Daily Mail : So who did kill the spy? Spooks, sex and the vital questions that the inquest couldn't answer

So who did kill the spy? Spooks, sex and the vital questions that the inquest couldn't answer [scroll down]

May 2, 2012

Who put him in the holdall?

Some 400 attempts were made by expert witnesses to padlock themselves inside a North Face holdall identical to the one in which Mr Williams' body was found. Each attempt resulted in failure, so unless Mr Williams was able to pull off this 'amazing' feat, at least one still unidentified person was involved in his death.

The theory that he was placed in the bag while already dead or unconscious was challenged at the inquest by pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd. He said it would be 'extremely difficult' to place a 'floppy' dead body in a foetal position as neat as that in which the corpse was found.

Dr Shepherd did concede that the codebreaker could have been forced into the holdall at gunpoint or while sedated.

While tests continue on scratches found at the end of the bag where his head lay, there were no signs inside the bag of a violent struggle to get out. If Mr Williams was conscious when the bag was sealed he would have quickly passed out and died because of the build-up of carbon dioxide within. He could also have been poisoned.

Furthermore, if a naked Mr Williams had climbed into the holdall while it was in the bath, he would have left hand and footprints. That there were none found suggests that he was already in the bag before it was placed in the bath.

At least one unidentified person would seem to have been present in the bathroom between the time the bag was put in the bath and its discovery by police eight days later.

Yesterday the coroner said: 'In relation to the prints found within the bathroom, in my view what was more significant was what was not found rather than what was found.' She said she was 'sure that a third party moved the bag containing Gareth into the bath'.

Was his death linked to his private life?

That is the official MI6 verdict. While his family portrayed him as a very private man with conventional tastes, the picture that has emerged since his death suggests otherwise.

Police found evidence that Mr Williams looked at bondage websites and visited transvestite clubs and gay bars, though they could not identify any sexual partners. His friends insisted he was heterosexual but could not explain his behaviour.

Mr Williams had a £20,000 collection of women's clothing in his flat, including shoes his own size which had been worn and a long wig. His friends, who knew nothing of the collection, suggest Mr Williams meant to give them away as gifts.

But a video found on one of his phones showed Mr Williams 'gyrating' for the camera naked but for a pair of women's calf-length boots.

His landlady at a former home in Cheltenham had once found him tied to his bedposts wearing only his boxer shorts. She felt that the incident was of a sexual nature. This and his occasional visits to extreme websites coincide with his MI6 training.

There is no firm evidence that Mr Williams derived any kind of sexual pleasure from bondage or confinement, and the coroner raised the possibility that allegations about the spy's private vices were made by a third party to 'manipulate' the evidence. Had a false trail been laid and if so, why?

Did he die as a result of a sex game?

The coroner ruled out any link between Mr Williams' interest in bondage and his death. But suspicions remain. Traces of his semen were found on the floor of the bathroom in which his body was discovered and on his dressing gown.

Someone else's DNA is understood to have been found on a green hand towel in Mr Williams' kitchen, which might yield further clues, even a breakthrough, in coming weeks.

Did he die as a result of a sadomasochistic scenario which went wrong? Was the bag padlocked by a sexual partner who then fled the scene?

Why were the radiators on full blast?

Mr Williams died during August, when central heating would normally be switched off. The fact that it wasn't off in his top floor flat raises a suspicion that it is linked to his death, or at least an attempt to destroy evidence.

The higher temperature would have speeded up the decomposition of the body. Putrefaction would have been further hastened by the fact that the body was curled up inside a holdall.

The holdall also helped contain the tell-tale smell of decomposition. The bath would also have contained and eventually drained any fluids released as the body decayed.

If there was indeed a deliberate effort to speed up decomposition in order to hide the cause of death and delay discovery then it was entirely successful.

By the time pathologists were able to examine Mr Williams' corpse, the decomposition was so advanced they could only guess at cause of death.

Was his death linked to spying?

His family believe so, but we may never know.

MI6 obtained a Public Interest Immunity certificate which kept details of his work for them and GCHQ secret.

They claim Mr Williams was seen as at 'low risk' but he was a highly skilled and trained computer scientist who had recently met two informants and was ready to be deployed on an active mission.

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

His flat had been rented by spies since 2003 and he confirmed his sensitive occupation to at least two close friends.

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

The inquest was told this was not true and the coroner ruled her comment may have been 'misinformation' designed to spur police into action. These contradictions did nothing to increase confidence in the security services' account.

Why did MI6 take eight days to call the police?

MI6's behaviour throughout this whole affair has been puzzling and done little to discourage conspiracy theories about its direct involvement in Mr Williams' death.

The codebreaker was a meticulous time-keeper yet he was missing from work for a week before the security services alerted the police.

During that time only cursory attempts were made to contact him. His line manager – known at the inquest as MI6 Officer G – came in for particular criticism at the inquest.

The delay was crucial in the pathologists' subsequent inability to give a definite cause of death. Even after his bosses decided he was missing there was still a four-hour delay before raising the alarm.

Given his work as a spy, this seeming laxity is amazing. It is also puzzling that the security services apparently wanted the police to be the first people through the door of their own 'safe house', to hunt for a missing operative.

Did MI6 undermine the inquiry?

Anthony O'Toole, lawyer for the Williams family, asked an officer from the Met's SO15 counter-terrorism branch: 'If this wasn't the SIS and it was the Kray twins or someone else, you were investigating, you would have gone into far more detail, wouldn't you?'

As the inquest progressed it became clear that there was a disconnect between the anti-terrorist police officers who were security vetted to visit MI6 HQ and their colleagues on the outside investigating the death.

Officers from SO15 went to Vauxhall Cross and examined Mr Williams' locker and desk. There were nine memory sticks in the locker and a North Face holdall, similar to the death bag, under the desk, containing a number of personal items and work material.

Detective Constable Colin Hall, of the counter-terror branch, told the inquest he did not take the computer memory sticks because he was told by MI6 they contained material 'of a sensitive nature'. He said he was also told to leave the bag in situ.

In fact the investigative team learned of the suppressed evidence only during the inquest. They were also kept in the dark about MI6's examination of the dead man's 'electronic media'.

It seems the SO15 officers were serving the interests of the security services rather than those of the murder squad.

MI6 failed to provide formal statements to the inquest. This may well have been the fault of SO15 officers who did not press for anything more than anonymous summaries of informal interviews rather than sworn statements.

The coroner said this had affected the quality of evidence heard at inquest. The security services were also slow in handing over key other evidence.

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

Mr Williams also owned four iPhones. Experts are still trying to recover data from one of them. It was wiped on the last day he was seen alive.

Telephone company records suggested that it had never been used.

The MI6 headquarters where Gareth Williams worked at Vauxhall Cross, near Vauxhall Bridge, in south London

Why was there so little forensic evidence?

It wasn't only the bathroom that was suspiciously devoid of clues. Police found no unidentified fingerprints anywhere else in the death flat. All belonged to Mr Williams or his close family.

There was a similar paucity of third party DNA, though forensic scientist Ros Hammond told the inquest there was 'certainly evidence' of at least two unidentified people at the flat.

There was no evidence that the flat had been 'wiped' of prints. Yet circumstances suggest that someone else, who knew their business enough not to leave clues, had been at work there. Probably wearing gloves.

