it out completely.
These tests have addressed the crucial question of whether Mr Williams, 31, could have locked himself in the holdall in his bath or if another person must have been involved.
Footage played at Westminster Coroner's Court showed Mr Faulding trying to get into the bag in an empty bath.
Mr Faulding 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.
"My conclusion is that Mr Williams was either placed in the bag unconscious, or he was dead before he was in the bag."
Mr Faulding added that he had really struggled to get himself in the bag in the first place, and had had his feet resting on the bath and tiles, and his hands on the side.
He told the court that Mr Williams could not have got into the bag unaided without leaving marks and footprints, none of which were found at the scene in the flat in Pimlico.
But William MacKay, who said his military career made him adept at working in confined spaces, told the inquest that locking the bag was a skill that would have required training but that once a person had done it, they could not get out.
Mr MacKay and an assistant failed in 100 attempts to lock the bag from inside, and caused damage to the zip.
But he would not rule out that it was possible, adding: "There are people around who can do amazing things and Mr Williams may well have been one of those persons."
BBC security correspondent Gorden Corera, at the inquest, said: "This leaves the likelihood, which the police say they have believed since the beginning, that someone else was involved."
Computers examined
Later on Friday the inquest heard from Det Con Simon Warren, the police officer who had examined Mr Williams's laptop computers, memory sticks, CDs and DVDs.
He said that no security-sensitive information had been found, and also that there was no evidence files had been amended since Mr Williams's death.
Det Con Warren went on to say that about half of the internet use on the computers had been in the area of women's high fashion, including handbags, cosmetics, belts and gloves.
In December 2010, police revealed that they had found £15,000-worth of unworn women's designer clothing in six boxes at Mr Williams's flat.
Officers also revealed at that time that Mr Williams had visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and had tickets to two more.
Det Con Warren told the inquest that the computers had been used to visit bondage websites, but he said this browsing was isolated and did not suggest an ongoing, active interest.
Det Con Robert Burrows said that Mr Williams's phones also had bondage websites in their browsing history, while a smartphone found on a table contained no data because the factory settings had been restored.
Following the conclusion of evidence for the day, coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox indicated that she might deliver her verdict next Wednesday.
Mr Williams has previously been described as a "world class intelligence officer" by his former boss at the government listening agency GCHQ.
At the time he was found dead he had been on a three-year secondment with MI6 in London and wanted to return to his role at GCHQ, the inquest has heard.
April 27, 2012
A third party must have been involved in putting MI6 officer Gareth Williams in the padlocked bag in which his body was found, an expert witness believes.
Peter Faulding told Mr Williams's inquest he would have been dead within 30 minutes of being put in the holdall.
The body of Mr Williams, from Anglesey, was found in his London flat in 2010.
The inquest was shown footage of two experts' attempts in which they struggled to lock themselves in a bag - but neither ruled it out completely.
These tests have addressed the crucial question of whether Mr Williams, 31, could have locked himself in the holdall in his bath or if another person must have been involved.
Footage played at Westminster Coroner's Court showed Mr Faulding trying to get into the bag in an empty bath.
Mr Faulding 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.
"My conclusion is that Mr Williams was either placed in the bag unconscious, or he was dead before he was in the bag."
Mr Faulding added that he had really struggled to get himself in the bag in the first place, and had had his feet resting on the bath and tiles, and his hands on the side.
He told the court that Mr Williams could not have got into the bag unaided without leaving marks and footprints, none of which were found at the scene in the flat in Pimlico.
But William MacKay, who said his military career made him adept at working in confined spaces, told the inquest that locking the bag was a skill that would have required training but that once a person had done it, they could not get out.
Mr MacKay and an assistant failed in 100 attempts to lock the bag from inside, and caused damage to the zip.
But he would not rule out that it was possible, adding: "There are people around who can do amazing things and Mr Williams may well have been one of those persons."
BBC security correspondent Gorden Corera, at the inquest, said: "This leaves the likelihood, which the police say they have believed since the beginning, that someone else was involved."
Computers examined
Later on Friday the inquest heard from Det Con Simon Warren, the police officer who had examined Mr Williams's laptop computers, memory sticks, CDs and DVDs.
He said that no security-sensitive information had been found, and also that there was no evidence files had been amended since Mr Williams's death.
Det Con Warren went on to say that about half of the internet use on the computers had been in the area of women's high fashion, including handbags, cosmetics, belts and gloves.
In December 2010, police revealed that they had found £15,000-worth of unworn women's designer clothing in six boxes at Mr Williams's flat.
Officers also revealed at that time that Mr Williams had visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and had tickets to two more.
Det Con Warren told the inquest that the computers had been used to visit bondage websites, but he said this browsing was isolated and did not suggest an ongoing, active interest.
Det Con Robert Burrows said that Mr Williams's phones also had bondage websites in their browsing history, while a smartphone found on a table contained no data because the factory settings had been restored.
Following the conclusion of evidence for the day, coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox indicated that she might deliver her verdict next Wednesday.
Mr Williams has previously been described as a "world class intelligence officer" by his former boss at the government listening agency GCHQ.
At the time he was found dead he had been on a three-year secondment with MI6 in London and wanted to return to his role at GCHQ, the inquest has heard.
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Sky : 'Third Party Must Have Locked Spy In Bag'
Friday, April 27, 2012
'Third Party Must Have Locked Spy In Bag'
Tom Parmenter, Sky News correspondent | April 27, 2012
An expert has said he believes a third party was present when Gareth Williams died because theories that the MI6 spy got inside a bag by himself were "unbelievable scenarios".
Mr Williams' body was found curled up naked in the padlocked holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.
Former Parachute Regiment reservist Peter Faulding told an inquest even escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself into the bag and lock it from the inside.
Mr Faulding, who specialises in rescuing people from confined spaces, made 300 unsuccessful attempts to lock himself inside an identical bag measuring 81cm by 48cm.
"My conclusion is that Mr Williams was either placed in the bag unconscious, or he was dead before he was in the bag," Mr Faulding said.
He suggested it would have been "very easy" to fold the dead spy's arms and place him in the holdall as long as rigor mortis had not set in.
During the forensic investigation no fingerprints were found at the scene but tiny DNA samples were discovered on the bag, their owner has never been identified.
But a second expert, William MacKay, told the inquest it was not impossible that the fitness-loving maths prodigy died without a third party present.
Mr MacKay's assistant, a yoga specialist who is of similar build to Mr Williams, carried out another reconstruction and was able to curl his body into an identical red North Face bag.
But despite more than 100 attempts, he was not able to pull the zip into position within the space, and could not lock it from the inside.
Mr MacKay told Westminster Coroner's Court: "I would not like to say that it could not be done.
"There are people around who can do amazing things and Mr Williams may well have been one of those persons."
Mr MacKay, an expert who has worked with the Army, suggested Mr Williams would have needed extensive training to have pulled off the act in pitch darkness.
Mr Williams' mountain climbing experience would have given him an advantage as it would have strengthened his fingers.
But Mr MacKay added: "It was very painful to do it. You tend to move the zip with your fingernails, straggling about. It was very frustrating, fiddly, you just can't get the thing together."
The inquest also heard how Mr Williams occasionally looked at bondage and fetish websites.
A police officer described to the coroner the findings of his work investigating Mr Williams' electronic devices.
Around half of his web browsing surrounded female fashion but he had also stored electronic images of several drag queens.
Records showed that he had researched bondage on Wikipedia and had visited bondage and fetish websites.
There was very little evidence of Mr Williams researching suffocation or experiencing confined spaces.
The inquest continues on Monday.
Tom Parmenter, Sky News correspondent | April 27, 2012
An expert has said he believes a third party was present when Gareth Williams died because theories that the MI6 spy got inside a bag by himself were "unbelievable scenarios".
Mr Williams' body was found curled up naked in the padlocked holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.
Former Parachute Regiment reservist Peter Faulding told an inquest even escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself into the bag and lock it from the inside.
Mr Faulding, who specialises in rescuing people from confined spaces, made 300 unsuccessful attempts to lock himself inside an identical bag measuring 81cm by 48cm.
"My conclusion is that Mr Williams was either placed in the bag unconscious, or he was dead before he was in the bag," Mr Faulding said.
He suggested it would have been "very easy" to fold the dead spy's arms and place him in the holdall as long as rigor mortis had not set in.
During the forensic investigation no fingerprints were found at the scene but tiny DNA samples were discovered on the bag, their owner has never been identified.
But a second expert, William MacKay, told the inquest it was not impossible that the fitness-loving maths prodigy died without a third party present.
Mr MacKay's assistant, a yoga specialist who is of similar build to Mr Williams, carried out another reconstruction and was able to curl his body into an identical red North Face bag.
But despite more than 100 attempts, he was not able to pull the zip into position within the space, and could not lock it from the inside.
Mr MacKay told Westminster Coroner's Court: "I would not like to say that it could not be done.
"There are people around who can do amazing things and Mr Williams may well have been one of those persons."
Mr MacKay, an expert who has worked with the Army, suggested Mr Williams would have needed extensive training to have pulled off the act in pitch darkness.
Mr Williams' mountain climbing experience would have given him an advantage as it would have strengthened his fingers.
But Mr MacKay added: "It was very painful to do it. You tend to move the zip with your fingernails, straggling about. It was very frustrating, fiddly, you just can't get the thing together."
The inquest also heard how Mr Williams occasionally looked at bondage and fetish websites.
A police officer described to the coroner the findings of his work investigating Mr Williams' electronic devices.
Around half of his web browsing surrounded female fashion but he had also stored electronic images of several drag queens.
Records showed that he had researched bondage on Wikipedia and had visited bondage and fetish websites.
There was very little evidence of Mr Williams researching suffocation or experiencing confined spaces.
The inquest continues on Monday.
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Express : Inquest on naked spy to go ahead
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Inquest on naked spy to go ahead
By James Murray | August 21, 2011
THE inquest into the bizarre death of spy Gareth Williams will go ahead before Christmas without a jury and is set to last a few weeks, the Sunday Express has learned.
The 31-year-old codebreaker was found naked inside a padlocked bag in the bath of his London flat a year ago.
