Brisbane Times : Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over agent who died locked in a bag

Scotland Yard debunks conspiracy theory over agent who died locked in a bag

Duncan Gardham | December 27, 2012

MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams probably locked himself into the sports bag where his naked body was found and was not the victim of a hit by the security services, Scotland Yard has found after conducting a review of the case.

Dr Fiona Wilcox, the Westminster Coroner, said earlier this year that she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.

The ruling sparked a review of the case by Scotland Yard's murder squad which has re-interviewed his colleagues from MI6 and taken DNA samples over the last seven months.

Detectives had believed that someone else must have locked the codebreaker in the bag and launched a search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple, who were later ruled out of inquiries. But detectives now believe that he probably died alone.

“They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out,” a source close to the inquiry said.

The keys to the red North Face holdall were found in the bottom of the bag when Mr Williams's naked body was found in the empty bath of his apartment in Pimlico, central London in August 2010.

Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag and one claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.

But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way the bag is locked that fits with how Gareth Williams was found in August 2010.

Dr Wilcox, a former negligence barrister, had ruled that the lack of hand and footprints in the bathroom was "significant" but it understood that police have also been able to identify around 300 fingerprints in the flat.

The coroner also dismissed speculation that Mr Williams died as a result of some kind of "auto-erotic activity", but detectives now believe that is probably the only option left.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained "active" and that officers were still exploring "a number of lines of enquiry."

The inquest had heard that Mr Williams, a codebreaker for GCHQ who was on secondment to MI6, had been found in his boxer shorts and tied to his bed by his landlord and landlady in Cheltenham a few years earlier.

Video footage found on a mobile phone in Mr Williams's flat showed him dressed in nothing but black leather boots as he “wiggled and gyrated" for the camera.

He kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had £20,000-worth of designer women's clothes in his flat along with women's shoes and wigs.

He browsed self-bondage websites and sites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - on his computers and phone and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.

Friends and family were upset at speculation that Mr Williams may have been gay and speculated that "some agency specialising in the dark arts" was behind his killing.

In her ruling, Dr Wilcox said there was no evidence to suggest the spy was a transvestite "or interested in any such thing".

The make-up found in his flat was more likely to reflect his interest in fashion and the wigs were "far more consistent with dress-up such as attendance at a manga conference", she said.

The suggestion that his interest in female footwear could have been of a sexual nature, was not unusual, Dr Wilcox observed.

Mr Williams's colleagues at MI6 had failed to report him missing for a week and did not turn over nine memory sticks and a black bag that was under his desk at their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, sparking rumours of a cover-up.

The coroner said it remained a "legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services were involved in Mr Williams's death although there was no firm evidence.

The Telegraph, London

Guardian : Gareth Williams case should make us all uneasy

Gareth Williams case should make us all uneasy

Michael White | May 3, 2012

The MI6 officer's unexplained death has accidentally shone a light on things security folk would love to have covered up

Are MI6 and its domestic counterpart, MI5, entitled to keep some secrets? Of course they are. Why, only this week when Alex Healey and I were out filming Boris Johnson for the Guardian we patriotically avoided causing the spooks embarrassment. But when an inquest exposes MI6's shoddy behaviour over the death of codebreaker Gareth Williams, Ken Clarke can surely kiss goodbye to his hopes of secret court hearings for intelligence-sensitive evidence.

Why? Because the bizarre, still unexplained death of the mathematical wizard and fitness fanatic has accidentally shone a light on what can only be interpreted as incompetence or callousness by his employers – I rule out more sinister explanations, tempting though they always are – which the security folk would love to have covered up.

As Caroline Davies and Sandra Laville set out in Thursday's paper – most papers wisely give the case a lot of space – they had already covered up enough to make the coroner, Fiona Wilcox, consider suspending her inquest.

This happened after she discovered only this week that MI6 had withheld from police investigators the existence of nine memory sticks and another holdall at Williams's MI6 HQ office on the south bank of the Thames. It wasn't the only problem.

