BBC Radio 5 live : Expert: "I believe" MI6 agent was dead and then put into bag

Expert: "I believe" MI6 agent was dead and then put into bag

Host: Phil Williams | November 14, 2013

Confined spaces expert Peter Faulding says the case of MI6 spy, Gareth Williams, who was found dead in padlocked sports bag in August 2010 "has never left my mind".

Mr Faulding explains why he believes Mr Williams, 31, from Anglesey, was killed before he was put into the bag that was found in a bath, including a lack of Mr Williams' DNA evidence being found on the bath or the outside of the bag.

In 2012 a coroner said it was likely Mr Williams had been unlawfully killed. On November 13th 2013, the Metropolitan Police said an evidence review had found "it was more probable" no other person was present when he died in his London flat.


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TRANSCRIPT

[transcribed by Winter Patriot; edited slightly for clarity]

PETER FAULDING: This is one of the jobs that's never left my mind, and I'm still, still thinking about it all the time, and thinking of possibilities.

PHIL WILLIAMS: And just to be clear to people listening, 'cause obviously this isn't television, you are a very almost identical build to Gareth Williams.

PETER FAULDING: Yes, that's right. I'm slightly shorter than Gareth. I'm 5 foot 6 and I think that Gareth was about 5 foot 8, but I'm slightly, maybe a slightly stockier build around the shoulders, but -- 'cause he was a keen cyclist -- but apart from that, pretty similar.

PHIL WILLIAMS: Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt says he has got to the position where he felt it was theoretically possible to have padlocked that bag from the inside. You tried it. What do you think?

PETER FAULDING: Well, let me just go through a few of the facts on this case, and when we started. First, when he was found, when the police found him, all the lights were out in the flat. The door was closed on the bathroom, the lights were out in the bathroom and the temp, the actual heating was turned up full -- in mid-summer, in August. And I tried to get into the bag. I could zip the bag closed, though I couldn't put the padlock on. And in court there was another method shown, they call it the baggage handlers' technique, where you could actually slide the lock, and then shortly after that, a 15-year-old girl managed to do it -- a very slight build -- to actually lock the thing. But that's not what it's about, There was no trace anywhere of any DNA, fingerprints, anything on the lock, the padlock. Now, everywhere we go, forensically, I'm forensically trained, we leave a trace where we've been, so if I touch something, unless I've got gloves on, there will be a trace, on the padlock, on the bag, on the bath. Now I've tried getting into the -- you have to get into the bag shoulders first, then you put your feet up at the end of the bath, slide in, and slide it underneath. There's all sorts of theories about him doing escapology tricks, and so on. But the room was dark. If he had -- he was a very clever man -- he certainly would have had a knife to cut himself free if he got into trouble.

PHIL WILLIAMS: And he wasn't wearing gloves.

PETER FAULDING: He wasn't wearing gloves and there's theories, he could have swallowed the gloves. Well they would be found at the post-mortem. So there's no way he could have done this. He could have locked himself in the bag. That can be done. But in the dark -- no one's ever done this in the dark, in a locked, in a closed room inside a bath. And when the body was found, there was not a trace anywhere of Gareth Williams in the bath or on the bag, on the outside of the bag, padlock, handles, so it was very peculiar. So that is an impossibility. That cannot be done without leaving a trace.

PHIL WILLIAMS: So what you're saying is that even if, so let's say he has done this himself, in order to just even place the holdall into the bath and then get into it, he would have left either a footprint, a fingerprint, or a hair, or something --

PETER FAULDING: Absolutely. He would have left something somewhere. We all leave a trace, so there was, there would have been a trace somewhere, but not only that. To actually -- I carried out the air tests on the bag, and pathologists said you'd last five minutes. Well, I was in the bag five minutes with it closed, under -- I may say this -- under controlled conditions, with paramedics on standby because it's not some -- please don't do this at home. But and I said that you would last up to thirty minutes depending on the size, but probably more realistically, he would have suffocated within ten to fifteen minutes. And that depends on the fitness levels. He was obviously a very fit gentleman. But there's no volume in the bag. I couldn't move. And the other thing what we gotta say is Gareth Williams was found in a foetal position with his hands across his chest, in a very calm manner. So I said at the coroner's inquest, I believe he was dead before he was put in there, and then lifted into the bath.