He was working for foreign security service M16 in London while on secondment from the Government GCHQ listening post in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
It quickly emerged bachelor Mr Williams may have led a double life as he had £15,000 of expensive women’s clothing in his wardrobe and he had visited a drag cabaret show shortly before his death.
Reports that more than 40 intelligence chiefs would be called to give evidence have been played down and it is expected 12 spy chiefs will attend to explain the background to the case. They may ask the coroner to hear some of the evidence in secret.
So far the security services have given very little information about Mr Williams or his role.
Scotland Yard has dismissed as “rubbish” suggestions of any Russian involvement.
By James Murray | August 21, 2011
THE inquest into the bizarre death of spy Gareth Williams will go ahead before Christmas without a jury and is set to last a few weeks, the Sunday Express has learned.
The 31-year-old codebreaker was found naked inside a padlocked bag in the bath of his London flat a year ago.
He was working for foreign security service M16 in London while on secondment from the Government GCHQ listening post in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
It quickly emerged bachelor Mr Williams may have led a double life as he had £15,000 of expensive women’s clothing in his wardrobe and he had visited a drag cabaret show shortly before his death.
Reports that more than 40 intelligence chiefs would be called to give evidence have been played down and it is expected 12 spy chiefs will attend to explain the background to the case. They may ask the coroner to hear some of the evidence in secret.
So far the security services have given very little information about Mr Williams or his role.
Scotland Yard has dismissed as “rubbish” suggestions of any Russian involvement.
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This Is London : 'Spy in bag' friend attacks police inquiry
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
'Spy in bag' friend attacks police inquiry
Peter Dominiczak | April 6, 2011
A friend of the MI6 codebreaker whose body was found locked in a holdall today attacked the police investigation.
Gareth Williams, 31, was found dead in his Pimlico flat in August last year. Police have said the key to his death lies in his private life and there has been speculation he died in a "bizarre sex game gone wrong". Police revealed that women's clothes were found in the flat and he had visited a drag show.
His friend Sian Lloyd-Jones said the clothes were for her or her sister, adding: "I think it's really important for everything to be investigated, absolutely everything."
She asked why the police failed to mention £10,000 of mountaineering equipment in the flat.
Peter Dominiczak | April 6, 2011
A friend of the MI6 codebreaker whose body was found locked in a holdall today attacked the police investigation.
Gareth Williams, 31, was found dead in his Pimlico flat in August last year. Police have said the key to his death lies in his private life and there has been speculation he died in a "bizarre sex game gone wrong". Police revealed that women's clothes were found in the flat and he had visited a drag show.
His friend Sian Lloyd-Jones said the clothes were for her or her sister, adding: "I think it's really important for everything to be investigated, absolutely everything."
She asked why the police failed to mention £10,000 of mountaineering equipment in the flat.
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BBC : Gareth Williams MI6 death: police inquiry questioned
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Gareth Williams MI6 death: police inquiry questioned
By Iolo ap Dafydd | BBC Wales correspondent | April 5, 2011
A close friend of MI6 worker Gareth Williams whose body was found in a locked bag in a bath has questioned suggestions his death was linked to his private life.
The body of the code-breaker, from Holyhead on Anglesey, was found in his London flat in August.
Police revealed he had £15,000 of designer women's clothes in the flat.
But Sian Lloyd-Jones denies speculation he was gay and wants police to broaden their inquiry.
Detectives say the key to the mystery lies in Mr Williams' private life.
Press speculation has centred on him dying during a "bizarre sex game gone wrong".
That speculation was fuelled last December when police revealed Mr Williams had the women's clothes and that he had visited a drag show at a cabaret club; that he was allegedly seen at a gay bar; and that had "limited" access to bondage sites on his mobile.
But an investigation by BBC Wales raises questions about the police investigation, and asks if the key to his death really does lie in his private life.
His close friend Sian Lloyd-Jones, told Week In Week Out: "I think it's really important here for everything to be investigated - absolutely everything. I think it's about time now that the investigation is broadened.
"I feel the police did wrong around Christmas time when they released information about the clothing, but didn't reveal that there was £10,000 of mountaineering equipment as well."
Ms Lloyd-Jones denies suggestions Mr Williams was gay or a cross-dresser, saying the women's clothes were too small for him, and were probably intended for her, or his sister, Ceri.
"The things that have been in the papers have been so hurtful. To read what has been written about him has completely broken my heart, and I know it would have broken Gareth's as well," she said.
Police still don't know how Mr Williams died, and are calling his death "unexplained and suspicious".
But Crispin Black, an intelligence analyst and former advisor to the government, says the most likely explanation is that Mr Williams was murdered.
"The thing has a professional air: it's neat, it's tidy, it's organised," he said.
"A bath is where you put things if you don't want any forensic residue to be left behind. Because you know where the body's been and you can clear up after it."
Mr Black also questions the ability of the investigating police to do their job properly.
Murder squad detectives have to interview Mr Williams's former colleagues at the Secret Intelligence Service (also known as MI6) and GCHQ, the agency in Cheltenham which provides intelligence and information for the government through another team of officers from counter-terrorism.
"One of the weaknesses of the investigation, is the murder squad are interviewing friends, or colleagues, at one remove," said Mr Black.
"Interrogation, even of completely innocent people, relies on nuance, checking the story over and over again, and eye contact.
"That's how policemen decide if you're telling the truth, or not. Even if interviewing colleagues to rule them out, it should be done by the people in charge of the investigation - not somebody else,."
Week In Week Out has also uncovered new information relating to a mystery couple detectives want to find.
Police are still trying to trace a couple of "Mediterranean appearance" who visited Mr Williams' London flat a month or two before his death and had a key to the property.
The Metropolitan Police wasn't prepared to discuss that but insists it's looked into all aspects of his life, and has received full co-operation from the intelligence agencies.
As yet there's still no date set for an inquest, when the full circumstances of Gareth Williams death may eventually be explained.
By Iolo ap Dafydd | BBC Wales correspondent | April 5, 2011
A close friend of MI6 worker Gareth Williams whose body was found in a locked bag in a bath has questioned suggestions his death was linked to his private life.
The body of the code-breaker, from Holyhead on Anglesey, was found in his London flat in August.
Police revealed he had £15,000 of designer women's clothes in the flat.
But Sian Lloyd-Jones denies speculation he was gay and wants police to broaden their inquiry.
Detectives say the key to the mystery lies in Mr Williams' private life.
Press speculation has centred on him dying during a "bizarre sex game gone wrong".
That speculation was fuelled last December when police revealed Mr Williams had the women's clothes and that he had visited a drag show at a cabaret club; that he was allegedly seen at a gay bar; and that had "limited" access to bondage sites on his mobile.
But an investigation by BBC Wales raises questions about the police investigation, and asks if the key to his death really does lie in his private life.
His close friend Sian Lloyd-Jones, told Week In Week Out: "I think it's really important here for everything to be investigated - absolutely everything. I think it's about time now that the investigation is broadened.
"I feel the police did wrong around Christmas time when they released information about the clothing, but didn't reveal that there was £10,000 of mountaineering equipment as well."
Ms Lloyd-Jones denies suggestions Mr Williams was gay or a cross-dresser, saying the women's clothes were too small for him, and were probably intended for her, or his sister, Ceri.
"The things that have been in the papers have been so hurtful. To read what has been written about him has completely broken my heart, and I know it would have broken Gareth's as well," she said.
Police still don't know how Mr Williams died, and are calling his death "unexplained and suspicious".
But Crispin Black, an intelligence analyst and former advisor to the government, says the most likely explanation is that Mr Williams was murdered.
"The thing has a professional air: it's neat, it's tidy, it's organised," he said.
"A bath is where you put things if you don't want any forensic residue to be left behind. Because you know where the body's been and you can clear up after it."
Mr Black also questions the ability of the investigating police to do their job properly.
Murder squad detectives have to interview Mr Williams's former colleagues at the Secret Intelligence Service (also known as MI6) and GCHQ, the agency in Cheltenham which provides intelligence and information for the government through another team of officers from counter-terrorism.
"One of the weaknesses of the investigation, is the murder squad are interviewing friends, or colleagues, at one remove," said Mr Black.
"Interrogation, even of completely innocent people, relies on nuance, checking the story over and over again, and eye contact.
"That's how policemen decide if you're telling the truth, or not. Even if interviewing colleagues to rule them out, it should be done by the people in charge of the investigation - not somebody else,."
Week In Week Out has also uncovered new information relating to a mystery couple detectives want to find.
Police are still trying to trace a couple of "Mediterranean appearance" who visited Mr Williams' London flat a month or two before his death and had a key to the property.
The Metropolitan Police wasn't prepared to discuss that but insists it's looked into all aspects of his life, and has received full co-operation from the intelligence agencies.
As yet there's still no date set for an inquest, when the full circumstances of Gareth Williams death may eventually be explained.
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Daily Post Wales : 40 spies will give evidence at Gareth Williams inquest
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
40 spies will give evidence at Gareth Williams inquest
by Owen R Hughes, DPW West | February 16, 2011
UP to 40 spies could give evidence anonymously at the inquest into the mysterious death of MI6 agent Gareth Williams, a coroner was told yesterday.
Coroner Paul Knapman adjourned an inquiry into the 31-year-old’s death as Scotland Yard detectives wait for the results of a fresh round of forensic tests.
Counter-terrorism officers have interviewed “in the region of 40” of the expert codebreaker’s colleagues at MI6 and GCHQ, Westminster Coroner’s Court heard.
They have been passing on their findings to a team of investigators from the force’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command who are responsible for the inquiry.
The inquest heard that some or all of them could give evidence about Mr Williams, whose naked and decomposing body was found in a sports bag in the bath of his Pimlico flat last August.
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire admitted the likelihood of tracing a Mediterranean couple seen at Mr Williams’s home weeks before his death is diminishing.
She said it is “very unusual” for two teams of officers to be working on a suspicious death inquiry, but said the victim’s secretive occupation was the reason.
Speaking about forensic tests, she added: “We have done a phased submission of tests to the laboratory.
“We are still waiting for some outstanding tests that went out before Christmas.”
After a 10-minute hearing, Dr Knapman adjourned the inquest until Thursday March 31, but said it is not known whether it will go ahead then.
Dr Knapman said he had read a report summarising the forensic tests written by a police expert but added “it is a matter of some regret'” that the inquest cannot go ahead.