As usual the intelligence community pleaded "sensitive information" on the memory sticks. This seems to have been enough for counter-terrorism officers from the Met's SO15 branch, who have clearance to visit MI6 HQ and also kept it from the copper actually investigating what may yet turn out to be murder (rather than a sex game that went wrong?). But what about the other holdall, just like the one the 5ft 8ins and 60kg Williams was found locked inside?

Taken together with the discovery that the flat was unusually clean of prints and other human detritus – wiped by a third party? – the whole incident is baffling. What's more, you may recall, it took Williams's sister, not his workmates, to call the alarm – even though he hadn't been in for a week.

The spy writer Nigel West suggests in an article that they may have assumed he was off on some secret mission, that no one would want to show themselves out of the loop by asking where Gareth was.

Surely some primitive form of line management must exist to cover the possibility that the seriously talented Welshman from GCQH in Cheltenham might be kidnapped by Russians or even little green Martians?

Not our problem, though we do pay for ever-larger budgets to keep us all safe from threats which are – some of them – very real. But the affair serves to remind us all – as Richard Norton-Taylor writes here – that the security services can act like a self-interested producer lobby as much as Bob Crow at the RMT union or Bob Diamond at Barclays Bank.

The scope for wrapping themselves in national security and acting outside the law without being held to account is thus very considerable. So when the justice secretary produces a green paper suggesting that US co-operation over intelligence material is at risk if sensitive stuff like that made public in the Binyam Mohamed case is revealed in future cases, we are entitled to be sceptical.

So, incidentally, are some ex-CIA types reported here.

All government departments have their own agendas – the permanent government agenda immortalised by Yes Minister's Sir Humphrey – and MI5/MI6 are no different.

Chances are they sold this one to a jittery coalition, much as they did to New Labour. Yet Clarke of all people is an old soldier, precisely the sort of no-nonsense politician not to be hoodwinked. The joint Lords/Commons intelligence and security committee (ISC) should also be standing up for the public interest – but doesn't seem to be doing so in this instance.

Labour's Kim Howells, who used to chair the ISC, was on Channel 4 News on Wednesday night expressing puzzlement and dismay about the fate of his fellow Welshman.

I spoke to another ex-ISC MP a few minutes ago, who said the same: "What on earth are the security services up to? Don't they realise we live in the 21st century, when greater openness is essential?"

It's not that we need to or should be told everything, of course not. But judges and coroners, sometimes juries and certainly investigating police officers from the Met need to be told what's going on. Why was the Met so deferential to MI6 and is only now taking DNA swabs from Gareth Williams's immediate colleagues?

It's not as if they're on Rupert Murdoch's payroll. And they certainly weren't so deferential to Tony Blair over those loans-for-honours allegations, when no one died except in a political sense.

How did Alex Healey and I do our bit for MI6, I hear you ask? Well, we were on a suburban train with Boris Johnson, travelling from Wandsworth to Waterloo when I spotted the MI6 HQ looming out of the mist. Alex filmed it and I said to camera: "Let's wait to see if we can spot a few spooks getting out at Vauxhall station."

Do you know, right on cue, a well-dressed, faintly smart sort of chap in a beige overcoat with a brown collar, got out at Vauxhall, looking as if he was straight from George Smiley's version of central casting. "Switch that camera off, Alex," I said. "We must protect this man."

Let's hope he'd do the same for us if we went missing for a week.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette : Most spy death questions unanswered

Most spy death questions unanswered

© Press Association 2011 | May 2, 2012

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said it is "unlikely" the death of Gareth Williams "will ever be satisfactorily explained" as she began her narrative verdict at Westminster Coroner's Court.

Dr Wilcox said "most of the fundamental questions in relation to how Gareth died remain unanswered" after a 21-month police inquiry and a seven day inquest into the death of the MI6 codebreaker.

Mr Williams, a 31-year-old fitness enthusiast originally from Anglesey, North Wales, was found naked, curled up in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, central London, on August 23 2010.

Pathologists said he would have suffocated within three minutes if he was alive when he got inside the 32in (81cm) by 19in (48cm) red North Face bag. Poisoning and asphyxiation are the "foremost contenders" in solving the death riddle, they said.