Another spy? His family think so; they believe someone skilled in the 'dark arts' was responsible for Mr Williams' death.

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

The top flat at 36 Alderney Street did not seem to be a very 'safe' safe house at all.

Was he killed by MI6?

The theory that Mr Williams was killed by his employers, Britain's own secret service, is perhaps the most outré and disturbing, better suited to the pages of a sensational spy thriller.

No credible motive has been advanced as to why the spymasters would kill one of their own, in circumstances that would attract the most sensational publicity, in their own safe house, in central London.

However, it was by no means discounted by the coroner. Dr Wilcox said that while there was no evidence to suggest he died at the hands of MI6, 'it is still a legitimate line of inquiry'.

Telegraph : The death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'criminally mediated'

The death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams was 'criminally mediated'

MI6 spy Gareth Williams was unlawfully killed by a third party “on the balance of probabilities” a coroner ruled today.

By Tom Whitehead and Martin Evans | May 2, 2012

In a sensational narrative verdict, Dr Fiona Wilcox said a third party was involved in his death and that is was likely to have been “criminally mediated”.

The coroner had earlier ruled that because of the lack of evidence she could not return a formal verdict of unlawful killing.

But in her narrative she concluded that he was most probably killed.

She said: “I am satisfied so that I am sure that a third party placed the bag (which contained Gareth) in to the bath and on the balance of probabilities locked the bag.

“The cause of death was unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated.

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

Mr Williams’ naked, decomposing body was discovered in a sports hold all in the bath at his Pimlico flat in London on August 23, 2010.

Dr Wilcox said it was "highly unlikely" that his mysterious death was connected to bondage activities and that he could have died from the effects of "some unknown poison".

"I find it more likely than not that Gareth entered the bag alive and then died very soon afterwards either from the toxic effects of carbon dioxide and heat before he was able to make a concerted effort to escape or from the effects of some unknown poison."

She acknowledged that Mr Williams, who was found naked in a padlocked bag, had demonstrated a passing sexual interest in bondage, but she did not believe it had been a factor in his death.

Fundamental questions surrounding the death remain unanswered and his "highly unusual" death may never be explained. she said.

She said there had been “endless speculation but little evidence”.

The coroner, sitting at Westminster Coroner’s Court, said the circumstances of the death “immediately raised the possibility of foul play”.

Summing up, Dr Wilcox said despite a two year police investigation and seven days of evidence “most of the fundamental questions in relation to how Gareth died remain unanswered”.

“It is unlikely this death will ever be satisfactorily explained.”

The body of Mr Williams, 31, was discovered in a sports holdall in the bath at his Pimlico flat in London on August 23, 2010.

Police have never been able to solve the case but are certain a third party was involved.

Pathologists and confined spaces experts have also concluded that the spy was probably alive when he went in to the bag and died shortly after.

Dr Wilcox said IT experts who examined his computer history found he had only visited bondage websites on four separate dates.

She said there was also no evidence that he had researched claustrophilia – where people gain sexual gratification from being in enclosed spaces.

Dr Wilcox said the amount of internet activity regarding bondage formed a "tiny, tiny, tiny" part of his browser history.

Explaining her reasons for ruling out the involvement of bondage in his death she said in order for Mr Williams to have got into the bag in the bath alone and unaided, he would have left foot and fingerprints around the bath.

Dr Wilcox said she believed if Mr Williams had got into the bath alone he would have taken a knife with him as he was a "scrupulous risk assessor".

In addition she said there was no evidence of semen found in the bag during forensic examination.

Dr Wilcox also said she did not believe the large collection of female clothing pointed to the suggestion he was a transvestite.

Dr Wilcox said £20,000 collection of haute couture clothes were too small for Mr Williams to have worn and were also in their original wrapping. She suggested it was more likely that he had bought the clothes, which included 26 pairs of shoes and boots, as presents.

The hearing was told all three lawyers, representing the family, Met Police and MI6, were agreed that there was insufficient evidence to allow a verdict of unlawful killing.

Dr Wilcox agreed and added that an open verdict “would not do justice to the positive findings that I can make”.

At the conclusion of the inquest, the chief of SIS, Sir John Sawers apologised to Mr Williams' family for the mix-up which saw MI6 fail to report his disappearance for a week.

In a statement delivered by MI6 lawyer Andrew O'Connor, Sir John said the service should have acted more swiftly when Mr Williams failed to turn up to work in August 2010.

Mr O'Connor said: "On behalf of the whole organisation, Sir John regrets this deeply and apologises unreservedly."

He said "lessons have been learned, in particular the responsibility of all staff to report unaccounted staff absences".

Sir John paid tribute to the spy, saying in the statement: "Gareth Williams was a man of remarkable talents, talents which he devoted to public service. The work that Gareth undertook during his career both at Cheltenham and London made a real contribution to the security of this country and of its citizens.

"Gareth continues to be mourned by his friends and colleagues."

Mr Williams' family hit out at the failures of MI6 to raise the alarm after the spy went missing, saying their "grief is exacerbated" by it.

In a statement read out by their solicitor after the inquest into his death concluded, they said they were "extremely disappointed" at the secret services' "reluctance and failure" to make relevant information available to the death inquiry.

They also attacked the "total inadequacies" of the inquiry by Metropolitan Police counter-terror branch SO15 into MI6 and called on Scotland Yard's chief to look into how the investigation would proceed in light of this.

The Williams family has waited 21 months to find out how he died and whether someone else was involved. They were moved to tears in court as police, scientists and secret agents all said investigations had drawn a blank.

Jackie Sebire, the lead detective on the case, said Scotland Yard will review lines of inquiry in its investigation in the wake of the inquest.

Added attention could turn on the expert mathematician's colleagues, she indicated.

Police have no suspects in their inquiry but Ms Sebire says she remains convinced Mr Williams' death was suspicious.

Independent : Curious case of a lack of curiosity over missing spy

Curious case of a lack of curiosity over missing spy

MI6's delay in noticing the disappearance of Gareth Williams means vital forensic evidence was lost

David Randall | April 29, 2012

All over the country, there are offices, schools, workshops, banks, pharmacies, IT departments and factories where the failure of a colleague to arrive at work and thus miss a scheduled meeting would arouse some immediate questions. Such as: "Where is he?"

But not at MI6, apparently. When Gareth Williams didn't turn up at the office on 16 August 2010, there was not so much, initially, as an attempt to track him down, an inquiry of his family, or even a casual: "Strange, not like old Gareth to go Awol."

Instead, within the Vauxhall Cross headquarters of these guardians of national security, there was a bewildering lack of curiosity about the whereabouts of this super-fit, "world-class" code-breaking mathematician who had been seconded to the service from GCHQ, Cheltenham, had just completed a course enabling him to carry out covert operations, was hardly ever late, never had a day off sick, and had a journey to work that was but 1.7 miles.

Life at MI6 went seamlessly on. Mr Williams's line manager, known as "G" when he gave evidence at the inquest last week, merely "had a gut feeling that he was away doing something I was unaware of" – an explanation which suggests absenteeism in the service might be somewhat higher than is generally realised. "G" did try his phone, and also later went round to Williams's flat to give a tentative ring on his doorbell. But one, two, three, four, five, six days went by before, finally, on the seventh, the official alarm was raised.