[audio here]

Telegraph : Could mystery fingerprints provide clue in dead spy case?

Could mystery fingerprints provide clue in dead spy case?

Police are still to identify up to 20 sets of fingerprints found in the flat of dead MI6 spy Gareth Williams, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | May 5, 2012

Some of the potential prints are little more than marks or “smudges” but officers hope they could still hold the key to the maths prodigy’s death.

Forensic officers are still examining them along with traces of DNA found on a towel in the kitchen.

It came as the head of the Met’s homicide squad said he believed the bizarre death could still be solved despite few clues after a two-year investigation.

Officers are preparing to return to MI6 to interview colleagues of Mr Williams and take DNA as part of a review of the case.

It followed criticism by a coroner this week over aspects of the investigation and the way some evidence was handled.

Mr Williams’ naked decomposing body was discovered in a padlocked sports bag in the bath of his Pimlico home in London in August 2010.

It had been there for a week without anyone raising concerns that the 31-year-old, who was on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, had gone missing.

At the end of an eight day inquest on Wednesday, coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said that “on the balance of probabilities” Mr Williams was “unlawfully killed” and likely to have been “criminally mediated” by a mystery third party.

A lawyer for the family has previously suggested someone expert in the “dark arts” of the secret service was linked to the death.

Anthony O’Toole also hinted that foreign forces may have been aware the flat was being used to house MI6 officers and targeted it rather than a specific agenda against Mr Williams.

During the inquest, DCI Jackie Sebire, who is leading the investigation, said more than 300 fingerprints were found around the flat.

The majority of those have been accounted for but police sources revealed around 20 are still unresolved.

Some may prove to be too weak to be of use while others may still turn out to be entirely innocent, such as from a workman.

However, experts are working hard to resolve them in the hope they may throw up a mystery visitor to the flat.

Faint traces of the DNA of at least two other people were found on the bag containing Mr Williams but forensic officers fear they are too weak to ever be of use.

There is more hope surrounding DNA tests on a towel found in the kitchen which are due to be concluded within the next few weeks.

Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, head of the Met's homicide squad, said of the riddle: “I think it can be resolved and DCI Sebire has my full support.

“We will make every effort to do that, will review the investigation and follow up lines.”

The Daily Telegraph disclosed yesterday that MI6 fear Scotland Yard is trying to make it a scapegoat for failings in the investigation.

Tensions are growing between the intelligence services and police over a possible blame game following criticism by the coroner.

Dr Wilcox criticised the delays in spotting Mr Williams was missing and apparent failures in the handling of potential evidence.

The inquest heard how nine memory sticks that may have belonged to the codebreaker and a bag similar to the one he was found dead in were discovered his office but never handed over to the Met team that investigated his death for almost two years.

A senior Whitehall source said there was concern within the intelligence service that the police were using it as a “scapegoat” to mask their own failings in solving the mystery.

Mirror : Police try to trace 60 fingerprints from 'spy in the bag' Gareth Williams's flat

Police try to trace 60 fingerprints from 'spy in the bag' Gareth Williams's flat

by Justin Penrose, Sunday Mirror | February 27, 2011

DETECTIVES investigating the death of “spy in the bag” Gareth Williams are hoping to identify 60 fingerprints taken from his flat.

Officers are trying to get the dabs of fellow spies who stayed in the £1million MI6 safehouse so they can be eliminated from the probe.

The naked body of code-breaker Williams, 31, was found in a padlocked holdall in a bath in ­August. Prints are also being taken from his friends and family.

A source said: “It is one of the last throws of the dice.”

Cops face being kicked out of the flat in Pimlico, London, as it has been a potential crime scene for six months.

The source added: “The landlord is well within his rights to kick us out.”

This Is London : Is the death of spy Gareth Williams the perfect murder?

Is the death of spy Gareth Williams the perfect murder?

Justin Davenport, Crime Editor | September 3, 2010

IT is nearly two weeks since the body of MI6 code-breaker Gareth Williams was found padlocked in a sports bag in his flat, and normally by now police would be hoping to make an announcement of an arrest.

Scotland Yard detectives have been working closely with MI6 agents to uncover the truth about how the maths genius and cipher expert was found dead, apparently without a single mark on his body.

Yet, far from nearing a breakthrough in the inquiry, the Standard understands that detectives are increasingly frustrated at the course the investigation is taking.