Burton Mail : Inquest hears spy suffocation claim

Inquest hears spy suffocation claim

April 27, 2012

MI6 spy Gareth Williams would have suffocated within three minutes after getting inside his sports holdall, an inquest has heard.

Poisoning and asphyxiation are the "foremost contenders" in solving the death riddle, pathologists said.

It also emerged scientists found traces of "at least" two unknown people in his upmarket London apartment despite evidence Mr Williams rarely invited people over.

Forensic expert Ros Hammond said there were hopes of a breakthrough "within a matter of weeks" from DNA tests on a green towel discovered in his kitchen.

"There's hope," she told Westminster Coroner's Court. "The tests are still in progress and there may be some promising results from those tests."

Ms Hammond said a third party would not necessarily have left any DNA on his red North Face bag and padlock.

But she added: "There's certainly evidence of at least two people other than Mr Williams on the samples tested."

The 31-year-old was probably suffocated or killed by a poison which disappeared in his system during decomposition, pathologist Benjamin Swift said.

Dr Swift said his post-mortem examination was hampered by levels of heat within the bag after radiators were mysteriously turned on in Mr Williams's top-floor flat in the middle of summer.

The inquest was adjourned until Tuesday. Coroner Fiona Wilcox is likely to deliver her verdict on Wednesday.

Mirror : Was body-in-the-bag spy betrayed by a double agent? Mole theory over MI6 codebreaker's death

Was body-in-the-bag spy betrayed by a double agent? Mole theory over MI6 codebreaker's death

In a throwback to the dark days of the Cold War, a worrying theory has emerged about the death of body-in-the-bag spy Gareth Williams

March 10, 2012

In a throwback to the dark days of the Cold War, a worrying theory has emerged about the death of body-in-the-bag spy Gareth Williams

The expert codebreaker’s decomposing body was found locked in a large sportsbag in the bath of his London flat in 2010.

There were no obvious signs of how he died or who was responsible – with many claiming a “wall of silence” surrounding his death points to a cover-up at the very heart of the British establishment.

And now it has been revealed Gareth may have been betrayed by a British double agent.

Security bosses are trying to establish if a mole somewhere within intelligence revealed his identity to foreign assassins.

The brilliant mathematician, 31, was working for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and would have been a high value target – vital in producing hi-tech defences to prevent cyber attacks on our most secret government departments.

He was one of only a handful of spies launching effective counter attacks to stop enemy hackers infiltrating British networks.

Williams had been seconded from the top-secret Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham to MI6 in the capital.

He was making clandestine visits to Washington to team up with US espionage agents and share intelligence in operations to fend off hostile hacking infiltrations by Russia and China.

Eighteen months after his bizarre death, investigators are still piecing together his every move to try to get information which could lead them back to a British double agent.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, refuses to rule out the possibility that British national security has been breached by the death.

He said: “Reassurance can only be given if it’s based on some new information, and only those who have the skills and the responsibility to carry out such an investigation can take that forward. There have been exhaustive inquiries but they have been unable to reach a conclusion.”

North Wales-born Williams’s parents, Ian and Ellen, hope more will be revealed when a full inquest is opened next month.

They have been told by MI6 chiefs not to talk about his death, while police and security officers have also remained tight-lipped – fuelling speculation the British establishment does not want to reveal what happened to one of its most valued agents.

It was 4.40pm on August 23, 2010, when his naked, contorted body was found by police, zipped and padlocked in a red, 140-litre-capacity North Face hold-all in the bath of his top-floor apartment owned by MI6.

There were no signs of a struggle within flat 4, Alderney Street, Pimlico, less than a mile away from MI6’s HQ, across Vauxhall Bridge.

The key to the bag’s Yale lock was in the hold-all and police said forensic tests showed at least one other person was involved but have not been able to prove it was murder and do not think he killed himself.

Williams, a 9st cycling enthusiast, had not showed up at work for days when an officer went to the flat. Police said he probably died eight days earlier – just weeks after a man and woman of Mediterranean appearance had called at his flat.

Mystery also surrounds a break-in at the flat in the months before – while more twists and turns in the story led to lurid tales about his private life.