That day, police entered his flat, and there in the bathroom, they found a large, red, zipped and padlocked North Face sports bag. And inside it was a very dead Gareth Williams. He had probably been there at least a week, the last known sighting of him being on the CCTV of Harrods on the day before he was due back at work.

This mysterious delay in taking any concerted action – and thus the non-discovery of his body for fully seven days – continues to trouble his family greatly, and has proved crucial. Williams had lain, in a bathroom and inside a plastic bag, for a week in August. By the time he was found, his body had significantly decomposed, as had any reliable forensic evidence. If he was drugged or poisoned, we shall never know. One of his superiors, deploying a nice line in understatement as she gave evidence behind a screen, conceded: "I appreciate the delay had some impact on the police investigation."

Mystery number two is how did he get there? Despite an apparent passing interest (if web searches are anything to go by) in bondage and the sexual thrills of being in a confined space, it seems inconceivable he could have placed himself in the bag, then zipped and locked it unaided. Police gave evidence to this effect, as did two experts in Houdini-like matters who have tried a total of 400 times to replicate such a manoeuvre. Fit and supple young men of the same build as Mr Williams – a keen cyclist and climber – could get into the bag, but could not find a way of closing the zip.

Small specks of another person's DNA have been found on the bag, adding to the obvious conclusion by police that Gareth had an assistant – or an assassin. It also seems likely that he was dead or unconscious before he went into the bag. The coroner's court heard from Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire that he was in the foetal position, and there was no sign that he had scrabbled to get out. She said: "In my opinion he was very calm. His face was very calm. His hands were resting on his chest." There was no damage to the bag or his fingernails.

What on earth, then, went on inside the flat at the security services safe house at 36 Alderney Street, Pimlico, south-west London? The evidence suggests that, however upsetting it may be for his family, Mr Williams was a man of unusual tastes and habits. There were, in his apartment, female wigs, 26 shoes by designers including Stella McCartney and Christian Dior, a quantity of cosmetics and, in his bedroom, some £20,000 worth of designer women's clothes.

He was a frequent visitor to couture websites, and, the inquest heard, a regular browser and sometime purchaser at Dover Street Market – an edgy emporium in west London which carries a large range of designer clothes. Carol Kirton, who works there, said he regularly shopped in the store, saying the items were for his girlfriend.

This extensive and costly wardrobe was raised in court with a female friend, Sian Jones. She told the inquest she did not think he was a transvestite. "I feel he would have been able to confide in me ... and I would not have judged him." She said she saw him every few days and he "showered" her with gifts. Another friend, Elizabeth Guthrie, suggested the clothes might have been "Gareth's attempt at a support strategy for someone. They certainly would not have been for him".

The wigs were kept neat in netting; none of the cosmetics had been used, and many of the clothes – and they were of varying sizes, the inquest heard – were kept pristine in tissue. They may indeed have been a store of gifts for as-yet unidentified girlfriends, but there could be another interpretation. After all, if the hoard was not the collection of a fetishist, it was a very good imitation of it.

Could this be connected to his death? The bathroom was evidently a venue for at least one sexual climax for Mr Williams, traces of his semen were found on its floor. Did he have some companion in sexual, or pseudo-sexual, meanderings which involved being put into a confined space such as a sports bag?

This would not have been the first time some bedroom escapade had gone wrong. When he was working at GCHQ his home was in an annex let out by a Mr and Mrs Elliot, who lived in the adjoining house. One night, the couple heard Gareth's cries for help, and went to investigate. "We went upstairs and found him lying on the bed with both hands tied with material attached to the headboard," said Jennifer Elliot's written statement. She said that he explained how he had tied himself up as an experiment, but she wrote that she and her husband thought it "more likely to be sexual than escapology".

Mr Williams's career and its particular path are clearly a complicating context to the mystery of a brilliant man who served his country. His sister, Ceri Subbe, told the inquest: "He disliked office culture, post-work drinks, flash car competitions and the rat race. He even spoke of friction in the office. The job was not quite what he expected. He encountered more red tape than he was comfortable with."

Six months before his death he had completed an intensive course which would allow him to undertake what were described to the court as very tough operational tasks. But, according to his boss, he had applied for his three-year secondment at MI6 to be cut short – a request that was granted. There are also the unauthorised searches he made of security service databases about which the inquest heard. This was not, it seems, a settled man.

Neither police nor security services say they have reason to believe that his death was connected to his work for MI6. And, if any practitioner of "the dark arts" – as the lawyer for his understandably still-distressed family put it – wanted to kill him, surely it would have been a road "accident" while he was out cycling, an assignation on a bridge that would have ended with him "falling" into the Thames, or a simple bullet to the head? But not a modus operandi so outré that it would keep the media panting for an answer 20 months later.

The inquest continues this week. The mystery of how exactly Gareth Williams died, one fears, will go on much longer.

Remarkable coincidence?

Whatever the truth in the case of Gareth Williams, details of women's underwear and cross-dressing regularly emerge in the "presentation" of the deaths of intelligence agents.

Nicholas Anderson, former MI6 officer turned author, told The Independent on Sunday: "I am on verbal record to my own family, close friends and select lawyers that if anything ever happened to me – a straight man and a positive thinker – it would likely be made to look either like a suicide or that I died dressed like a woman.

"Over the years, it seems to me a favourite way of presentation. I, of course, am not suicidal in any remote way nor do I like to dress so. When I read in the press about Gareth Williams, women's clothes, and a wig, it all fits the usual scenario."

The IoS has come across at least 17 mysterious deaths – some dubbed suicides, others freak accidents – of MI6 agents, workers at GCHQ, or those linked to the defence or intelligence services over the past 50 years. Sexual overtones, asphyxia, or both, feature in a third of cases, and they are just the ones that are in the public domain and "open source", as spooks would say.

Stephen Drinkwater, 25, a clerk employed in a department at GCHQ where highly classified documents were copied, was found dead in his parents' house at Cheltenham in September 1983. A plastic bag was over his head and he had died from asphyxiation.

In March 1990, British journalist Jonathan Moyle, 28, who had been investigating claims that US civilian helicopters were to be converted into gunships for sale to Iraq, was found hanged inside a hotel wardrobe in Santiago, Chile. Eight years later, an inquest concluded that he had been "unlawfully killed" by a "person or persons unknown". Speaking in September 2010, his former fiancée said: "The British intelligence services tried to smear Jonathan suggesting he was sexually deviant."

Four years later, in February 1994, Conservative MP Stephen Milligan, 45, was found tied to a chair wearing women's underwear and with a bag over his head and a satsuma stuffed into his mouth. He was the parliamentary private secretary to the then defence minister Jonathan Aitken. Mr Aitken has since denied media reports that he also worked for MI6.

The same month that Mr Milligan's body was discovered, James Rusbridger, 65, ex-MI6 agent turned journalist, was found hanged at his house on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. He was dressed in a green protective suit, green overalls, a black plastic mackintosh and thick rubber gloves. His face was covered by a gas mask and his body was surrounded by bondage pictures. Consultant pathologist Dr Yasai Sivathondan said he died from asphyxia due to hanging "in keeping with a form of sexual strangulation".