He said the Mediterranean couple have not come forward, there are no new clues and it appears to be “less and less likely that something will happen”.
The coroner added: “The fact you must face is that in six months or so they have not come forward, this couple, have they?”
Mrs Sebire replied: “That is correct, sir.” The senior detective added that a “raft” of forensic tests have taken place and she is still waiting for the results of some submitted six months ago and more recently.
Mrs Sebire said her team is dealing with the dead man’s private life, forensic tests and other inquiries while counter-terrorism officers are responsible for liaising with spy agencies.
She said she has regular meetings with her counterpart, passes instructions to him on who should be interviewed and could arrange to see a potential witness if necessary.
Dr Knapman said Mr Williams’ family expect a “thorough inquest” and was told they have “no problem whatsoever” with his colleagues being granted anonymity.
The pre-inquest hearing was told they were invited to attend yesterday but did not come.
They have appointed a solicitor to represent them.
Mr Williams, of Anglesey, was found in a large North Face holdall, sealed by a padlock, at his top-floor flat in Alderney Street on August 23.
The mysterious discovery sparked a painstaking Scotland Yard investigation, worldwide media frenzy, and several outlandish conspiracy theories.
A battery of post-mortem tests have so far failed to determine how he died and police found it would have been impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons have been found but police said anyone zipped inside the bag would have quickly found the temperature unbearable and suffocated within 30 minutes.
Investigators believe the fitness and fashion enthusiast had gone to drag cabaret shows, had £15,000-worth of unworn women’s designer clothing in a wardrobe, and had visited bondage websites.
Police have released e-fit images of a young, casually-dressed Mediterranean couple who a neighbour buzzed through the communal doors of Mr Williams’s block in June or July.
Mr Williams was a mathematics prodigy who worked as a cipher and codes expert for GCHQ, the Government listening station, but had been on secondment to MI6.
by Owen R Hughes, DPW West | February 16, 2011
UP to 40 spies could give evidence anonymously at the inquest into the mysterious death of MI6 agent Gareth Williams, a coroner was told yesterday.
Coroner Paul Knapman adjourned an inquiry into the 31-year-old’s death as Scotland Yard detectives wait for the results of a fresh round of forensic tests.
Counter-terrorism officers have interviewed “in the region of 40” of the expert codebreaker’s colleagues at MI6 and GCHQ, Westminster Coroner’s Court heard.
They have been passing on their findings to a team of investigators from the force’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command who are responsible for the inquiry.
The inquest heard that some or all of them could give evidence about Mr Williams, whose naked and decomposing body was found in a sports bag in the bath of his Pimlico flat last August.
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire admitted the likelihood of tracing a Mediterranean couple seen at Mr Williams’s home weeks before his death is diminishing.
She said it is “very unusual” for two teams of officers to be working on a suspicious death inquiry, but said the victim’s secretive occupation was the reason.
Speaking about forensic tests, she added: “We have done a phased submission of tests to the laboratory.
“We are still waiting for some outstanding tests that went out before Christmas.”
After a 10-minute hearing, Dr Knapman adjourned the inquest until Thursday March 31, but said it is not known whether it will go ahead then.
Dr Knapman said he had read a report summarising the forensic tests written by a police expert but added “it is a matter of some regret'” that the inquest cannot go ahead.
He said the Mediterranean couple have not come forward, there are no new clues and it appears to be “less and less likely that something will happen”.
The coroner added: “The fact you must face is that in six months or so they have not come forward, this couple, have they?”
Mrs Sebire replied: “That is correct, sir.” The senior detective added that a “raft” of forensic tests have taken place and she is still waiting for the results of some submitted six months ago and more recently.
Mrs Sebire said her team is dealing with the dead man’s private life, forensic tests and other inquiries while counter-terrorism officers are responsible for liaising with spy agencies.
She said she has regular meetings with her counterpart, passes instructions to him on who should be interviewed and could arrange to see a potential witness if necessary.
Dr Knapman said Mr Williams’ family expect a “thorough inquest” and was told they have “no problem whatsoever” with his colleagues being granted anonymity.
The pre-inquest hearing was told they were invited to attend yesterday but did not come.
They have appointed a solicitor to represent them.
Mr Williams, of Anglesey, was found in a large North Face holdall, sealed by a padlock, at his top-floor flat in Alderney Street on August 23.
The mysterious discovery sparked a painstaking Scotland Yard investigation, worldwide media frenzy, and several outlandish conspiracy theories.
A battery of post-mortem tests have so far failed to determine how he died and police found it would have been impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons have been found but police said anyone zipped inside the bag would have quickly found the temperature unbearable and suffocated within 30 minutes.
Investigators believe the fitness and fashion enthusiast had gone to drag cabaret shows, had £15,000-worth of unworn women’s designer clothing in a wardrobe, and had visited bondage websites.
Police have released e-fit images of a young, casually-dressed Mediterranean couple who a neighbour buzzed through the communal doors of Mr Williams’s block in June or July.
Mr Williams was a mathematics prodigy who worked as a cipher and codes expert for GCHQ, the Government listening station, but had been on secondment to MI6.
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inquest,
Jackie Sebire,
Mediterranean,
mysterious,
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Paul Knapman
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Telegraph : MI6 spy Gareth Williams: investigation making no progress, inquest hears
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
MI6 spy Gareth Williams: investigation making no progress, inquest hears
The investigation into the death of the MI6 agent Gareth Williams has made little progress and a breakthrough looks unlikely, a coroner said today.
By Martin Evans | February 15, 2011
Detectives hunting a Mediterranean couple in connection with the mysterious death admitted they had still not come forward and no fresh clues to their identity had been unearthed.
An inquest into the death of Mr Williams, whose naked body was found, padlocked inside a large holdall in his London flat last August, was postponed while further forensic tests are conducted.
But expressing his regret at having to adjourning the hearing, Westminster Coroner Dr Paul Knapman, said it was unlikely any key witnesses would now be found.
Addressing Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire who is leading the investigation for the Metropolitan Police murder squad, Dr Knapman said: “What is the position regarding potential witnesses, last time you wanted to know whether there had been anybody seen in the flat at that time, are there any further leads?”
DCI Sebire replied: “"Not at the present time in relation to witnesses, and we still are seeking to trace the Mediterranean couple."
Dr Knapman replied: "It is getting less and less likely that anything is going to happen there, the fact must be faced that for six months or so you haven't come up with that couple."
DCI Sebire replied: "That is correct sir."
Mr Williams, 31, of Anglesey, North Wales, was found locked inside a large North Face holdall in the bath at his top-floor flat in Alderney Street in Pimlico, central London on August 23.
The mysterious discovery sparked a painstaking Scotland Yard investigation, worldwide media frenzy, and several outlandish conspiracy theories.
A battery of post-mortem tests have so far failed to determine how he died and police found it would have been impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons have been found but police said anyone zipped inside the bag would have quickly found the temperature unbearable and suffocated within 30 minutes.
Investigators believe the fitness and fashion enthusiast probably died accidentally at the hands of a mystery bondage sex partner he may have met on London's gay scene.
They found he enjoyed going to drag cabaret shows, had £15,000-worth of unworn women's designer clothing in a wardrobe, and had visited bondage websites.
Today's short hearing also heard that up to 40 spies could be granted anonymity if they are required to give evidence at the full inquest.
Counter terrorism officers have already spoken to a number of colleagues of Mr Williams at MI6 and the GCHQ listening station in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
DCI Sebire said her team was dealing with inquiries surrounding Mr Williams’ private life, while counter-terrorism officers were responsible for dealing with the intelligence agencies.
Explaining how the two teams would then liaise, she said: "It is unusual but it is a very unusual case given his occupation."
Dr Knapman said: "When the time comes I anticipate that those people who may have to attend this inquest who are part of the intelligence services may wish for anonymity."
DCI Sebire confirmed that the Met Police would not opposed anonymity at this stage in proceedings.
Coroner’s officer Barry May confirmed that the Mr Williams family had been informed of today's proceedings but did not wish to attend.
When asked if they opposed anonymity he said: "They have no problem with it whatsoever."
The family will be appointing lawyers for the full inquest, which was today adjourned until March 31, but may be delayed further.
The investigation into the death of the MI6 agent Gareth Williams has made little progress and a breakthrough looks unlikely, a coroner said today.
By Martin Evans | February 15, 2011
Detectives hunting a Mediterranean couple in connection with the mysterious death admitted they had still not come forward and no fresh clues to their identity had been unearthed.
An inquest into the death of Mr Williams, whose naked body was found, padlocked inside a large holdall in his London flat last August, was postponed while further forensic tests are conducted.
But expressing his regret at having to adjourning the hearing, Westminster Coroner Dr Paul Knapman, said it was unlikely any key witnesses would now be found.
Addressing Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire who is leading the investigation for the Metropolitan Police murder squad, Dr Knapman said: “What is the position regarding potential witnesses, last time you wanted to know whether there had been anybody seen in the flat at that time, are there any further leads?”
DCI Sebire replied: “"Not at the present time in relation to witnesses, and we still are seeking to trace the Mediterranean couple."
Dr Knapman replied: "It is getting less and less likely that anything is going to happen there, the fact must be faced that for six months or so you haven't come up with that couple."
DCI Sebire replied: "That is correct sir."
Mr Williams, 31, of Anglesey, North Wales, was found locked inside a large North Face holdall in the bath at his top-floor flat in Alderney Street in Pimlico, central London on August 23.
The mysterious discovery sparked a painstaking Scotland Yard investigation, worldwide media frenzy, and several outlandish conspiracy theories.
A battery of post-mortem tests have so far failed to determine how he died and police found it would have been impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons have been found but police said anyone zipped inside the bag would have quickly found the temperature unbearable and suffocated within 30 minutes.
Investigators believe the fitness and fashion enthusiast probably died accidentally at the hands of a mystery bondage sex partner he may have met on London's gay scene.
They found he enjoyed going to drag cabaret shows, had £15,000-worth of unworn women's designer clothing in a wardrobe, and had visited bondage websites.
Today's short hearing also heard that up to 40 spies could be granted anonymity if they are required to give evidence at the full inquest.