One claimed he was a transvestite who police thought may have been murdered by a gay lover.

And the most extreme claim was that he may have died in an auto-erotic asphyxiation sex game gone wrong.

Police also revealed he had £15,000 worth of unworn women’s designer clothing, shoes and wigs in his flat, but his friends believe many of these stories were planted to cloud the investigation.

Crispin Black, an intelligence analyst and former adviser to the Government, says the most likely explanation is that 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.”

The fact the body was found locked in a holdall, with the key inside, provides the strongest indication he was executed by a foreign death squad.

Investigators believe the team were so expert at their deadly trade, they left no obvious signs of the cause of death.

A security source said: “This has all the hallmarks of a state-sponsored assassination. If you’ve got a problem with your codes being broken, the only solution is to remove the codebreaker.

"They’re incredibly hard to replace because they are recruited for having the sharpest mathematical brains.

"There’s always suspicion about the Russians because in many ways the Cold War never completely ended.”

The possibility of a British intelligence mole has to be a huge worry for national security.

Professor Anthony Glees, director of security and intelligence studies at the independent University of Buckingham, said: “Sir Malcolm himself says he could not give the public reassurance that national security had not been breached by Gareth Williams’s death.

"I think we need an answer, especially in light of the fact that this year, with the Olympics and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, we are clearly a target.

“It’s a possibility that there is a spy and that someone betrayed Gareth Williams.

"It’s by no means unthinkable he was targeted by intelligence officials from other countries who believed he was targeting them.”

The police have not spoken publicly about the death for a year.

And Williams family friend Trefor Lloyd Hughes, 64, said: “I have no doubt some higher influences will be involved here which may stop certain information from getting through, but the family need peace.”

Even before his secondment to MI6, his work in signals intelligence at GCHQ would have put him on the front line in the international cyber war, helping to combat insurgent bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Codebreakers, phone and radio interceptors and internet experts fight the triple threat of terrorism, espionage and organised crime.

At Williams’s funeral at the windswept Bethel Chapel in Holyhead, Anglesey, his family were consoled by MI6 chief Sir John Sawyers, who said: “Gareth did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security.”

Back in Anglesey, those who knew Gareth Williams would no doubt like to know if it was that cause which he ended up giving his life for.

Daily Post : Claims building in which Anglesey MI6 spy lived in was broken into

Claims building in which Anglesey MI6 spy lived in was broken into

by Dan Beavan, DPW West | February 20, 2012

SECURITY concerns had been raised in the months before the body of a spy was found in a holdall it has been claimed.

The body of 31-year-old GCHQ code-breaker Gareth Williams, from Valley, Anglesey, was discovered in his London flat in August 2010.

He had been padlocked inside a holdall that was left in an empty bath.

His death appeared a baffling mystery to Met Police.

But according to a leading Sunday newspaper, a source close to Mr Williams has come forward claiming the Pimlico building, where the spy lived in London, was broken into several months before his death, which has apparently not been revealed by the authorities.

According to the source Mr Williams had told him a female occupant on the ground floor flat had asked the spy to swap apartments after hers was broken into.

The property was used by MI6 to house its agents.

A major investigation by the Met Police was launched but has so far failed to establish what led to his death.

Westminster Coroner’s Court has said a pre-inquest review will take place on March 29, with a full inquest to follow three weeks later.

The inquest is expected to last four days.

Evening Standard : Body-in-bag spy's family demand answers from inquest 18 months on

Body-in-bag spy's family demand answers from inquest 18 months on

Kiran Randhawa | February 20, 2012

The family of an MI6 spy found dead in a sports bag are demanding that they are finally told what happened to him.

The badly decomposed body of Gareth Williams, 31, was found 18 months ago in a holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico. Although a series of toxicology tests was performed to determine what caused his death, it still remains unexplained.

A pre-inquest review into the case will be held on March 29 at Westminster coroner's court, and a full inquest is expected to begin three weeks later.

Mr Williams's family hope a blanket of secrecy over the case will finally be lifted.
Trefor Lloyd Hughes, a friend of the family, told the Standard: "They need to know what happened to Gareth. I hope we finally get some real answers.