In another case, an inquest in July 1997 heard how GCHQ worker Nicholas Husband, 46, was found dead wearing women's clothing after a bizarre sex ritual. Mr Husband, from Tewkesbury, had a plastic bag over his face and was wearing a nightie and a bra. He was found dead after he failed to show up for work in December 1996.

In March 1999, Kevin Allen, a 31-year-old linguist at GCHQ, was found dead in bed by his father at his home in Cheltenham. He had a plastic bag over his head and a dust mask over his mouth. An post-mortem revealed that death was due to asphyxiation.

Jonathan Owen

SMH : Landlady found British spy tied to bed in underwear

Landlady found British spy tied to bed in underwear

April 27, 2012

LONDON: The MI6 spy, Gareth Williams, was discovered tied to his own bed wearing only boxer shorts three years before he was found dead, naked in a sports bag, an inquest has heard.

The maths prodigy was living alone in Cheltenham in 2007 when he had to call for help in the middle of the night. His landlady and landlord, who lived below him, heard his yells and were met with the "shocking" scene, Westminster coroners' court heard.

The incident was disclosed in a written statement from the landlady, Jennifer Elliot, at the inquest into the death of Mr Williams, whose decomposing body was found in a holdall in the bath of his London flat in 2010. One of the theories surrounding his death included suggestions that he had been involved in a sex game that went wrong. Searches of his home computers showed that he visited "claustrophilia", bondage and sadomasochism websites, the inquest heard.
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The inquiry also heard that Mr Williams's boss, identified only as "G", said he waited a week before raising the alarm after his colleague went missing.

In another dramatic day of evidence, a senior counter-terrorism officer said he could not guarantee that Mr Williams's work computers had not been tampered with after his death.

The inquest heard that in 2007, Mr Williams was living in an annexe above Jennifer and Brian Elliot's home when the couple heard cries for help at about 1.30am one winter night. They discovered Mr Williams, who was working at GCHQ at the time, lying on his back with both hands tied to the bedposts and wearing only boxer shorts.

The spy did not "appear aroused", Mrs Elliot said, but he was "very embarrassed, panicky and apologetic" and insisted that he was "just messing about".

The inquest has previously heard that traces of DNA belonging to another person were discovered on the bag containing Mr Williams's body but they were too small to be of use to the police. Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said it had always been her opinion that another party was involved in locking the padlock on the bag and placing it in the bath.

It also emerged that the spy, regularly bought women's clothing at an upmarket store, claiming that they were for his girlfriend. Police found women's clothing, shoes and wigs valued at more than £20,000 ($31,204) in his flat.

A friend, Elizabeth Guthrie, insisted Mr Williams was "straight" and would never consider cross-dressing for sexual purposes.

Ms Guthrie, who had known Mr Williams since 2009, said he may have had women's clothing in his flat as a "support strategy" for women friends. The hearing continues.

Telegraph, London; Associated Press

SMH : British spy found in sports bag 'wanted out of MI6'

British spy found in sports bag 'wanted out of MI6'

Martin Evans, Tom Whitehead, London | April 25, 2012

THE British spy found dead in a padlocked sports bag in his London apartment in August 2010 hated the "flash car and drinking" culture of MI6 and complained of "friction" at work, his family told an inquest.

Gareth Williams, 31, told his sister, Ceri Subbe, he wanted to leave London because he did not like the "rat race" lifestyle and was unhappy working for the security services. He had applied to cut short his three-year secondment to MI6 and return to GCHQ, an intelligence agency that monitors communications, in Cheltenham but felt his superiors were "dragging their feet", Mrs Subbe told the hearing.

A date for his return was fixed for September 2010. His body was discovered in his Pimlico flat a week before he was due to return.
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The spy's parents, Ian and Ellen, were on holiday in Canada, celebrating Mrs Williams' 50th birthday when they learned of their son's death.

The long-awaited inquest was opened at Westminster Coroner's Court on Monday to investigate the "highly controversial" death of Mr Williams. Dr Fiona Wilcox, the coroner, has promised a "full, fair and fearless" inquiry in which no evidence will be heard behind closed doors. Up to 40 witnesses are due to give evidence, including intelligence officers, police, forensic experts and friends.

The family believes that a third party was involved in Mr Williams' death.

The naked and decomposing body of the maths prodigy, a cipher and codes expert, was discovered in a sports bag that had been locked from the outside and placed in the bath at his flat.

Lawyers for Scotland Yard said there was still a "real possibility" that criminal proceedings could arise.

Mrs Subbe described her brother as "the most scrupulous risk-assessor" she had ever known.

She said he would never have let anyone into his flat who had not been cleared by security.

She said he would turn back a few hundred metres from the summit of mountains if there was "the hint of adverse weather conditions", adding: "Better to be safe than sorry."

She said her brother never told her he was being followed or felt threatened in any way. "I cannot think as to why anybody would want to harm him."

The inquest heard how Mr Williams failed to turn up for a meeting at work on August 16 but the alarm was not raised until August 23 - by his family. After his death, Mrs Subbe described how she had spoken to a colleague about the missed meeting, "He said Gareth was like a Swiss clock - very punctual, very efficient, and it was very unlike him not to attend a meeting."

Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, from the Metropolitan Police's homicide unit, said the force's SO15 counter-terrorism unit was called to assist, but its officers would not have had access to the flat without permission from the crime scene manager.

Four intelligence officers will be allowed to give evidence from behind a screen in the coming days after Dr Wilcox granted an application to keep their identity a secret. The request came from MI6 and GCHQ, backed by Foreign Secretary William Hague, amid concerns over a risk to national security if they were exposed.

The coroner will also allow some evidence to remain secret, including any information from foreign intelligence agencies, ongoing operations or details of secret service officers, methods and tactics.

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Independent : Family see graphic footage of Gareth Williams’ death scene as 'mystery DNA' is found on bag containing body

Family see graphic footage of Gareth Williams’ death scene as 'mystery DNA' is found on bag containing body

Kim Sengupta | April 24, 2012

Video footage of Gareth Williams’ death scene was shown in a court today, unseen by members of his family who could not bear to view the footage which included shots of a bag with the body of Gareth Williams still inside.

Examination of the red North Face sports holdall also showed traces of the DNA of another person in the zip toggle and the padlock, the inquest into the computer specialist’s death was told. Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who led the murder inquiry said “They were two minor components of another contributor's DNA. My thought or my opinion since I went into the scene is that a third party had been involved in the death or by putting the body in the bag.”

A graphic impression showed the way 34 year old Mr Williams was found inside the bag - in a foetal position lying on his back, naked, with his knees raised and arms folded across his chest. The key to the padlock was under his right buttock, making in “incredibly difficult” for him to have reached it in an attempt, somehow, to escape. In any event, said DCI Sebire, “there were no signs that he was trying to get out, no damage to his fingernails or hands, no tear in the lining inside the bag. He was very muscular, he trained regularly. I would at least expect some tearing to the netting. He was very calm, his face was very calm.”