Counter terrorism officers have already spoken to a number of colleagues of Mr Williams at MI6 and the GCHQ listening station in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
DCI Sebire said her team was dealing with inquiries surrounding Mr Williams’ private life, while counter-terrorism officers were responsible for dealing with the intelligence agencies.
Explaining how the two teams would then liaise, she said: "It is unusual but it is a very unusual case given his occupation."
Dr Knapman said: "When the time comes I anticipate that those people who may have to attend this inquest who are part of the intelligence services may wish for anonymity."
DCI Sebire confirmed that the Met Police would not opposed anonymity at this stage in proceedings.
Coroner’s officer Barry May confirmed that the Mr Williams family had been informed of today's proceedings but did not wish to attend.
When asked if they opposed anonymity he said: "They have no problem with it whatsoever."
The family will be appointing lawyers for the full inquest, which was today adjourned until March 31, but may be delayed further.
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Alderney Street,
Barry May,
bondage,
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Jackie Sebire,
Mediterranean,
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naked,
padlocked,
Paul Knapman
by Winter Patriot
on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 |
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Daily Mail : Body-in-bag spy's teacher says lurid police claims about his private life were a 'decoy'
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Body-in-bag spy's teacher says lurid police claims about his private life were a 'decoy'
By Abul Taher | January 23, 2011
A former tutor of the MI6 spy found dead in a padlocked sports bag has claimed that lurid allegations about his private life were a ‘decoy’.
Cheryl Eastap said suggestions from anonymous police and security sources that Gareth Williams was gay and a cross-dresser – denied by his family and friends – were ‘hurtful’.
And she hinted that the leaks may have been made to make it appear that his death was an accident rather than something more sinister.
Ms Eastap taught the 31-year-old GCHQ code-breaker at Central St Martin’s College in London, where he completed a part-time course in clothing design weeks before his body was found at his flat.
‘The police should not have leaked all these things about him. It was hurtful to his family and it was a decoy. I don’t think he was gay or a cross-dresser. Maybe he collected dresses – fashion students do,’ she said, referring to the fact that £15,000 of designer costumes were found in Williams’s Central London flat.
Ms Eastap said Williams did not need the outfits for her course. ‘Students have to buy their own materials, but the dresses they found in his flat had nothing to do with my course. He did not need them.’
Although Williams’s body was found five months ago, no one has been arrested over his death or questioned as a suspect, despite a high-profile investigation by Scotland Yard, with the assistance of MI5 and MI6.
In the days after Williams’s body was discovered, lurid reports appeared quoting unnamed sources which alleged he was a secret homosexual who visited the capital’s gay bars.
The sources said bondage equipment was found in his Pimlico flat as well as telephone numbers for gay escorts. The claims were later officially denied by the Metropolitan Police.
But last month police revealed that they had found women’s clothing and wigs at his flat. They added that Williams visited bondage websites and had a ticket for a drag comedy night.
Last month The Mail on Sunday interviewed Williams’s childhood sweetheart Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, who said Williams usually bought expensive dresses for her and his younger sister, Ceri.
Miss Lloyd-Jones said the dresses could not have been for Williams as they were too small for him, and that he would have told her or his sister if he was gay.
Ms Eastap also dismissed news¬paper reports last week that Williams might have locked himself in the North Face holdall as some kind of ‘homework’ for her course, which was exploring confined spaces.
A Scotland Yard spokesman declined to comment on whether the leaks came from police, MI5 or MI6. He added: ‘The investigation is ongoing.’
By Abul Taher | January 23, 2011
A former tutor of the MI6 spy found dead in a padlocked sports bag has claimed that lurid allegations about his private life were a ‘decoy’.
Cheryl Eastap said suggestions from anonymous police and security sources that Gareth Williams was gay and a cross-dresser – denied by his family and friends – were ‘hurtful’.
And she hinted that the leaks may have been made to make it appear that his death was an accident rather than something more sinister.
Ms Eastap taught the 31-year-old GCHQ code-breaker at Central St Martin’s College in London, where he completed a part-time course in clothing design weeks before his body was found at his flat.
‘The police should not have leaked all these things about him. It was hurtful to his family and it was a decoy. I don’t think he was gay or a cross-dresser. Maybe he collected dresses – fashion students do,’ she said, referring to the fact that £15,000 of designer costumes were found in Williams’s Central London flat.
Ms Eastap said Williams did not need the outfits for her course. ‘Students have to buy their own materials, but the dresses they found in his flat had nothing to do with my course. He did not need them.’
Although Williams’s body was found five months ago, no one has been arrested over his death or questioned as a suspect, despite a high-profile investigation by Scotland Yard, with the assistance of MI5 and MI6.
In the days after Williams’s body was discovered, lurid reports appeared quoting unnamed sources which alleged he was a secret homosexual who visited the capital’s gay bars.
The sources said bondage equipment was found in his Pimlico flat as well as telephone numbers for gay escorts. The claims were later officially denied by the Metropolitan Police.
But last month police revealed that they had found women’s clothing and wigs at his flat. They added that Williams visited bondage websites and had a ticket for a drag comedy night.
Last month The Mail on Sunday interviewed Williams’s childhood sweetheart Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, who said Williams usually bought expensive dresses for her and his younger sister, Ceri.
Miss Lloyd-Jones said the dresses could not have been for Williams as they were too small for him, and that he would have told her or his sister if he was gay.
Ms Eastap also dismissed news¬paper reports last week that Williams might have locked himself in the North Face holdall as some kind of ‘homework’ for her course, which was exploring confined spaces.
A Scotland Yard spokesman declined to comment on whether the leaks came from police, MI5 or MI6. He added: ‘The investigation is ongoing.’
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Ceri Subbe,
Cheryl Eastap,
clothing,
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holdall,
MI5,
padlocked,
Sian Lloyd-Jones,
transvestite,
wigs
by Winter Patriot
on Sunday, January 23, 2011 |
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Express: BAG SPY VISITED DRAG SHOW JUST BEFORE HE DIED
Sunday, January 02, 2011
BAG SPY VISITED DRAG SHOW JUST BEFORE HE DIED
By James Murray | January 2, 2011
POLICE piecing together the last hours of spy Gareth Williams’s life have revealed he visited a drag cabaret show just days before his bizarre death.
Scotland Yard murder detectives said the 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker visited the Bistrotheque in London’s Bethnal Green on August 13 last year, a few days after flying back from a holiday in the US.
He vanished two days later and his naked body was discovered in a holdall in his bath on August 23.
The club he visited has an upstairs restaurant and bar and a downstairs cabaret stage.
The Sunday Express has established that Cambridge-educated Mr Williams booked the ticket for the cabaret before going there and decided not to eat at the restaurant or hang around in the bar when he arrived in the evening.
Instead, he went straight to the downstairs cabaret room and sat to watch the one-hour show featuring Jonny Woo, pictured above left, often described as the queen of the capital’s drag scene.
Woo, a popular entertainer at the venue, performed a short skit from Les Miserables and dressed in several outrageous costumes during the show. As soon as it ended, Mr Williams got up and left.
His family and friends vehemently deny accusations he was living a secret life as a gay man in central London. The club’s co-owner, Pablo Flack, said Mr Williams was not known to staff and no one could recall seeing him before.
Despite the drag cabaret, he said the venue was popular with straight couples and none of the regular gay customers could recall speaking to him.
Mr Flack, a flamboyant figure in the fashion world, said: “I think the public may have got the wrong impression from the reports about this man.
“He did not spend long here and he is not someone people remember.
“We think he just came along to see the show. Jonny Woo does have a good reputation as an entertainer, especially in the fashion and artistic world.”
Mr Williams obviously enjoyed the performance because he bought tickets to see two other shows but there is no suggestion he knew Mr Woo.
Detectives have revealed that Mr Williams had £15,000-worth of women’s designer clothes, including dresses, shoes and wigs, at his flat in Alderney Street, Pimlico, London.
Shortly before Christmas they also revealed he was studying fashion for beginners at the Central St Martins College in Clerkenwell and had visited bondage websites.
One theory that police are considering now is that he had visited the Bistrotheque as part of his interest in fashion. Shortly after his body was found in his flat in a zipped-up and padlocked holdall, detectives went to Bistrotheque when they discovered he had bought the drag cabaret tickets. Mr Flack said: “They asked to see some CCTV on the relevant date and we burned off a disc for them but the footage was only showing the outside.
“It is pretty dark in the cabaret area so if there were pictures you wouldn’t be able to see much anyway.”
Detectives are trying to discover if Mr Williams went to the venue to meet a mysterious Mediterranean-looking man and woman who had called at his home in the summer but there is nothing to suggest at this stage that they were there.
Last week Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a childhood friend of Mr Williams, said he showed no inclinations of being gay and thought he would have given his designer clothes to her and his sister, Ceri, because he was so generous with gifts. However, questions remain about why Mr Williams would spend so much of his salary on women’s clothes.
Ms Lloyd-Jones, who was given £760 Stella McCartney PVC trousers from Mr Williams, claimed he was learning a new identity for an assignment with the intelligence service before his death but did not know what his undercover operation would be.
By James Murray | January 2, 2011
POLICE piecing together the last hours of spy Gareth Williams’s life have revealed he visited a drag cabaret show just days before his bizarre death.
Scotland Yard murder detectives said the 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker visited the Bistrotheque in London’s Bethnal Green on August 13 last year, a few days after flying back from a holiday in the US.
He vanished two days later and his naked body was discovered in a holdall in his bath on August 23.
The club he visited has an upstairs restaurant and bar and a downstairs cabaret stage.
The Sunday Express has established that Cambridge-educated Mr Williams booked the ticket for the cabaret before going there and decided not to eat at the restaurant or hang around in the bar when he arrived in the evening.
Instead, he went straight to the downstairs cabaret room and sat to watch the one-hour show featuring Jonny Woo, pictured above left, often described as the queen of the capital’s drag scene.
Woo, a popular entertainer at the venue, performed a short skit from Les Miserables and dressed in several outrageous costumes during the show. As soon as it ended, Mr Williams got up and left.
His family and friends vehemently deny accusations he was living a secret life as a gay man in central London. The club’s co-owner, Pablo Flack, said Mr Williams was not known to staff and no one could recall seeing him before.
Despite the drag cabaret, he said the venue was popular with straight couples and none of the regular gay customers could recall speaking to him.