"Let's hope the family can gain some solace at last. They have been in the dark for so long and have no idea what happened to their son.

"They need answers to end their agony. I have no doubt some higher influences will be involved here which may stop certain information from getting through, but I would say the family need peace."

Mr Hughes, 64, a councillor and retired ambulance worker from Holyhead, Anglesey, lived across the road from Mr Williams's parents Ian and Ellen for several years. Their sons grew up together and he remains a good friend of the family.

He added: "It's taken so long for this inquest to come along. I will be really disappointed if further information comes out years down the line that didn't come out during this inquest.

"It will be hard for his parents to go through it, but we are all hoping this will be the end. You do get annoyed they have had to wait this long though. It's absolutely disgraceful."

As many as 40 of Mr Williams's colleagues from GCHQ and MI6 are expected to give evidence at the inquest, although their testimony is likely to be heard in secret to protect their identities.

Police found the cycling enthusiast's naked body zipped and padlocked in a red North Face holdall on August 23 2010 at his flat less than a mile from MI6's headquarters in Vauxhall. There were no signs of a struggle.

The property was used by MI6 as a safe house. Mr Williams, a GCHQ codebreaker on secondment, had not been at work for several days.

Wales Online : Government’s response to Welsh spy’s mysterious death a ‘disgrace’

Government’s response to Welsh spy’s mysterious death a ‘disgrace’

by Darren Devine, Wales On Sunday | August 21, 2011

A SECURITY expert has slammed the Government’s “disgraceful” response to the death of a Welsh spy whose body was found in a holdall one year ago.

Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the discovery of the naked body of GCHQ code breaker and MI6 agent Gareth Williams in his Pimlico flat. He had been padlocked inside a red North Face holdall, in an empty bath.

The case continues to baffle the Met Police and has left his Anglesey family facing a torrent of salacious tabloid headlines and an agonising 12-month wait for answers.

But Security services expert Professor Anthony Glees is among those who believe Williams’ reported fondness for gay clubs, bondage websites and women’s clothing is just a smokescreen.

He believes the spy was killed by a foreign security service and says the failure of British officials to answer questions about the agent’s demise is a “disgrace”.

Professor Glees, head of the Buckingham University Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, said: “It’s disgraceful both with Gareth Williams’ family in mind, who must be feeling absolutely terrible, but also with my own concern, which is with our national security.

“And I’m very surprised we’ve not heard from Sir Malcolm Rifkind, for example, the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, because I think there’s a very serious national security issue here. In fact there are several very serious national security issues here.”

Professor Glees said his contacts, who have been advising the Metropolitan Police over the death, maintain there’s no longer any suggestion it is sex-related.

He added: “I would continue to suggest that if Gareth was not killed as a result of a sex crime or sex game gone wrong – and nobody has presented any serious evidence of this – then this must be the work of a hostile intelligence service.

“What I would add, and this comes from my Whitehall sources, is that there’s been an almost 50% increase in hostile intelligence activity, not only by Russia, but also by China in the last 12 months.”

Reports have suggested cars registered to the Russian Embassy were spotted near Williams’ flat just days before his body was discovered on August 23.

Professor Glees said Williams was a mid-ranking operative whose work on developing computer programmes to infiltrate the networks of countries like Iran, China and Russia would have made him a target. Reports last year also claimed Williams’ eavesdropping work had helped thwart co-ordinated al-Qaeda gun rampages on the streets of London, Paris and Berlin just weeks before his death.

He had also made several trips to Afghanistan as one of a 10-strong team of specialists from GCHQ, the Government’s listening post and the NSA, the US equivalent.

But whatever the significance of his security services role, Professor Glees said while many questions continue to go unanswered about his death Williams’ family are denied closure.

“There are so many question marks hanging over this man. Was he loyal, was he disloyal? Was he gay? Had he given the right information about himself to GCHQ and MI6?”

But not all security experts are convinced there’s more to the death than meets the eye.