In a twist that could come from the plot of a Sherlock Holmes story, it is understood that officers can find no obvious sign that anyone else was in the flat at the time of his death.

The conclusion, if proved, raises the possibility that Williams died alone or, alternatively, his killer was so skilful that he left no clues; he — or possibly even they — may have committed the perfect murder.

One highly respected pathologist told the Standard today it was possible that the cause of his death may never be fully known.

Police officers were first called to Williams's home — the top-floor flat of a MI6 “safe house” in Alderney Street, Pimlico — at approximately 6.30pm on Monday, August 23, when his MI6 employers became concerned for his “welfare” after he failed to turn up for work. In the large en-suite bathroom off the master bedroom, officers found a large red hold-all in the bath, containing William's curled-up body. The bag, believed to be from the North Face adventure company, had been padlocked from the outside and placed in the bath tub.

Yet what puzzled detectives was that nothing else seemed out of place in the £400,000 flat which Mr Williams had rented for a year while on secondment to M16 from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). There was no sign of a struggle, forced entry or theft; everything was “spotless” and in order, according to one officer who has been inside.

Personal possessions — including two iPhones and Sim cards — had been laid out neatly on a table. There were laptops, one an expensive Apple Mac.
Some details about what detectives found in Williams's flat are being kept secret. They will not, for instance, say whether the body was naked or even whether there was — or had been — any water in the bath.

So far pathologists have carried out two post-mortems, but both have failed to establish how Williams died, though the examination was complicated by the fact that the body was said to be in an “advanced state of decay”.

What is known, however, is that Williams, a 31-year-old cycling fanatic, had not been shot or stabbed and did not appear to have been strangled. Detectives must now wait for the results of numerous toxicology tests to find out whether he was drugged, poisoned or even smothered.

Detectives and specialists working on the case know that asphyxiation is sometimes difficult to trace and privately fear the possibility that an exact cause of death may never be found and thereby denying them one of the most important clues for solving any murder investigation.

Dr Stuart Hamilton, one of 36 Home Office pathologists covering England and Wales, said that some more subtle forms of asphyxiation left few marks and therefore sometimes could not be discovered.

The Scotland Yard inquiry into Williams's death has focused on several main strands, including the scene at his flat when officers first arrived, and tracing the code-breaker's movements in the days before he is thought to have died.

In suspicious cases such as these, the police will also look into the dead person's background, but, it is understood, Williams's preference for keeping his personal life a secret from colleagues, family and friends has made this task incredibly difficult.

Detectives hold out hope that someone will come forward with information to help them piece together Williams's “four mystery days” between Wednesday, August 11, when he was in London and spoke to his sister Ceri Subbe on the phone, and Sunday, August 15 — the last time he was seen alive.

Ceri, a physiotherapist in Wrexham, raised the alarm after her brother failed to return her calls and has since travelled to London to help police.

Officers, extremely sensitive to the Williams family grief, nonetheless are of the view that the riddle of how Williams died most probably lies with his private life — even though there are no firm leads in that direction nearly two weeks after his death. His parents, who live in Anglesey, describe their son as extremely reserved but they are adamant he was not gay.

Rumours that bondage gear and gay escort agency numbers were found at Williams's flat have been flatly denied by his family, who say these more lurid claims may be smears, intended to discredit him.

There are reports that he frequented a gay bar near the MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, but detectives can find no trace of a boyfriend, or girlfriend, and there is nothing to suggest he was a secret drinker or drug taker.

In fact, the opposite is true: Williams lived for his job and his cycling, regularly riding with his father around Anglesey and in local competitions with his club.

One line of inquiry is that Mr Williams died in an accident, a sex game that went wrong perhaps. But police say that if this was so why is it taking so long to find the “suspect”, who, if he panicked and fled the scene, should have left clues to his identity.

Police have combed the flat for fingerprints and DNA and searched CCTV in the area, but they are not believed to have identified a prime suspect. They are also sifting through his Sim cards to trace every call he made, but still have not found a motive.

One detective said: “The fact that no one has come forward could mean that no one was there. It could mean someone is frightened or it could be more sinister.”

Police have spoken to colleagues in MI6 and examined Williams's bank accounts for details of extraordinary payments, but again they have found nothing suspicious.