Mr Flack, a flamboyant figure in the fashion world, said: “I think the public may have got the wrong impression from the reports about this man.
“He did not spend long here and he is not someone people remember.
“We think he just came along to see the show. Jonny Woo does have a good reputation as an entertainer, especially in the fashion and artistic world.”
Mr Williams obviously enjoyed the performance because he bought tickets to see two other shows but there is no suggestion he knew Mr Woo.
Detectives have revealed that Mr Williams had £15,000-worth of women’s designer clothes, including dresses, shoes and wigs, at his flat in Alderney Street, Pimlico, London.
Shortly before Christmas they also revealed he was studying fashion for beginners at the Central St Martins College in Clerkenwell and had visited bondage websites.
One theory that police are considering now is that he had visited the Bistrotheque as part of his interest in fashion. Shortly after his body was found in his flat in a zipped-up and padlocked holdall, detectives went to Bistrotheque when they discovered he had bought the drag cabaret tickets. Mr Flack said: “They asked to see some CCTV on the relevant date and we burned off a disc for them but the footage was only showing the outside.
“It is pretty dark in the cabaret area so if there were pictures you wouldn’t be able to see much anyway.”
Detectives are trying to discover if Mr Williams went to the venue to meet a mysterious Mediterranean-looking man and woman who had called at his home in the summer but there is nothing to suggest at this stage that they were there.
Last week Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a childhood friend of Mr Williams, said he showed no inclinations of being gay and thought he would have given his designer clothes to her and his sister, Ceri, because he was so generous with gifts. However, questions remain about why Mr Williams would spend so much of his salary on women’s clothes.
Ms Lloyd-Jones, who was given £760 Stella McCartney PVC trousers from Mr Williams, claimed he was learning a new identity for an assignment with the intelligence service before his death but did not know what his undercover operation would be.
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East London Advertiser : East End link to body in bag spy death
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
East End link to body in bag spy death
Julia Gregory, Senior reporter | December 29, 2010
Detectives investigating the death of M16 agent Gareth Williams would like to speak to anyone who may have seen him at an East End cabaret evening.
The 31-year-old’s body was found in a bag in his flat in West London in August.
Detectives are anxious to hear from anyone who may have met Mr Williams at a drag cabaret act at Bistrotheque in Wadeson Street on Friday August 13. He had also bought tickets for two other shows at the Bethnal Green venue.
A police spokeswoman said: “We would like to hear from anybody who was there who spoke with him or had any interaction with him.”
Two days after he visited Bistrotheque Mr Willams was spotted on CCTV shopping in the West End. His body was discovered in his flat on August 23.
Anyone who met Mr Williams should contact the incident room in Hendon on 020 8358 0200 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Julia Gregory, Senior reporter | December 29, 2010
Detectives investigating the death of M16 agent Gareth Williams would like to speak to anyone who may have seen him at an East End cabaret evening.
The 31-year-old’s body was found in a bag in his flat in West London in August.
Detectives are anxious to hear from anyone who may have met Mr Williams at a drag cabaret act at Bistrotheque in Wadeson Street on Friday August 13. He had also bought tickets for two other shows at the Bethnal Green venue.
A police spokeswoman said: “We would like to hear from anybody who was there who spoke with him or had any interaction with him.”
Two days after he visited Bistrotheque Mr Willams was spotted on CCTV shopping in the West End. His body was discovered in his flat on August 23.
Anyone who met Mr Williams should contact the incident room in Hendon on 020 8358 0200 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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The Age [Australia] : British bondage spy a sleeper
Monday, December 27, 2010
British bondage spy a sleeper
London | December 27, 2010
A British spy whose body was found inside a padlocked bag at his London flat in August had been training to take on a new identity in the months before his death, a report says.
A close friend of Gareth Williams, 31, told the Mail on Sunday the MI6 code-breaker was not homosexual.
Police have suggested his death was linked to London's gay or bondage scene. Women's clothing worth thousands of pounds was found in his flat.
''He said he was learning his new identity,'' said Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a close childhood friend from Wales.
''He had two passports.''
London's Metropolitan Police revealed Williams had been logging on to bondage websites and had visited a drag cabaret four days before his death.
London | December 27, 2010
A British spy whose body was found inside a padlocked bag at his London flat in August had been training to take on a new identity in the months before his death, a report says.
A close friend of Gareth Williams, 31, told the Mail on Sunday the MI6 code-breaker was not homosexual.
Police have suggested his death was linked to London's gay or bondage scene. Women's clothing worth thousands of pounds was found in his flat.
''He said he was learning his new identity,'' said Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a close childhood friend from Wales.
''He had two passports.''
London's Metropolitan Police revealed Williams had been logging on to bondage websites and had visited a drag cabaret four days before his death.
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Wales Online : Police probe dead Welsh MI6 spy’s bondage links
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Police probe dead Welsh MI6 spy’s bondage links
by Paul Rowland, Wales On Sunday | December 26, 2010
REVELATIONS that mystery death spy Gareth Williams visited bondage websites before his death were “not intended to add salacious detail or tittle-tattle” or embarrass his family, senior officers have insisted.
The denial came after officers investigating the death of the 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker, from Anglesey, revealed he had viewed sites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.
Detectives also found an unworn £15,000 collection of women’s designer clothing, including tops, dresses and shoes in his wardrobe.
They revealed he visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more. Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said police hoped the details may encourage people to come forward.
He said: “This is not intended to add salacious detail or tittle-tattle. We feel there is a small sub-group of the community or individuals who may know something about this matter and the nature of Gareth’s death.
“They are embarrassing, hurtful and distressing for the family, but they are aware of the matters we are raising.”
Mr Campbell added that investigators are sure someone else involved with the bondage or gay scene has “linked in” with Mr Williams, but police “cannot find that trace”.
He said: “We are very sure someone else was in that flat.”
Mr Williams’ body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23. The keys were inside.
by Paul Rowland, Wales On Sunday | December 26, 2010
REVELATIONS that mystery death spy Gareth Williams visited bondage websites before his death were “not intended to add salacious detail or tittle-tattle” or embarrass his family, senior officers have insisted.
The denial came after officers investigating the death of the 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker, from Anglesey, revealed he had viewed sites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.
Detectives also found an unworn £15,000 collection of women’s designer clothing, including tops, dresses and shoes in his wardrobe.
They revealed he visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more. Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said police hoped the details may encourage people to come forward.
He said: “This is not intended to add salacious detail or tittle-tattle. We feel there is a small sub-group of the community or individuals who may know something about this matter and the nature of Gareth’s death.
“They are embarrassing, hurtful and distressing for the family, but they are aware of the matters we are raising.”
Mr Campbell added that investigators are sure someone else involved with the bondage or gay scene has “linked in” with Mr Williams, but police “cannot find that trace”.
He said: “We are very sure someone else was in that flat.”
Mr Williams’ body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23. The keys were inside.
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AFP : Dead spy was in training for new identity: report
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Dead spy was in training for new identity: report
AFP | December 26, 2010
LONDON — A British spy whose body was found padlocked inside a bag at his London flat in August had been training to take on a new identity in the months leading up to his death, a newspaper reported Sunday.
A close friend of Gareth Williams, 31, a codebreaker for Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6, also told the Mail on Sunday paper he was not homosexual and wanted a girlfriend.
Police have suggested his death was linked to London's gay or bondage scene and thousands of pounds worth of women's clothing was found in his flat following his death.
"He said he was learning his new identity," said Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a close childhood friend from Wales, referring to an evening earlier this year when Williams paid her a visit.
"He often came round with his work. That night he came over with his box file and started going through it. He had two passports."
Speculation over how the intelligence agent met his mysterious death had been shifting away from his work and towards the idea it was linked to his private life.
Earlier this week, police said investigators believed someone involved in the bondage or gay scene had "linked in" with Williams.
London's Metropolitan Police revealed Williams had been logging onto bondage websites and had visited a drag cabaret in the British capital four days before his death.
But fashion stylist Lloyd-Jones, dismissed suggestions he was homosexual and said the 15,000 pounds worth of unworn designer clothes were likely a gift for her and the spy's sister, Ceri.
"I truly believe if he had any interest in homosexuality, he would have spoken to his sister and to me as well," she said.
"It would have been fine if he was but he had too much interest in women. He wanted a girlfriend and he wanted a wife and family."
On the stash of clothes, she said: "I truly believe that Ceri and I were going to receive the clothing. He was so generous you wouldn't believe."
Police have said that an expert who examined the red North Face bag in which Williams's naked body was found on August 23 had concluded that he could not have locked it himself. The keys were found inside the bag.
Police said on Wednesday they were trying to trace a couple of Mediterranean appearance known to have visited his flat in late June or July.
Williams was last seen alive around a week before his body was discovered.
He died just days before completing a one-year secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, Britain's electronic "listening post" which monitors communications for intelligence purposes, located in Cheltenham.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.
AFP | December 26, 2010
LONDON — A British spy whose body was found padlocked inside a bag at his London flat in August had been training to take on a new identity in the months leading up to his death, a newspaper reported Sunday.
A close friend of Gareth Williams, 31, a codebreaker for Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6, also told the Mail on Sunday paper he was not homosexual and wanted a girlfriend.
Police have suggested his death was linked to London's gay or bondage scene and thousands of pounds worth of women's clothing was found in his flat following his death.
"He said he was learning his new identity," said Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a close childhood friend from Wales, referring to an evening earlier this year when Williams paid her a visit.
"He often came round with his work. That night he came over with his box file and started going through it. He had two passports."
Speculation over how the intelligence agent met his mysterious death had been shifting away from his work and towards the idea it was linked to his private life.
Earlier this week, police said investigators believed someone involved in the bondage or gay scene had "linked in" with Williams.
London's Metropolitan Police revealed Williams had been logging onto bondage websites and had visited a drag cabaret in the British capital four days before his death.
But fashion stylist Lloyd-Jones, dismissed suggestions he was homosexual and said the 15,000 pounds worth of unworn designer clothes were likely a gift for her and the spy's sister, Ceri.
"I truly believe if he had any interest in homosexuality, he would have spoken to his sister and to me as well," she said.
"It would have been fine if he was but he had too much interest in women. He wanted a girlfriend and he wanted a wife and family."