Some like Paul Moorcraft, director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis, believe the answers lie in Williams’ sex life. One theory he strongly discounts is that Williams was murdered by British intelligence colleagues for leaking information to our enemies.

“Whenever you get a mysterious death you get all sorts of conspiracies,” he said.

“Looking back at it I would have thought it probably was a sexual incident that went wrong – either with somebody else or on his own.

“He’d been on a couple of trips overseas so he wasn’t just a computer geek. But he was pretty junior and there was no reason to knock him off.”

Moorcraft said other operatives have even made revelations about the work of GCHQ without paying with their lives.

Katharine Gun, a former translator for GCHQ, was accused of leaking a memo to a newspaper on an alleged American “dirty tricks” campaign to spy on UN delegates ahead of the Iraq war.

An attempt to prosecute her through the courts collapsed.

Professor Moorcraft added: “There’s been a whole series of whistleblowers at GCHQ and nothing has happened to them. With previous whistleblowers who have actually done things it’s been formal procedures so why should they knock-off this one fairly low-ranking guy?”

Gareth’s uncle, Anglesey councillor William Hughes, declined to comment and said Gareth’s parents Ian and Ellen wanted to be “left alone”.

Daily Mail : Russian Embassy car spotted near 'body in bag' spy's home days before he was murdered

Russian Embassy car spotted near 'body in bag' spy's home days before he was murdered

By Robert Verkaik | August 13, 2011

Cars registered to the Russian Embassy were spotted near the home of a British spy just days before his body was discovered in a locked holdall at his London flat.

The unexplained presence of Russian diplomats in the area will add to suspicions that the MI6 officer was killed because of his work.

Gareth Williams is believed to have been working on spy technology tracking the movements of Russian money into Europe.

The 31-year-old was last seen alive on August 15 last year – the same day a Kremlin car was identified near the officer’s Pimlico flat.

In the days before Mr Williams’s death, two cars with Russian diplomatic number plates were seen parked or driving close to his flat in Pimlico, Central London.

The vehicles’ details were logged by a former KGB agent who fled to London 12 years ago after defecting to the West and who lives near Mr Williams’s former home.

The 51-year-old, trained in surveillance and counter-surveillance, believes that the sudden appearance of the cars raises immediate suspicions.

He said: ‘I still have to worry about my own security, so when I saw these cars I was very concerned and at the time made a detailed note of each of the sightings. I hadn’t seen any Russian Embassy cars in the area before this and I haven’t seen any since.’

The former agent, who has just realised how important his sightings are after reading about the case, observed the vehicles on his daily walk to local shops which took him past the flat.

On August 15 the agent logged a dark blue BMW 3 Series bearing the diplomatic number plate 251D198 seen being driven slowly along a road 50 yards from the flat. Mr Williams’s naked body was finally discovered eight days later locked inside a large holdall in the bath at his top-floor flat.

CCTV images show him entering Holland Park Underground station at 3pm on August 14, three days after he returned from a holiday in the US, and he was spotted shopping in the West End and Knightsbridge.

Earlier, around midday on August 12, the Russian car had been logged by the former agent, parked close to the junction with the road where Mr Williams lived, with the driver inside and the engine running.

The Russian Embassy, where the car is based, is four miles away at Kensington Gardens.

The following day, the agent noticed another Russian diplomatic car, a blue BMW 3 Series bearing the diplomatic number plate 251D306.

This time the car was spotted in the multi-storey car park directly behind Mr Williams’s flat.

The agent saw the driver clearly and described him as male and aged 35 to 45 with a brown moustache.

He added: ‘I saw him because he had to get out of the car to pay for a ticket. To my mind, these suspicious appearances show that the Russians were working in the area and were keeping someone under close surveillance.’

It has since been claimed that Mr Williams, who was on secondment to MI6 from the Government’s eavesdropping centre GCHQ, was working on equipment that tracked the flow of money from Russia to Europe.

Further suspicions that Mr Williams’s death is linked to Russia were raised when it emerged that his former flat is owned by private company New Rodina.

In Russian, ‘rodina’ means ‘motherland’ and the name The Rodina Society was used as a cover operation for KGB activity in the West during the Cold War.