Williams's skills as a cipher expert and code-breaker were so highly valued that he regularly travelled — it is rumoured to Afghanistan to monitor codes between the Taliban, and to America, where he liaised with the National Security Agency and the CIA.

Of course, the possibility remains that he was the target of a foreign espionage agency, and murdered with a deadly toxin or even gas unidentifiable by toxicologists, but two weeks on, Scotland Yard is not even classifying Williams's death as murder. And if it is murder, it is one executed without trace.

Three experts look at the next stage

Nigel McCrery, Ex-policeman

A former murder squad detective who devised the BBC1 drama Silent Witness, McCrery said the pathologist would be vital in solving the mystery surrounding the death of Gareth Williams. “That's the only person who can really give an indication to police in cases like this,” he said. “If the case isn't solved within 48 hours, the chance of it being solved goes down by 70 per cent. After that it's foot-slogging and good old-fashioned detective work.

“The first thing is to establish where he died. If he is naked, where are his clothes? Has anything disappeared from his flat? There is a famous adage that every contact leaves a trace. I think there is a very good chance it will get solved. I don't think it's anything to do with the Russians or spies — perhaps it was a sexual encounter that got out of hand (Williams's family has denied he led a homosexual lifestyle). People are fascinated by other people's lives. It's also a puzzle — we are great puzzle-solvers. That is why Agatha Christie was so successful. It is a bit like an episode of Silent Witness meets Spooks.”

Dr Stuart Hamilton, Home Office pathologist

One of 36 Home Office pathologists covering England and Wales, Dr Hamilton said a key factor would be the state of the decomposition of the body.

“The worse the state of the body, the less likely it is that the post-mortem will be conclusive,” said Dr Hamilton. “We will tend to get all of the trappings' — the clothes and any possessions — that were found with the body. All of these things can help you work through to what the police are asking: is this a homicide or not? But a body in a bag is suspicious. Sometimes you just have to conclude that you can't identify a cause of death. Figures show that one case in 20 will not yield a cause of death at autopsy, although my experience is that it's considerably lower than that.”

Is there the perfect crime? “I have no doubt that they happen. I suspect that people are poisoned subtly, but that won't be picked up if there is an autopsy without a toxicology report. People could be getting smothered without others ever knowing about it. I try to frighten my trainees by telling them I have done 2,500 to 3,000 autopsies and there is probably a homicide I have missed. But you have to be pretty smart to get one past us.”

David Black, Novelist

The writer who based his book The Great Satan on his 11 years in the SAS said that nerve gas should be counted among the possible causes of death.

“I know for a fact that one of the security services around the world made inquiries to see if they could get hold of paintballs filled with nerve gas,” he said. “If you were going to assassinate somebody, there are a couple of options. The guy could just disappear. The next one is to make it look like an accident. If you push a guy down the stairs and break his neck, when he hits the ground, the chances are it will look like an accident.

“We don't know yet how Gareth Williams died. They didn't find any blows to his head. He must have been dead when they put him in the bag — but why put him in there? If it is some bizarre poison that some secret service in the world has developed, that will be a big clue to why he was killed. That is if he was killed at all. Secret services will kill to defend their own secrets — we will and so will everybody else. Was it our own people that did it? Who knows? If there was such a thing as a perfect crime, we would never know. If it's a matter of national security, nothing is beyond being swept under the carpet.”

Ross Lydall

Telegraph : Spy death may be linked to MI6 work

Spy death may be linked to MI6 work

By Richard Edwards and Duncan Gardham | August 30, 2010

Police have not ruled out the possibility that the death of a British spy could be linked to his work after investigations into his private life failed to provide a motive for his murder.

Detectives say they are still looking at whether Gareth Williams may have been killed by a foreign intelligence agency seeking to stop his work on intercepting messages and code-breaking.

Interviews with friends and family of Mr Williams, 30, have offered no clear leads as to how or why he died. Checks on his phone records and bank accounts have also yet to provide anything conclusive.

As to Mr Williams’s social life, reports that he may have died in a sex game gone wrong have been played down by police, who say that although he may have visited a gay bar, they have found nothing to suggest that sex played a role in his death.

As a result, sources say they are continuing to co-operate closely with MI6, where Mr Williams was finishing a year-long secondment from GCHQ, and interviewing colleagues.

They are also investigating links with the US where he made a number of trips to liaise with the National Security Agency and the CIA.