On the stash of clothes, she said: "I truly believe that Ceri and I were going to receive the clothing. He was so generous you wouldn't believe."
Police have said that an expert who examined the red North Face bag in which Williams's naked body was found on August 23 had concluded that he could not have locked it himself. The keys were found inside the bag.
Police said on Wednesday they were trying to trace a couple of Mediterranean appearance known to have visited his flat in late June or July.
Williams was last seen alive around a week before his body was discovered.
He died just days before completing a one-year secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, Britain's electronic "listening post" which monitors communications for intelligence purposes, located in Cheltenham.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.
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Express : WAS MI6 GENIUS KILLED BY COUPLE SPYING ON HIM?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
WAS MI6 GENIUS KILLED BY COUPLE SPYING ON HIM?
Detectives believe Gareth Williams was not alone in his flat when he died.
By James Murray | December 26, 2010
MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams may have been murdered because he was becoming suspicious of a mystery couple befriending him.
Spy chiefs have been forced to consider the theory that the young, Mediterranean-looking couple seen at his home weeks before he died could have been foreign agents targeting him because of his superb encryption skills.
They are considering the possibility that Williams, whose naked body was found locked in a bag in his bath, was under surveillance because he was living at an address known to be used by security service staff in Alderney Street, Pimlico, central London.
Experienced foreign agents would have quickly built up a profile of the 31-year-old keen club cyclist’s double life and then worked on a plan to get close to him by exploiting his weaknesses: drag cabaret, gay bars and expensive women’s clothing and wigs. They could have befriended him by striking up conversation in one of his regular haunts.
Their approach would have been tailored to appeal to his fantasies. Once they had gained his confidence, they would have tried to see what secrets they could get from him.
If the couple were foreign agents trying to unearth secrets, they would have kept the relationship going for as long as possible. Williams may have been murdered because he started to question his new friends and they, in turn, feared being unmasked as spies.
A security source said: “With more details emerging it is obvious to see why his bosses at MI6 and GCHQ are asking more and more questions about this couple.
“If they had an innocent relationship with him and perhaps shared some of his private interests then you think they would have come forward by now just to clear themselves.
“Experienced spies would not leave a trail, which could explain why the police are seemingly banging their heads against the wall.”
Police are trying to find out who Williams was socialising with and want to hear from anyone who was at the Bistrotheque in London’s East End on August 13, 10 days before he died. He bought two tickets for two other shows at the same venue, which suggests he may have struck up friendships there.
They also want to speak to anyone who saw him at the Barcode gay bar in Vauxhall, south London, in May, when there was an unconfirmed sighting of him. Inquiries are also continuing at the Central St Martins College in Clerkenwell, where he had enrolled on a fashion course.
Williams’s wardrobe contained £15,000 worth of women’s designer clothes, including shoes by Christian Louboutin and items by Stella McCartney and Christopher Kane. Police want to know where he bought the clothes and why.
The mystery woman who went to his flat with a man one evening in June or July could have bought or worn some of the clothes.
Detectives believe Mr Williams was not alone in his flat when he died.
On August 23 he was found naked in a zipped and padlocked red North Face holdall which was in an empty bath in the en‑suite bathroom. The keys to the bag were under his body inside the bag.
Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said: “We are very sure someone else was in the flat so we need to know the circumstances where you leave someone in that position by accident or design. It is unexplained and suspicious.”
There were no traces of drugs, alcohol or poisons in his body. An inquest will be held at Westminister Coroner’s Court in February.
Detectives believe Gareth Williams was not alone in his flat when he died.
By James Murray | December 26, 2010
MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams may have been murdered because he was becoming suspicious of a mystery couple befriending him.
Spy chiefs have been forced to consider the theory that the young, Mediterranean-looking couple seen at his home weeks before he died could have been foreign agents targeting him because of his superb encryption skills.
They are considering the possibility that Williams, whose naked body was found locked in a bag in his bath, was under surveillance because he was living at an address known to be used by security service staff in Alderney Street, Pimlico, central London.
Experienced foreign agents would have quickly built up a profile of the 31-year-old keen club cyclist’s double life and then worked on a plan to get close to him by exploiting his weaknesses: drag cabaret, gay bars and expensive women’s clothing and wigs. They could have befriended him by striking up conversation in one of his regular haunts.
Their approach would have been tailored to appeal to his fantasies. Once they had gained his confidence, they would have tried to see what secrets they could get from him.
If the couple were foreign agents trying to unearth secrets, they would have kept the relationship going for as long as possible. Williams may have been murdered because he started to question his new friends and they, in turn, feared being unmasked as spies.
A security source said: “With more details emerging it is obvious to see why his bosses at MI6 and GCHQ are asking more and more questions about this couple.
“If they had an innocent relationship with him and perhaps shared some of his private interests then you think they would have come forward by now just to clear themselves.
“Experienced spies would not leave a trail, which could explain why the police are seemingly banging their heads against the wall.”
Police are trying to find out who Williams was socialising with and want to hear from anyone who was at the Bistrotheque in London’s East End on August 13, 10 days before he died. He bought two tickets for two other shows at the same venue, which suggests he may have struck up friendships there.
They also want to speak to anyone who saw him at the Barcode gay bar in Vauxhall, south London, in May, when there was an unconfirmed sighting of him. Inquiries are also continuing at the Central St Martins College in Clerkenwell, where he had enrolled on a fashion course.
Williams’s wardrobe contained £15,000 worth of women’s designer clothes, including shoes by Christian Louboutin and items by Stella McCartney and Christopher Kane. Police want to know where he bought the clothes and why.
The mystery woman who went to his flat with a man one evening in June or July could have bought or worn some of the clothes.
Detectives believe Mr Williams was not alone in his flat when he died.
On August 23 he was found naked in a zipped and padlocked red North Face holdall which was in an empty bath in the en‑suite bathroom. The keys to the bag were under his body inside the bag.
Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said: “We are very sure someone else was in the flat so we need to know the circumstances where you leave someone in that position by accident or design. It is unexplained and suspicious.”
There were no traces of drugs, alcohol or poisons in his body. An inquest will be held at Westminister Coroner’s Court in February.
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France 24 : Dead spy was in training for new identity: report
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Dead spy was in training for new identity: report
December 26, 2010
AFP - A British spy whose body was found padlocked inside a bag at his London flat in August had been training to take on a new identity in the months leading up to his death, a newspaper reported Sunday.
A close friend of Gareth Williams, 31, a codebreaker for Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6, also told the Mail on Sunday paper he was not homosexual and wanted a girlfriend.
Police have suggested his death was linked to London's gay or bondage scene and thousands of pounds worth of women's clothing was found in his flat following his death.
"He said he was learning his new identity," said Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a close childhood friend from Wales, referring to an evening earlier this year when Williams paid her a visit.
"He often came round with his work. That night he came over with his box file and started going through it. He had two passports."
Speculation over how the intelligence agent met his mysterious death had been shifting away from his work and towards the idea it was linked to his private life.
Earlier this week, police said investigators believed someone involved in the bondage or gay scene had "linked in" with Williams.
London's Metropolitan Police revealed Williams had been logging onto bondage websites and had visited a drag cabaret in the British capital four days before his death.
But fashion stylist Lloyd-Jones, dismissed suggestions he was homosexual and said the 15,000 pounds worth of unworn designer clothes were likely a gift for her and the spy's sister, Ceri.
"I truly believe if he had any interest in homosexuality, he would have spoken to his sister and to me as well," she said.
"It would have been fine if he was but he had too much interest in women. He wanted a girlfriend and he wanted a wife and family."
On the stash of clothes, she said: "I truly believe that Ceri and I were going to receive the clothing. He was so generous you wouldn?t believe."
Police have said that an expert who examined the red North Face bag in which Williams's naked body was found on August 23 had concluded that he could not have locked it himself. The keys were found inside the bag.
Police said on Wednesday they were trying to trace a couple of Mediterranean appearance known to have visited his flat in late June or July.
Williams was last seen alive around a week before his body was discovered.
He died just days before completing a one-year secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, Britain's electronic "listening post" which monitors communications for intelligence purposes, located in Cheltenham.
December 26, 2010
AFP - A British spy whose body was found padlocked inside a bag at his London flat in August had been training to take on a new identity in the months leading up to his death, a newspaper reported Sunday.
A close friend of Gareth Williams, 31, a codebreaker for Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6, also told the Mail on Sunday paper he was not homosexual and wanted a girlfriend.
Police have suggested his death was linked to London's gay or bondage scene and thousands of pounds worth of women's clothing was found in his flat following his death.
"He said he was learning his new identity," said Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, a close childhood friend from Wales, referring to an evening earlier this year when Williams paid her a visit.
"He often came round with his work. That night he came over with his box file and started going through it. He had two passports."
Speculation over how the intelligence agent met his mysterious death had been shifting away from his work and towards the idea it was linked to his private life.
Earlier this week, police said investigators believed someone involved in the bondage or gay scene had "linked in" with Williams.
London's Metropolitan Police revealed Williams had been logging onto bondage websites and had visited a drag cabaret in the British capital four days before his death.
But fashion stylist Lloyd-Jones, dismissed suggestions he was homosexual and said the 15,000 pounds worth of unworn designer clothes were likely a gift for her and the spy's sister, Ceri.
"I truly believe if he had any interest in homosexuality, he would have spoken to his sister and to me as well," she said.
"It would have been fine if he was but he had too much interest in women. He wanted a girlfriend and he wanted a wife and family."
On the stash of clothes, she said: "I truly believe that Ceri and I were going to receive the clothing. He was so generous you wouldn?t believe."
Police have said that an expert who examined the red North Face bag in which Williams's naked body was found on August 23 had concluded that he could not have locked it himself. The keys were found inside the bag.
Police said on Wednesday they were trying to trace a couple of Mediterranean appearance known to have visited his flat in late June or July.
Williams was last seen alive around a week before his body was discovered.
He died just days before completing a one-year secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, Britain's electronic "listening post" which monitors communications for intelligence purposes, located in Cheltenham.
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Sydney Morning Herald : MI6 spy's death may have been linked to interest in bondage
Friday, December 24, 2010
MI6 spy's death may have been linked to interest in bondage
Vikram Dodd | December 24, 2010
LONDON: British detectives believe the death of the MI6 spy Gareth Williams will be solved by getting an insight into his private life after they revealed he had visited bondage websites and a drag club and had £15,000 ($23,000) worth of unworn designer womenswear in his wardrobe.