The inquest into Mr Williams’s death – which sparked several outlandish conspiracy theories – resumes next month.

Up to 40 spies questioned by police could give evidence anonymously. No one has been arrested in connection with Mr Williams’s death.

Post-mortem tests have failed to determine how he died and detectives say it would have been impossible for him to lock himself in the bag. No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poison has been found.

A spokeswoman for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency said: ‘We are unable to help with identifying any cars with diplomatic number plates.’

A Whitehall source said police were investigating the case.

The Russian Embassy declined to respond.

The First Post : Did the Russian mafia kill MI6 agent Gareth Williams?

Did the Russian mafia kill MI6 agent Gareth Williams?
[or here]

Source claims Williams was working on system to foil Russian money-laundering

By Eliot Sefton | June 26, 2011

[and on MSN/UK]

MI6 agent Gareth Williams, who was found dead zipped into a holdall in his London flat last year, was working on technology designed to thwart money-laundering by the Russian mafia.

The claim, made by an unnamed source in the Mail on Sunday, has sparked off yet another theory about how and why the 31-year-old died: that he was assassinated by a Russian gang to stop his work in its tracks.

The source said: "He was involved in a very sensitive project with the highest security clearance. He was not an agent doing surveillance, but was very much part of the team, working on the technology side, devising stuff like software.

"A knock-on effect of this technology would be that a number of criminal groups in Russia would be disrupted. Some of these powerful criminal networks have links with, and employ, former KGB agents who can track down people like Williams."

The Russian mafia theory is just the latest in a series which have failed to explain Williams's death. At first, police were said to be working on the theory that he had died when a bondage sex game went wrong.

This was quickly questioned, with the suggestion that Williams had been murdered – and the bondage gear had been planted by his killer to throw investigators off the scent.

Next, Williams's uncle suggested that stories Williams was secretly gay, visited drag bars and had an extensive collection of designer women's dresses were indeed a smokescreen – but one planted by the government.

In January this year, it was suggest that he had died in a bizarre accident brought about when he zipped himself into the bag as part of an art project.

The Russian mafia story may be flimsy - but it's at least more credible than that outlandish theory.

This Is London : 'Spy in bag' friend attacks police inquiry

'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.

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.”

West End Extra : Gareth Williams death - Cops hunt couple in MI6 mystery

Gareth Williams death - Cops hunt couple in MI6 mystery

also at Camden New Journal

Search goes on for pair seen leaving home of spy who was found dead in a locked holdall

by JOSH LOEB | February 18, 2011

THE detective leading the investigation into the death of an MI6 spy whose body was found in a padlocked holdall in his flat has said police are no closer to tracing the “Mediterranean couple” seen leaving his home.

Speaking on Tuesday at the inquest into the death of Gareth Williams, who was discovered on August 23 last year, DCI Jacqueline Sebire said the couple, spotted last summer emerging from the Pimlico flat, had not come forward and no fresh clues had been unearthed.

Asked by Westminster coroner Dr Paul Knapman if investigators had found any new leads, she replied: “Not at the present time regarding witnesses and we are still seeking to trace the Mediterranean couple.”

Dr Knapman asked: “It is getting less and less likely that anything is going to happen there?” DCI Sebire replied: “Perhaps.” Officers are still awaiting some forensic test results and members of the secret services may be granted anonymity if called to give evidence.

DCI Sebire said the murder squad were dealing with enquiries surrounding Mr Williams’s private life and her counterparts from the anti-terrorist unit were dealing with the intelligence services. She said they had interviewed around 40 of 31-year-old Mr Williams’s MI6 colleagues. Asked by the coroner whether it was unusual for aspects of a case to be kept separate in this way, DCI Sebire replied: “It’s an unusual case given his occupation.” And asked for her view on M16 operatives giving evidence to the inquest anonymously, she said: “I don’t see any problem with that.”

Coroner’s officer Barry May said Mr Williams’s family had said that they had “no problem whatsoever” with evidence being given anonymously in court.

The inquest was adjourned to March 31.

Daily Post Wales : 40 spies will give evidence at Gareth Williams inquest

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.