An examination of the holdall in court showed that it would have been seemingly impossible for Mr Williams to have locked himself into the bag and then moved it into a bathtub where it was found, the coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, pointed out. Yet, apart from the speck of DNA on the bag, detectives had been perplexed by any sign of the presence of a ‘third party’ anywhere else in the MI6 officer’s home in Pimlico, south west London.

The police had found no evidence that attempts had been made to wipe out incriminating evidence. "There was no sign of the place being cleaned so there were no signs of bleach to destroy it” said DCI Sabire. "There was no evidence the bag itself had been cleaned or washed down or the lock or handles had been cleaned to remove traces of DNA evidence."

What the police did find in the flat was £20,000 worth of designer clothes for women all "immaculate" and "in pristine condition" and many in tissue paper; make-up items including nail varnish and eye shadow that were "all new" and apparently unused; wigs wrapped in net packaging, which "appear to be unused", including one Mr Williams had bought on his recent trip to the US and 26 pairs of boot and shoes most bearing designer labels such as Christian Louboutin, Stella McCartney, Christian Dior and Chloe, some which appear to have been worn.

The video footage, taken on the evening of 23rd August 2010, when Mr Williams’ body was discovered, revealed no sign of a break-in at his home, with cash left in a cupboard and a mobile phone on the living room table. The place was in a pristime condition apart from the bedroom where a blue toweling dressing gown, which had shown traces of Mr Williams’ semen, the inquest was told, and a duvet cover had been flung on the floor. The wardrobe door was open and a white shirt, still in its laundry wrapping.

Giving evidence later, Sian Jones, who described herself as a “close friend” of Mr Williams, denied that he was a transvestite. “We talked about all kinds of things, personal matters. I feel he would have been able to confide in me, I wouldn’t have been judgmental” she said.

The inquest continues

Guardian : Gareth Williams' inquest hears of mystery DNA at crime scene

Gareth Williams' inquest hears of mystery DNA at crime scene

MI6 officer's body was found padlocked in a sports bag in 2010, but court hears no injuries were found on body

Caroline Davies | April 24, 2012

Mysterious fragments of DNA were found on the padlocked sports bag in which the badly decomposed body of MI6 officer Gareth Williams was found, the inquest into his death has heard.

Detailed forensic examination found "two minor components of another contributor's DNA" on one cord toggle, as well as a small blood stain in the fabric belonging to Williams.

Tests on the padlock revealed weak stains believed to be Williams's blood, as well as "small components of another contributor's DNA". An invisible, weak blood stain on the outside of the bag belonged to the 31-year-old ciphers and codes expert.

The details were revealed as police video of the crime scene, with footage of the red North Face holdall containing the body of Williams, was shown to Westminster coroner's court.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox heard that the samples were the subject of continuing forensic testing.

Williams's sister Ceri Subbe, watched as a police graphic demonstrated how the bag had been padlocked. The bag's two zips were pulled together, the zip toggles taut, and the eyelets from one zip lined up neatly below the eyelet of the other, with the locking bar of a Yale padlock pushed through both and into the locking position.

The body of Williams, a keen cyclist and fell walker, was found on 23 August 2010, eight days after he was last seen shopping in the West End on a CCTV camera. His laptop had been used to access a cycling site in the early hours of 16 August.

A laser-scanned graphic showed his body in the foetal position.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, chief investigating officer, said his face and body were "very calm", with his arms lying on his chest, no injuries to his nails and fingers, and no "signs of stress or tearing" on the bag's inside netting.

Underneath his right buttock, there was a set of two Yale keys that matched the padlock that lockedon the bag, which would have been "incredibly difficult" to reach, given their position and the restrictions of the bag, the hearing was told.

Sebire said "at the heart of the investigation" was whether Williams, who was of slight but muscular build, could have locked himself inside the bag.

She said: "My thought or opinion was that a third party had been involved in the death, or getting the bag into the bath."

Forensic tests could find no prints on the tiled wall to indicate that Williams had balanced to lower himself into the bag in the bath, or that anyone else had balanced to position the bag. There was no evidence that the bathroom or bag had been bleached or cleaned.

A small spot of Williams's dried blood was found on the carpet near the stairs in the flat. Two shoeprints in the kitchen were too small to establish size or wearer, she said.

"No stone has been unturned. I've tried to do everything I can to understand what happened," said Sebire. She acknowledged there was "limited scope" for further forensic discoveries.

Anthony O'Toole, lawyer for the family, queried why police thought it necessary to fit "a brand new front door and brand new alarm" to the flat, when there was no sign of a break-in. Sebire said the door needed to be forensically examined, but the alarm was because of concerns over the press and other people trying to "talk their way in".

Police found a newspaper cutting from the Observer entitled "the top five regrets of the dying" under a book on the coffee table of the "immaculately tidy" top-floor flat in Pimlico. It was dated 15 August 2010, eight days before Williams's body was discovered. It was about research by nurses into what people regretted most on their deathbeds.

These included not having the "courage to live life true to myself", and the wish that people had "not worked so hard", "stayed in touch with friends" and "let myself be happier", the inquest heard.

Police video of the living room showed a bright orange and yellow woman's wig hanging on a chair, and a wig stocking cap bought in the US, where Williams had just been on a work assignment and holiday.

He was due to move back to Cheltenham the following week, and his bedroom was filled with packed boxes and four yellow holdalls similar to the red one his body was found in. Inside, police found "items of high-value female clothes" in small and medium sizes, as well as 26 pairs of shoes and boots, size 6-6½. It was unclear if they were Williams's size. Just four pairs appeared to have been used. One pair cost £1,000, the hearing was told.

Designer names included Stella McCartney, Chloe and Dior, Sebire said.The clothes were "immaculate, folded, buttoned, with quite a few in tissue paper". "They were very high value, so pristine, and obviously had been looked after well". Receipts found showed that the collection dated from 2008-09. Asked if they could fit Williams, Sebire replied "possibly".

There were wigs in net packaging, which appeared to be unused. Nail varnish, concealer, eye-shadow, Mac foundation and Jemma Kidd lipstick, all new, were found.

In his bedroom, a pair of chinos, some T-shirts and underpants were neatly folded on the bed. But the quilt was crumpled and trailing on the floor which, said Sebire, was at odds with the tidiness of the rest of the flat. "That was something that was not easily explainable," she said.

Traces of Williams's semen were found near the sink in the bathroom, and on his quilt.

Williams arrived back from a trip to the US on 11 August, the inquest heard.

CCTV footage showed him shopping at Selfridge's on 1th, and at Harvey Nichols on 12th. He popped into his office on 12th.

On 13 August he went alone to a comedy club in Bethnal Green to watch the transvestite show The Johnny Woo Experience. The next day, CCTV shows him shopping at Fortnum & Mason.

The last CCTV of him is of 15 August, when he is again seen shopping, buying cakes at Harrods, and buying peppered steaks at Waitrose, before returning home shortly after 3pm.

Sian Lloyd Jones, who described herself as "a childhood sweetheart" who had known Williams since primary school, said they were "close friends" but "just friends", and saw each other "every other day" during the year she spent living in London until she returned to north Wales in January 2010.

The fashion stylist was asked by the coroner if she knew whether Williams was a transvestite. "Strongly no, not at all," she replied.