Mr Williams's decomposed body was discovered in a padlocked bag in his apartment, about a kilometre from MI6 headquarters in London where he was a senior analyst.
Police believe he died a week earlier, early on August 16, and that someone else was present. Tests have shown no signs of a struggle or forced entry and no sign that he was drugged.
Scotland Yard's detectives gave their best account of Mr Williams's death. They revealed:
He used his iPhone to visit websites on bondage and escaping from bondage.
He must have been padlocked into the bag by someone else as it was impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
Once in the bag, with the keys inside, he could have survived for only 30 minutes.
Four days before his death, he went to a drag club called Bistrotheque in east London to see an act called Jimmy Woo, and had tickets for two similar performances at a pub in Vauxhall, near MI6 headquarters.
When Mr Williams's remains were found by police on August 23, they also discovered £15,000 of unworn women's clothing, wigs and shoes in his wardrobe.
Speculation has been rife that Mr Williams's highly secretive work might explain his death. He worked as an expert on codes at the government's eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham, in the west of England, before moving to MI6 on a secondment.
But Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, the head of homicide at Scotland Yard, said: ''This is not linked to his work - it's his private life.''
He said police had been reluctant to make public details of Mr Williams's private life, knowing it could prove distressing to his family, but were doing so now because his lifestyle could be important to solving whether his death was a sex game gone wrong, manslaughter or murder.
Superintendent Campbell said: ''Somebody must have been there to secure him in the bag on a voluntary or involuntary basis. If someone was there and it was a voluntary activity gone wrong, why not cut him free or call an ambulance?
''The alternative scenario is there is maybe something more sinister to it. We just don't know.''
Vikram Dodd | December 24, 2010
LONDON: British detectives believe the death of the MI6 spy Gareth Williams will be solved by getting an insight into his private life after they revealed he had visited bondage websites and a drag club and had £15,000 ($23,000) worth of unworn designer womenswear in his wardrobe.
Mr Williams's decomposed body was discovered in a padlocked bag in his apartment, about a kilometre from MI6 headquarters in London where he was a senior analyst.
Police believe he died a week earlier, early on August 16, and that someone else was present. Tests have shown no signs of a struggle or forced entry and no sign that he was drugged.
Scotland Yard's detectives gave their best account of Mr Williams's death. They revealed:
He used his iPhone to visit websites on bondage and escaping from bondage.
He must have been padlocked into the bag by someone else as it was impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
Once in the bag, with the keys inside, he could have survived for only 30 minutes.
Four days before his death, he went to a drag club called Bistrotheque in east London to see an act called Jimmy Woo, and had tickets for two similar performances at a pub in Vauxhall, near MI6 headquarters.
When Mr Williams's remains were found by police on August 23, they also discovered £15,000 of unworn women's clothing, wigs and shoes in his wardrobe.
Speculation has been rife that Mr Williams's highly secretive work might explain his death. He worked as an expert on codes at the government's eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham, in the west of England, before moving to MI6 on a secondment.
But Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, the head of homicide at Scotland Yard, said: ''This is not linked to his work - it's his private life.''
He said police had been reluctant to make public details of Mr Williams's private life, knowing it could prove distressing to his family, but were doing so now because his lifestyle could be important to solving whether his death was a sex game gone wrong, manslaughter or murder.
Superintendent Campbell said: ''Somebody must have been there to secure him in the bag on a voluntary or involuntary basis. If someone was there and it was a voluntary activity gone wrong, why not cut him free or call an ambulance?
''The alternative scenario is there is maybe something more sinister to it. We just don't know.''
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Sky Valley Chronicle : BRITISH POLICE SEARCH FOR MYSTERIOUS COUPLE
Thursday, December 23, 2010
BRITISH POLICE SEARCH FOR MYSTERIOUS COUPLE
As bondage websites may hold key to spy’s death
December 23, 2010
(INTERNATIONAL) -- In a strange set of circumstances that read like a pulp fiction spy novel, London police detectives believe the mysterious death of spy Gareth Williams may be solved by gaining more information about his private life after they earlier revealed he had visited bondage websites and a drag club and had £15,000 worth of unworn designer women’s wear in his wardrobe.
Williams's decomposed body was discovered in a padlocked satchel in his apartment, which is less than a mile from MI6 headquarters in London where he was a senior analyst.
Police think he had died a week earlier in the early hours of August 16th.
They also believe someone else was present at his death although they say tests show no signs of a struggle or forced entry into the apartment and no sign that he was drugged.
So far police have released the following information about the spy’s death.
• Williams used his smartphone to visit websites on bondage (and escape from bondage) in the months before his death.
• He had been padlocked into the satchel by someone else as police say it was impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
• Once padlocked in the bag, with the keys inside, he could only have survived for about 30 minutes before suffocating.
• Police are trying to locate a mysterious couple, a man and woman of Mediterranean appearance, who visited his block and claimed to have a key to his apartment weeks before Williams's death.
• Just four days before he died, Williams went to a drag club in east London to see an act called Jimmy Woo, and had tickets for two similar performances at a pub close to MI6 headquarters.
• A witness told police that Williams had been seen at a gay bar in Vauxhall months before his death.
When Williams's decomposing body was found August 23rd police also discovered £15,000 of unworn women's designer clothing, wigs and shoes in his closet.
It is now believed Williams had been leading a secret life of a gay man in his off hours unknown to family, friends or coworkers.
The high fashion women’s clothing found in the apartment was in original boxes or wrapping paper and appeared unworn.
Williams had enrolled in two fashion design courses in London in 2009 and 2010.
As bondage websites may hold key to spy’s death
December 23, 2010
(INTERNATIONAL) -- In a strange set of circumstances that read like a pulp fiction spy novel, London police detectives believe the mysterious death of spy Gareth Williams may be solved by gaining more information about his private life after they earlier revealed he had visited bondage websites and a drag club and had £15,000 worth of unworn designer women’s wear in his wardrobe.
Williams's decomposed body was discovered in a padlocked satchel in his apartment, which is less than a mile from MI6 headquarters in London where he was a senior analyst.
Police think he had died a week earlier in the early hours of August 16th.
They also believe someone else was present at his death although they say tests show no signs of a struggle or forced entry into the apartment and no sign that he was drugged.
So far police have released the following information about the spy’s death.
• Williams used his smartphone to visit websites on bondage (and escape from bondage) in the months before his death.
• He had been padlocked into the satchel by someone else as police say it was impossible for him to have locked himself inside.
• Once padlocked in the bag, with the keys inside, he could only have survived for about 30 minutes before suffocating.
• Police are trying to locate a mysterious couple, a man and woman of Mediterranean appearance, who visited his block and claimed to have a key to his apartment weeks before Williams's death.
• Just four days before he died, Williams went to a drag club in east London to see an act called Jimmy Woo, and had tickets for two similar performances at a pub close to MI6 headquarters.
• A witness told police that Williams had been seen at a gay bar in Vauxhall months before his death.
When Williams's decomposing body was found August 23rd police also discovered £15,000 of unworn women's designer clothing, wigs and shoes in his closet.
It is now believed Williams had been leading a secret life of a gay man in his off hours unknown to family, friends or coworkers.
The high fashion women’s clothing found in the apartment was in original boxes or wrapping paper and appeared unworn.
Williams had enrolled in two fashion design courses in London in 2009 and 2010.
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Herald Scotland : Plea to gay community for help in explaining spy’s death
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Plea to gay community for help in explaining spy’s death
Chris Greenwood | December 23, 2010
Mystery death spy Gareth Williams visited a series of bondage websites in the months before his bizarre death, police have revealed.
The MI6 codebreaker, whose naked, decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall with the keys inside in the bath of his central London flat four months ago, had viewed sites showing people bound and tied. They included do-it-yourself guides to the fetish.
Police also found a £15,000 collection of unworn women’s designer clothing including tops, dresses and shoes in his wardrobe and revealed Mr Williams, 31, had visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more such events.
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who is leading the inquiry that has been delving into the life of the intensely private man, yesterday said she remained convinced someone else helped put him in the bag.
She told a news conference that a witness had seen him at a gay bar several months before his death, but police did not know for certain if he was gay.
She added that police believe they will get to the bottom of the spy’s death.
She said: “We remain completely open-minded about how he died. We are appealing today to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more.”
The Government Communications Headquarters intelligence officer had been on a year-long secondment to the spy agency from the Government’s eavesdropping headquarters in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, which was due to end days after he was found dead on August 23.
He was discovered by police after he was reported missing. The discovery immediately sparked lurid speculation that included unfounded media reports he may have targeted by people with links to al Qaeda and the Taliban. Theories were put forward that he was killed by those who wanted to steal state secrets.
However, there were also a suggestion from the outset that he died following a sex game that had gone wrong and police have been concentrating on this line of inquiry.
No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists, said Ms Sebire, who also revealed police have forensic evidence that other people whom they have been unable to trace were in the flat.
Mr Williams, of Anglesey, North Wales, was last seen alive on August 15, eight days before he was found dead in the £400,000 property.
Mrs Sebire said the six boxes of unworn designer clothing found in a wardrobe included pieces by Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane and Christian Louboutin that had been bought at London boutiques and online.
She said the clothing was in various sizes, all small, and a number of women’s wigs were also found. The items had not been worn or hung up, the buttons were done up and items were still wrapped in paper.
However, Ms Sebire said Mr Williams attended two fashion design courses at Central St Martins College in the capital. His employers did not know he had taken part in or that he was interested in fashion.
She said it was a possibility the clothing purchases were linked to the diploma courses for beginners, which Mr Williams had passed.
Ms Sebire said analysis of Mr Williams’s phones and laptops revealed he visited no more than five bondage websites and had spent between 30 minutes and an hour on the sites from the end of last year until July, shortly before his death on August 16.
However, he did not appear “obsessed” with the subject and no other pornography was found in Alderney Street, she added.
She continued: “The sites primarily feature women and there are guides on how to do certain things.”
On the dead man’s sexuality, the lead officer said: “We do not have any evidence to suggest that he was gay. We have not spoken to any past or present sexual partner, whether male or female.