Mirror : Spies to give anonymous evidence at inquest of MI6 man found dead in holdall

Spies to give anonymous evidence at inquest of MI6 man found dead in holdall

by Adrian Shaw, Daily Mirror | February 16, 2011

Up to 40 spies who worked with the MI6 agent found dead in a padlocked holdall will give evidence in secret.

City of Westminster coroner Dr Paul Knapman heard Gareth Williams’s family is happy for spies to stay behind a screen and not reveal names at his inquest.

The naked body of Mr Williams, 31, of Anglesey, North Wales, was found in his London flat in August. Det Chief Insp Jacqueline Sebire yesterday admitted: “We have no substantial leads at this time.” The inquest was adjourned to March 31.

Telegraph : MI6 spy Gareth Williams: investigation making no progress, inquest hears

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.

Sky News : Spy Death Cops Fail To Find Elusive Couple

Spy Death Cops Fail To Find Elusive Couple

Gary Mitchell, Sky News Online | February 15, 2011

Detectives investigating the mysterious death of a spy found dead in a padlocked holdall have admitted they are no closer to tracing a couple seen at his home.

Gareth Williams' body was found in a padlocked holdall at his home last August

The pair, described as Mediterranean in appearance, were seen at Gareth Williams' central London flat weeks before he died.

Police are continuing to treat the case as suspicious and it remains unclear how he died.

An inquest into the 31-year-old codebreaker’s death has been adjourned until March 31 as Scotland Yard awaits the results of a fresh round of forensic tests.

As many as 40 of Mr Williams' spy colleagues could be called to give evidence anonymously as part of the inquiry, it emerged at Westminster Coroner's Court.

They have been interviewed by counter-terrorism detectives, who have been passing the information to homicide police.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said the likelihood of finding the Mediterranean couple was diminishing.

The gifted mathematician's naked and decomposing body was found in a bag in the bath of his Pimlico flat last August.

He started work at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, before moving to London for a secondment at MI6.

Manchester Wired : MI6 officer Gareth Williams death: couple 'untraceable'

MI6 officer Gareth Williams death: couple 'untraceable'

February 15, 2011

A couple sought in connection with the death of an MI6 officer may never be traced, police have conceded.

Gareth Williams, 31, from Holyhead on Anglesey, north Wales, was found dead in a padlocked holdall in his central London flat in August.

The death remains suspicious and unexplained with no cause found.

Westminster Coroner's Court heard it was unlikely that a Mediterranean couple seen at his flats before he died would be traced.

Det Ch Insp Jackie Sebire also disclosed that more forensic tests were being carried out.

Some 40 officers working for the intelligence services have been now interviewed by detectives investigating the death.

They have been questioned by Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command - even though the inquiry is being led by a separate team specialising in homicide.

The inquest was adjourned until 31 March.

Mr Williams, a gifted mathematician, graduated with a first class degree in maths at just 17.

He began work at the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham before being seconded to MI6.

BBC : MI6 officer Gareth Williams death: couple 'untraceable'

BBC main: MI6 officer Gareth Williams death: couple 'untraceable'
BBC mobile: MI6 officer Gareth Williams death: couple 'untraceable'

February 15, 2011

A couple sought in connection with the death of an MI6 officer may never be traced, police have conceded.

Gareth Williams, 31, from Holyhead on Anglesey, north Wales, was found dead in a padlocked holdall in his central London flat in August.

The death remains suspicious and unexplained with no cause found.

Westminster Coroner's Court heard it was unlikely that a Mediterranean couple seen at his flats before he died would be traced.

Det Ch Insp Jackie Sebire also disclosed that more forensic tests were being carried out.

Some 40 officers working for the intelligence services have been now interviewed by detectives investigating the death.

They have been questioned by Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command - even though the inquiry is being led by a separate team specialising in homicide.

The inquest was adjourned until 31 March.

Mr Williams, a gifted mathematician, graduated with a first class degree in maths at just 17.

He began work at the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham before being seconded to MI6.

Daily Mail : Body-in-bag spy's teacher says lurid police claims about his private life were a 'decoy'

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.’