Asked how to explain the clothing, she said Williams was "a very generous person" who had given her a lot of gifts in the past, expensive items such as a Mulberry bag. "It wouldn't surprise me if they [the clothes] were for gifts," she said. He had never bought her footwear, said Jones, who said her shoe size was a 3.

She said she thought Williams would have told her if her was a transvestite, because she had a lot of gay friends, and also because she believed he would have confided in her.

The inquest heard how an inputting error on the taking of forensic samples initially led police to believe that DNA from a third person had been found on Williams's body. It was only discovered in February that it was actually DNA from one of the forensic officers.

Sebire said the mistake had been both financially and emotionally costly. Around 60 people, friends and colleagues, were DNA tested to see if they matched, she said, while Williams's family had been given hope that a third party could be identified.

The hearing continues.

Daily Record : 'Mystery DNA' found on bag which contained body of MI6 spy, inquest hears

'Mystery DNA' found on bag which contained body of MI6 spy, inquest hears

April 24, 2012

SPECKS of mystery DNA were discovered on the bag which held the dead body of MI6 spy Gareth Williams, an inquest heard today.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said "two minor components of another contributor's DNA" were found on the zip toggle and padlock.

The evidence was revealed as she appeared to rule out that Mr Williams did not get in the bag himself.

DCI Sebire stated that officers had looked at "all aspects" of possibilities, as footage of the red holdall bulging with his body shape was played for the first time.

She told Westminster Coroner's Court: "My thought or my opinion since I went into the scene is that a third party had been involved in the death or by putting the body in the bag. So my primary focus was looking at the bathroom."

A video of the flat where Mr Williams lived took the inquest on a walking tour of his Pimlico home, showing a woman's red wig, lipstick and make-up, in the condition that it was found.

Footage then showed close-up images of the white bathroom suite where the spy's body was found.

The film zoomed in on the red North Face bag, showing bulges from his limbs inside and a brass padlock locking two zips together from the outside.

Mr Williams was found in the foetal position in the bag, there were no signs of struggle and his body position appeared "calm", Ms Sebire said.

Ms Sebire said she would have expected to find fingerprints left by Mr Williams on the bathroom tiles.

"Certainly there were no prints of anybody's in the lower-tiled wall," she added.

"He was in the foetal position. His legs were folded up towards his chest, his arms were bent slightly inwards."

She added: "In my opinion he was very calm. His face was very calm. His hands were resting on his chest."

Mr Williams had not damaged the bag or sustained injuries to his hands, the detective said.

"He was very muscular, he trained regularly. It is only my opinion but I would at least expect some tearing to the netting."

Ms Sebire, who described how the top-floor flat was hot and stuffy, said her inquiry had explored all possibilities over 21 months.

The officer, who received 200 items of information from the public, added: "It was a very extensive inquiry. We have looked at all aspects of it."

Ms Sebire said she allowed a counter-terrorism officer from SO15 - the only command at Scotland Yard with regular contact with MI6 - into the flat.

But she said she was solely responsible for investigations into the death.

The last computer evidence of him being alive was Mr Williams looking at a cycling time trial website on August 16, the officer added.

Mr Williams's sister, Ceri Subbe, sat in the hearing without her parents as images showed the scene which greeted detectives as they arrived at his flat on August 23 2010.

The flat gave an insight into the codebreaker's mind, showing carefully arranged piles of books and an extensive CD collection.

There was no sign of a break-in at the flat, with footage showing Mr Williams had left cash in a cupboard and a mobile phone on the living room table. There was little clutter and mess in the flat except for a dressing gown and quilt discarded on the bedroom floor.

Ms Sebire said: "I also found it difficult to explain because of his general tidiness. In my opinion, it was not something that was easily explainable."

Ms Sebire detailed the forensic evidence found there, including blood and semen.

The communal front door was secured by a mortise lock and union lock, and a spot of someone else's blood was found in the communal hallway, the inquest heard.

Inside the flat itself, an "old" and "very small" spot of Mr Williams's blood, which could have been from a cut, was found on the carpet near the stairs, Ms Sebire said.

She accepted that the blood could have dried over the course of a week.

Two shoeprints detected in his kitchen were too "partial" for the size or wearer to be identified, she went on.

In the larger of his two bathrooms, the only "significant finding" was traces of semen staining on the floor by the sink, which tested positive for Mr Williams, the detective said.

Traces of his semen were also found in the main bedroom, including on his quilt, she added.

Ms Sebire also described the "high-value" items found in the flat's smaller bedroom, which included 26 shoes and boots, mainly bearing designer labels such as Christian Louboutin, Stella McCartney, Christian Dior and Chloe; wigs wrapped in net packaging, which "appear to be unused", including one Mr Williams had bought on his recent trip to the US; small and medium-sized female clothing worth an estimated £20,000, all "immaculate" and "in pristine condition" and often in tissue paper; and make-up items including nail varnish and eye shadow that were "all new" and apparently unused.

The only used items appeared to be four pairs of the size 6 and 6.5 shoes, which was Mr Williams's size, Ms Sebire said.

Asked by Coroner Fiona Wilcox whether she thought the clothes would have fitted Mr Williams, the detective replied: "Possibly."

The clothes were found in a North Face holdall and on the bed, she said.

Receipts suggested they had been collected around 2008 and 2009.

Guardian : MI6 spy inquest shown footage of holdall containing his body

MI6 spy inquest shown footage of holdall containing his body

Police video goes from room to room of Gareth Williams's Pimlico home, in which designer women's clothes were found

Press Association | April 24, 2012

Footage of a red holdall containing the curled-up body of MI6 spy Gareth Williams has been shown at the inquest into his death.

Video of the immaculately kept flat where Williams was found was played for the first time on Tuesday.

Police images also showed a cutting from the Observer headlined "Top five regrets of the dying". Forensic scene recordings were played after the detective in charge said she allowed a counter-terror officer into the crime scene.

But SO15 – the only command at Scotland Yard with regular contact with MI6 – was not in charge of the investigation, she said.

Williams's sister, Ceri Subbe, sat in the hearing as images showed the scene that greeted detectives as they arrived at his flat on 23 August 2010.

The video went from room to room of his Pimlico home – showing a woman's red wig, lipstick and makeup – in the condition that it was found.

Footage showed closeup images of the white bathroom suite where Williams's body was found.

The film zoomed in on the red North Face bag, showing bulges from his limbs inside, and a brass padlock locking two zips together from the outside.

The flat gave an insight into the codebreaker's private life, showing carefully arranged piles of books and an extensive CD collection.

Detectives found the Observer article in the living room near a book by Alan Warner and some of Williams's own paintings.

There was no sign of a break-in at the flat, with footage showing Williams had left cash in a cupboard and a mobile phone on the living room table.

Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said there was little clutter in the flat except for a dressing gown and quilt discarded on the bedroom floor.

Sebire said: "I also found it difficult to explain because of his general tidiness. In my opinion it was not something that was easily explainable."

As the court viewed images of Williams's flat, Sebire detailed the forensic evidence found there, including blood and semen.

The communal front door was secured by a mortice lock and union lock, and a spot of someone else's blood was found in the communal hallway, the inquest heard.

Inside the flat itself, an "old" and "very small" spot of Williams's blood, which could have been from a cut, was found on the carpet near the stairs, Sebire said.