He is thought to have returned to Britain from a foreign trip on Aug 11 and was last seen alive on Aug 15, eight days before his body was found in a holdall and left in his bath at the MI6 flat where he lived in Pimlico, London.

Investigators are keeping details of his exact movements secret to avoid encouraging spurious sightings. One source said: “Those people who know him will come forward and those who do not and have something to hide, we will track down.”

Sources close to the inquiry said they are looking at the possibility that his body was manhandled into the bag in order to remove it from the premises. They are searching the flat for fingerprints and DNA to determine if anyone was present when he died.

A pathologist has been unable to identify why Mr Williams died but toxicology test results are expected in the next few days that should identify whether he was smothered, poisoned or had taken drugs.

The keen cyclist seems to have had few close friends and been willing to confide little about his work or private life. Officers are eager not to jump to any conclusions about why Mr Williams was killed, or even whether he could have died in a bizarre accident and his body then moved.

One senior detective said: “It is possible he was the victim of a political assassination but the reality may be more mundane.”

Mr Williams’s family in Wales have said the continued speculation about his private life is “very distressing”.

Telegraph : British spy death: police probe links to secret work

British spy death: police probe links to secret work

By Richard Edwards and Duncan Gardham | August 30, 2010

Police have not ruled out the possibility that the death of a British spy could be linked to his work after investigations into his private life failed to provide a motive for his murder.

Murder detectives say they are still looking at whether Gareth Williams may have been killed by a foreign intelligence agency seeking to stop his work on intercepting messages and code-breaking.

Interviews with friends and family of Mr Williams, 30, have so far offered no clear leads as to how or why he died.

Checks on his phone records and bank accounts also appear to have drawn a blank.

As to Mr William's social life, lurid reports that he may have died in a sex game gone wrong have been played down by police who say that although he was seen visiting a gay bar, they have not yet categorically determined his sexuality.

As a result sources say they are continuing to co-operate closely with MI6, where Mr Williams was finishing a year-long secondment from GCHQ, and interviewing colleagues. They are also investigating links with the US where he made a number of trips abroad to liaise with the National Security Agency and the CIA in the US.

He is thought to have returned to Britain from a foreign trip on August 11 and was last seen on alive on August 15, eight days before his body was discovered, although investigators are keeping details of his exact movements under wraps in order to avoid encouraging spurious sightings.

`Those people who know him will come forward and those who do not and have something to hide, we will track down,` one source told the Daily Telegraph.

`Everyone he worked with wants to understand why he died and we are confident the truth will come out.`

Police are struggling to work out why Mr Williams may have been killed and his body put into a holdall and left in his bath at the MI6 flat where he lived in Pimlico, central London.

Sources close to the inquiry said they are looking at the possibility that his body was manhandled into the bag in order to remove it from the premises.

They are continuing a painstaking re-examination of the flat, searching for fingerprints and DNA that could identify whether anyone else was present when he died.

So far a pathologist has been unable to identify why Mr Williams died but the results from toxicology tests are expected in the next few days.

That should identify whether he was smothered or whether he was drugged or poisoned.

The keen cyclist seems to have had few close friends and been willing to confide little about his work or private life even with his family. They are there expanding the circle of acquaintances they speak to in the hope of unearthing any connection that might shed light on his death.

Police are aware of reports that Mr Williams visited a gay bar near the MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall Cross called Bar code.

One man who met him, Lemuel Miller, a medical student from Selhurst, South London, said: `He was a very sweet guy. He came here when he was

in London. He was very intelligent, he never really talked about his work.’

Officers are keen not to jump to any conclusions about why Mr Williams was killed, or even whether he could have died in a bizarre accident and his body then moved.

One senior detective said: `It is possible he was the victim of a political assassination but the reality may be more mundane.`

Sources have denied reports that bondage equipment was found in the flat or that the body had been stabbed or dismembered.

But Mr Williams’s personal life was such a mystery that they are unsure whether he was in a relationship and do not want to suggest that he was the victim of a homosexual killing.

His family in Wales have said the continued speculation about his private life is `very distressing’ but called for anyone with information to come forward.

'Gareth was a generous, loving son, brother, and friend, and he was a very private person,` they said in a statement. 'He was a great athlete, and loved cycling and music. His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward and assist the police inquiry.'