“We know he was intensely private, and however difficult this might be for someone who has had any interaction with Gareth, it would really help us if they came forward so we know if that side of his life had any relevance to his death.”
Mr Williams attended Bistroteque in the east end of London on Friday August 13. Police said the restaurant, bar and theatre venue hosted Jimmy Woo, a drag cabaret act, that night and the spy went alone.
Others who were at the event have told police Mr Williams chatted amicably with some of the audience.
Mr Williams, who lived alone, also held tickets for drag shows that took place after his death.
Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said police hope that revealing some details of Mr Williams’ private life may encourage people to come forward.
He said: “This is not intended to add salacious detail or tittle-tattle. We feel there is some small sub-group of the community or individuals who may know something about this matter and the nature of Gareth’s death.
Mr Campbell added that investigators were sure someone else involved with the bondage or gay scene had “linked in” with Mr Williams.
He said: “We are very sure that someone else was in that flat. We want to know the circumstances when you would leave somebody in that position, by accident or design. Maybe, by explaining to the public, someone will think: ‘I get it and I can explain.”
Visiting pair are sought by detectives
MI6 spy Gareth Williams may have died at the hands of a mystery bondage sex partner he met on London’s gay scene, detectives have suggested.
Police have released two e-fits of a couple who they said they were visiting Mr Williams’s home in late June or July. The casually dressed Mediterranean couple, in their twenties, were buzzed through the communal entrance by another resident at the property in Pimlico.
They suggested they had been given a key by “Pierre Palo” and were on their way to flat four.
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said that an expert brought in to examine the red North Face holdall in which Mr Williams was found concluded he could not have locked it himself. The zip was held shut by a common travel-style Yale padlock through holes in two zip fasteners.
Tests found the temperature inside the bag would have risen to 30°C within three minutes. An expert on survivability in confined spaces from the National Policing Improvement Agency said he would have suffocated in 30 minutes.
She said Mr Williams probably died in the early hours of August 16, a week before he was found, and there was no sign of injury apart from bruising to his elbows, which might have occurred some time before his death.
Speaking about how Mr Williams ended up in the bag, Mrs Sebire said an expert found it was “quite easy” to fit someone inside. She said: “If he was alive, he got into it voluntarily or, if not, he was unconscious and placed in the bag.
“There is forensic evidence that indicates the presence of other people that we have not been able to eliminate yet.”
Mrs Sebire said there was no evidence Mr Williams was suicidal and no signs of forced entry at the flat. None of his possessions were laid out in a “ritualistic” manner, she added.
Mr Williams had a laptop and four mobile phones, including at least one pay-as-you go handset. The death remains suspicious and unexplained and no conclusive cause of death has been found. An inquest will be held at Westminster Coroner’s Court on February 15.
Chris Greenwood | December 23, 2010
Mystery death spy Gareth Williams visited a series of bondage websites in the months before his bizarre death, police have revealed.
The MI6 codebreaker, whose naked, decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall with the keys inside in the bath of his central London flat four months ago, had viewed sites showing people bound and tied. They included do-it-yourself guides to the fetish.
Police also found a £15,000 collection of unworn women’s designer clothing including tops, dresses and shoes in his wardrobe and revealed Mr Williams, 31, had visited a drag cabaret in east London four days before his death and held tickets to two more such events.
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who is leading the inquiry that has been delving into the life of the intensely private man, yesterday said she remained convinced someone else helped put him in the bag.
She told a news conference that a witness had seen him at a gay bar several months before his death, but police did not know for certain if he was gay.
She added that police believe they will get to the bottom of the spy’s death.
She said: “We remain completely open-minded about how he died. We are appealing today to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more.”
The Government Communications Headquarters intelligence officer had been on a year-long secondment to the spy agency from the Government’s eavesdropping headquarters in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, which was due to end days after he was found dead on August 23.
He was discovered by police after he was reported missing. The discovery immediately sparked lurid speculation that included unfounded media reports he may have targeted by people with links to al Qaeda and the Taliban. Theories were put forward that he was killed by those who wanted to steal state secrets.
However, there were also a suggestion from the outset that he died following a sex game that had gone wrong and police have been concentrating on this line of inquiry.
No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists, said Ms Sebire, who also revealed police have forensic evidence that other people whom they have been unable to trace were in the flat.
Mr Williams, of Anglesey, North Wales, was last seen alive on August 15, eight days before he was found dead in the £400,000 property.
Mrs Sebire said the six boxes of unworn designer clothing found in a wardrobe included pieces by Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane and Christian Louboutin that had been bought at London boutiques and online.
She said the clothing was in various sizes, all small, and a number of women’s wigs were also found. The items had not been worn or hung up, the buttons were done up and items were still wrapped in paper.
However, Ms Sebire said Mr Williams attended two fashion design courses at Central St Martins College in the capital. His employers did not know he had taken part in or that he was interested in fashion.
She said it was a possibility the clothing purchases were linked to the diploma courses for beginners, which Mr Williams had passed.
Ms Sebire said analysis of Mr Williams’s phones and laptops revealed he visited no more than five bondage websites and had spent between 30 minutes and an hour on the sites from the end of last year until July, shortly before his death on August 16.
However, he did not appear “obsessed” with the subject and no other pornography was found in Alderney Street, she added.
She continued: “The sites primarily feature women and there are guides on how to do certain things.”
On the dead man’s sexuality, the lead officer said: “We do not have any evidence to suggest that he was gay. We have not spoken to any past or present sexual partner, whether male or female.
“We know he was intensely private, and however difficult this might be for someone who has had any interaction with Gareth, it would really help us if they came forward so we know if that side of his life had any relevance to his death.”
Mr Williams attended Bistroteque in the east end of London on Friday August 13. Police said the restaurant, bar and theatre venue hosted Jimmy Woo, a drag cabaret act, that night and the spy went alone.
Others who were at the event have told police Mr Williams chatted amicably with some of the audience.
Mr Williams, who lived alone, also held tickets for drag shows that took place after his death.
Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said police hope that revealing some details of Mr Williams’ private life may encourage people to come forward.
He said: “This is not intended to add salacious detail or tittle-tattle. We feel there is some small sub-group of the community or individuals who may know something about this matter and the nature of Gareth’s death.
Mr Campbell added that investigators were sure someone else involved with the bondage or gay scene had “linked in” with Mr Williams.
He said: “We are very sure that someone else was in that flat. We want to know the circumstances when you would leave somebody in that position, by accident or design. Maybe, by explaining to the public, someone will think: ‘I get it and I can explain.”
Visiting pair are sought by detectives
MI6 spy Gareth Williams may have died at the hands of a mystery bondage sex partner he met on London’s gay scene, detectives have suggested.
Police have released two e-fits of a couple who they said they were visiting Mr Williams’s home in late June or July. The casually dressed Mediterranean couple, in their twenties, were buzzed through the communal entrance by another resident at the property in Pimlico.
They suggested they had been given a key by “Pierre Palo” and were on their way to flat four.
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said that an expert brought in to examine the red North Face holdall in which Mr Williams was found concluded he could not have locked it himself. The zip was held shut by a common travel-style Yale padlock through holes in two zip fasteners.
Tests found the temperature inside the bag would have risen to 30°C within three minutes. An expert on survivability in confined spaces from the National Policing Improvement Agency said he would have suffocated in 30 minutes.
She said Mr Williams probably died in the early hours of August 16, a week before he was found, and there was no sign of injury apart from bruising to his elbows, which might have occurred some time before his death.
Speaking about how Mr Williams ended up in the bag, Mrs Sebire said an expert found it was “quite easy” to fit someone inside. She said: “If he was alive, he got into it voluntarily or, if not, he was unconscious and placed in the bag.
“There is forensic evidence that indicates the presence of other people that we have not been able to eliminate yet.”
Mrs Sebire said there was no evidence Mr Williams was suicidal and no signs of forced entry at the flat. None of his possessions were laid out in a “ritualistic” manner, she added.
Mr Williams had a laptop and four mobile phones, including at least one pay-as-you go handset. The death remains suspicious and unexplained and no conclusive cause of death has been found. An inquest will be held at Westminster Coroner’s Court on February 15.
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by Winter Patriot
on Thursday, December 23, 2010 |
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The News [Pakistan] : Dead MI6 spy Gareth Williams ‘visited bondage websites’
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Dead MI6 spy Gareth Williams ‘visited bondage websites’
December 23, 2010
LONDON: An MI6 spy found dead in a padlocked holdall in his central London flat had accessed bondage websites several times, police have revealed.
Gareth Williams, 31, from Holyhead on Anglesey, had also visited a drag show and owned £15,000 worth of women’s designer clothing, detectives said.
Mr Williams’ naked body was found at his Pimlico flat in August. Police believe other people helped the MI6 codebreaker to get into the holdall and want to speak to them. Officers have released e-fit images of a couple who they said visited Mr Williams’ Alderney Street home in June or July.
Det Ch Insp Jackie Sebire said: “We remain completely open-minded about how he died. “We are appealing today to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more.” Police revealed Mr Williams viewed websites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.
The two e-fit images issued by police show a casually-dressed couple of Mediterranean appearance, thought to be in their 20s, who were buzzed through the communal entrance of his home by another resident in late June or July.
December 23, 2010
LONDON: An MI6 spy found dead in a padlocked holdall in his central London flat had accessed bondage websites several times, police have revealed.
Gareth Williams, 31, from Holyhead on Anglesey, had also visited a drag show and owned £15,000 worth of women’s designer clothing, detectives said.
Mr Williams’ naked body was found at his Pimlico flat in August. Police believe other people helped the MI6 codebreaker to get into the holdall and want to speak to them. Officers have released e-fit images of a couple who they said visited Mr Williams’ Alderney Street home in June or July.
Det Ch Insp Jackie Sebire said: “We remain completely open-minded about how he died. “We are appealing today to someone who is out there to come forward and tell us more.” Police revealed Mr Williams viewed websites showing people bound and tied, which included do-it-yourself guides.
The two e-fit images issued by police show a casually-dressed couple of Mediterranean appearance, thought to be in their 20s, who were buzzed through the communal entrance of his home by another resident in late June or July.
Filed under
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by Winter Patriot
on Thursday, December 23, 2010 |
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