She accepted the blood could have dried over the course of a week.

Two shoe prints detected in his kitchen were too "partial" for the size or wearer to be identified, she went on.

In the larger of his two bathrooms, the only "significant finding" was traces of semen staining on the floor by the sink, which was identified as belonging to Williams, the detective said.

Traces of his semen were also found in the main bedroom, including on his quilt, she added.

Sebire also described the "high value" items found in the flat's smaller bedroom, which included 26 shoes and boots, mainly bearing designer labels such as Christian Louboutin, Stella McCartney, Christian Dior and Chloe; wigs wrapped in net packaging, which "appear to be unused", including one Mr Williams had bought on a recent trip to the US; small and medium-sized female clothing worth an estimated £20,000, all "immaculate" and "in pristine condition" and often in tissue paper; and makeup items including nail varnish and eye shadow that were new and apparently unused.

The only used items appeared to be four pairs of the size six and 6.5 shoes, which was Williams's size, Sebire said.

Asked by the coroner, Fiona Wilcox, whether she thought the clothes would have fitted Williams, the detective replied: "Possibly."

The clothes were found in the holdall and on the bed, she said.

Receipts suggested they had been collected around 2008 and 2009.

Sydney Morning Herald : Family of dead spy furious at smears

Family of dead spy furious at smears

August 29, 2010

LONDON: The family of the British spy murdered in London have attacked ''completely false'' smears about his private life.

As police focused inquiries on Gareth Williams's close friends and associates, it was disclosed that the MI6 worker's parents were ''furious'' about claims that he had a double life.

His family suggested that reports he was homosexual or a cross-dresser were part of a deliberate campaign of misinformation designed to distract attention from the facts of the case.
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Police dismissed reports of bondage equipment being found in the London flat where the body of Mr Williams, 31, (pictured) was discovered, along with claims that his mobile phone contained numbers for male escorts.

Detectives began a second forensic sweep of the crime scene.

The question police are trying to clarify is why the killer ''or a partner'' placed Mr Williams's body in a large sports bag in the bath.

Police are working on the assumption that it is a murder but have not ruled out that Mr Williams could have died in a bizarre accident or from an accidental drugs overdose.

Mr Williams's parents, Ellen and Ian, who live in Holyhead, Wales, were said to be ''absolutely devastated'' and ''raw with emotion''.

William Hughes, the victim's uncle, said they were also ''very, very angry'' about reports of secrets in his private life.

''It is completely false,'' Mr Hughes said. ''The lad had been away from home for a long time. We did not know much about his private life but it has never crossed any of our minds that he could be gay.''

The body of the agent, who worked for the Government Communications Headquarters listening station in Cheltenham and was on secondment to MI6, was found by police on Monday.

An autopsy was inconclusive.

Daily Mail : Did spy's killer steal state secrets? MI6 agents search for 'missing' laptop or MP3 player after body-in-bag murder case

Did spy's killer steal state secrets? MI6 agents search for 'missing' laptop or MP3 player after body-in-bag murder case

By David Williams, Charlotte Gill and Tom Kelly | August 26. 2010

Intelligence officers are investigating whether state secrets were stolen by the killer of a British spy.

The MI6 agent, whose body was found in a sports bag in the bath of his flat, was named yesterday as Gareth Williams.

He was a cipher and codes specialist on secondment to the Secret Intelligence Service from the GCHQ listening station, and often took his work home.

Security services fear that his murderer could have taken classified material - possibly held on a laptop or MP3 player - which could be sold on to Britain’s enemies.

The partially decomposed body of the talented 31-year-old loner was discovered in his top-floor flat at a Georgian townhouse in Pimlico, central London.

It is thought to have lain there for two weeks before it was found on Monday. Mr Williams is believed to have been on annual leave before returning to his job at GCHQ on September 3.

Detectives yesterday spent a second day in the two-bedroom flat - believed to be one of several ‘safe houses’ in that area used by MI6 - looking for clues and trying to check if anything was missing.

A security source said: ‘Whatever the motives for this killing, there is the strong likelihood that items will have been taken and that is potentially a real problem because it may be difficult identifying exactly what he had at home.’

With much of the focus of MI6 on the terror threat posed by fanatics linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, one theory was that Mr Williams had been targeted because of his work.

In the flat in Alderney Street, a mobile telephone and a collection of SIM cards had been carefully laid out - in what was described as a bizarre ritualistic scene - and officers are researching each number called.

Police said the results of a post-mortem examination were inconclusive.

Toxicology tests have been ordered to see if Mr Williams had been poisoned. Another possibility is that he was smothered or strangled before being bundled into the bag.

But lurid speculation that he had been stabbed or even dismembered was discounted by police sources.

They said the telephone numbers of escort agencies were found on one SIM card while pornographic material had also been discovered in the flat.

It is not known exactly when Mr Williams was reported missing - but one suggestion is that he had taken some time off and had been due to return to work on Monday.

Officers from Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad, with assistance from their counter-terrorist and security service colleagues, are delving into the private life of Mr Williams, seeking to discover whether he had relationship or money problems.

Another possibility is that he was the victim of a dangerous sex game gone wrong.

Tight security controlled the entrance to the flat, which is just a few hundred yards away from the MI6 headquarters across the Thames at Vauxhall.

Such were the precautions, it is believed, that eye scanners could have been used to gain entry.

Eileen Booth, 73, who lives opposite the flat, said detectives had come round and asked neighbours for their eye colour and height.

Mr Williams, a bachelor who had been subjected to security clearance before he was given the job, was described as a mild-mannered fitness and cycling fanatic dedicated to his work.

He was due to leave London and return early next month to his job at Cheltenham.

Finance worker Gemma Wingfield Digby, 26, who moved into the basement flat of Mr Williams’s building three weeks ago, said: ‘I saw him only once but he was such a sweet guy. All I wanted to do was give him a hug.’

Public documents reveal current and former residents of the freehold block where Mr Williams lived have links to London and Cheltenham.

One fear is that an area used by MI6 to house operatives - and where two former senior Tory politicians are neighbours - had now been compromised.

Former MI6 officer Harry Ferguson said: ‘There are lots of flats in this area owned by MI6 and their big worry will be that a terrorist group or intelligence group was involved.’

As Alderney Street remained cordoned off last night and forensic experts continued to search for clues, police were releasing little about the case.

Land Registry documents reveal that the block at number 36 is owned by a private company, New Rodina, whose details are hidden because it is registered in the British Virgin Islands and is not listed with Companies House.

The word rodina means motherland in Russian and Bulgarian. Several other residents were also linked to Cheltenham leading to suggestions the flats may have been used regularly by MI6.

The property was bought for £675,250 in 2000 with a mortgage from the Royal Bank of Scotland and has been remortgaged twice, in September 2005 and February 2006.

The documents show that the owner operated through a law firm known as Park Nelson, a firm which once occupied a rented office block in Bell Yard, off Fleet Street, but no longer appears to exist.

One Frenchman who lived at the flat between 2005 and 2006 is an expert in global satellite positioning, radio communications and high sensitivity antennae.

Daily Mail : Riddle of the missing two weeks: Why did body of British spy with 'secretive' private life lie undiscovered for so long?

Riddle of the missing two weeks: Why did body of British spy with 'secretive' private life lie undiscovered for so long?

* Police probe claims Gareth Williams had double life outside work
* Shocked family describe him as a 'very, very private person'
* Post-mortem inconclusive: Was spy strangled or poisoned?

By Daily Mail Reporter | August 26, 2010

Detectives investigating the murder of a British spy were picking over his private life today for clues that could identify his killer.

The decomposing body of codes expert Gareth Williams, 30, was found stuffed into a bag in the bath of his London Government flat.

He was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of MI6 from his job at national 'listening post' GCHQ in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Further tests were taking place to determine how the cycling and fitness fanatic met his death after a post-mortem examination was inconclusive.

They could reveal if Mr Williams was strangled or asphyxiated, as well as if drugs or alcohol were present in his system.

Police believe Mr Williams's body could have lain undiscovered for up to a fortnight. Mystery still surrounds why no-one raised the alarm sooner.

It is thought he was on holiday at the time of his death. Another explanation may lie in claims that he travelled regularly to the U.S. for his work.

Detectives believe the key to the case could lie in his private life. His family said he was an extremely reserved person who kept himself very much to himself.

But investigators will be attempting to discover if the quietly spoken, mild-mannered codes and ciphers expert was leading a double life which he kept from his colleagues.

There have already been a series of lurid claims about his personal affairs while others have raised the possibility that his death was a sex game gone wrong.

Police sources said the telephone numbers of escort agencies were found on one SIM card while pornographic material had also been discovered in the flat

Detectives are examining his mobile phone and a number of Sim cards found at the address, a top-floor flat at a Georgian townhouse in Pimlico, central London.

Several clues are believed to have emerged from the analysis of telephone numbers called and received on the phone.

Parents Ian and Ellen travelled to London with his sister Ceri today from their home in Anglesey to speak to police and identify his body.

William Hughes, Mrs Williams’s cousin, said the family was deeply shocked. He said: 'The last time I saw Gareth was just a few months ago at a family party and he was fine.'

Mr Hughes said he never knew Mr Williams to bring home a girlfriend or a partner, describing him as a 'very, very private person'.

Scotland Yard detectives from the Homicide and Serious Crime unit are investigating the death in liaison with counter terrorism officers and the security services although they have not yet opened a murder inquiry.

There are no obvious signs of a robbery at the flat, believed to be one of several MI6-owned 'safe houses' in the Pimlico area.

However, security sources say they have a problem identifying what Mr Williams had so cannot be sure if anything was taken.

Experts have carried out a fingertip search of the address amid fears that top-secret work material could have gone missing.

Investigators suspect Mr Williams might have known his killer as there was no sign of forced entry at the flat in Alderney Street.

Last night it emerged that Intelligence officers were investigating whether state secrets had been stolen by Mr William's killer.

Security services fear that his murderer could have taken classified material - possibly held on a laptop or MP3 player - which could be sold on to Britain’s enemies.

A security source said: ‘Whatever the motives for this killing, there is the strong likelihood that items will have been taken and that is potentially a real problem because it may be difficult identifying exactly what he had at home.’

With much of the focus of MI6 on the terror threat posed by fanatics linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, one theory was that Mr Williams had been targeted because of his work.

In the flat in Alderney Street, a mobile telephone and a collection of SIM cards had been carefully laid out - in what was described as a bizarre ritualistic scene - and officers are researching each number called.

Tight security controlled the entrance to the flat, which is just a few hundred yards away from the MI6 headquarters across the Thames at Vauxhall.

Such were the precautions, it is believed, that eye scanners could have been used to gain entry.

Eileen Booth, 73, who lives opposite the flat, said detectives had come round and asked neighbours for their eye colour and height.

Mr Williams, a bachelor who had been subjected to security clearance before he was given the job, was described as a mild-mannered fitness and cycling fanatic dedicated to his work.

He was due to leave London and return early next month to his job at Cheltenham.

Finance worker Gemma Wingfield Digby, 26, who moved into the basement flat of Mr Williams’s building three weeks ago, said: ‘I saw him only once but he was such a sweet guy. All I wanted to do was give him a hug.’

Public documents reveal current and former residents of the freehold block where Mr Williams lived have links to London and Cheltenham.

One fear is that an area used by MI6 to house operatives - and where two former senior Tory politicians are neighbours - had now been compromised.

Former MI6 officer Harry Ferguson said: ‘There are lots of flats in this area owned by MI6 and their big worry will be that a terrorist group or intelligence group was involved.’

As Alderney Street remained cordoned off last night and forensic experts continued to search for clues, police were releasing little about the case.

Land Registry documents reveal that the block at number 36 is owned by a private company, New Rodina, whose details are hidden because it is registered in the British Virgin Islands and is not listed with Companies House.

The word rodina means motherland in Russian and Bulgarian. Several other residents were also linked to Cheltenham leading to suggestions the flats may have been used regularly by MI6.

The property was bought for £675,250 in 2000 with a mortgage from the Royal Bank of Scotland and has been remortgaged twice, in September 2005 and February 2006.

The documents show that the owner operated through a law firm known as Park Nelson, a firm which once occupied a rented office block in Bell Yard, off Fleet Street, but no longer appears to exist.

One Frenchman who lived at the flat between 2005 and 2006 is an expert in global satellite positioning, radio communications and high sensitivity antennae.

Few who crossed Gareth Williams’s path would have been surprised to learn that he was a spy.

A mild-mannered loner, who preferred cycling on gruelling lone runs to the pub or clubs, acquaintances knew him as ‘the quiet man’.

His landlady for a decade, Jenny Elliott, yesterday recalled how the 31-year-old bachelor lived without a TV in the annexe of her home, often hearing him working alone on the tapes she knew were part of his work.

‘There was never noise, never a problem,’ she said. ‘He was the perfect person to have in your home... a genuinely nice, decent man.’

Retired office worker Mrs Elliott, 71, and her husband Brian came to know Mr Williams well during the ten years he spent with them at their £500,000 home in the Prestbury area of Cheltenham, while he worked for GCHQ, the government’s listening centre.

‘It’s a real tragedy,’ she said. ‘Gareth was a really nice guy who was polite and mild-mannered and wouldn’t hurt a fly.

‘When someone has lived with you for ten years you get to know them really well, and Gareth almost became a part of the family.

‘Gareth was a very likeable person but didn’t really have any friends as such. He was a cycling fanatic and was forever off on some bike ride or another but never really had friends round.

'He was an extremely intelligent person but would not talk about his job as it was a secret, on account of working for GCHQ. All he told me was it was something to do with codes.’

The last time Mrs Elliott spoke to Mr Williams flat was two weeks ago, when he called to confirm when he would be returning to Cheltenham from London.

He was a keen cyclist with the Cheltenham and County Club and took part in uphill races - coming eighth in a recent event.

Mrs Elliott said she did not remember him ever bringing a girlfriend back to the self-contained flat, comprising a bathroom, bedroom and kitchen, above her garage.

’That’s not to say he didn’t meet girls. But if he did, he certainly didn’t talk about them to me.

‘Gareth occasionally said he was meeting some of the guys from work for a quiet drink but he wouldn’t tell me who they were or where they were going and I never pried.

'He never had a television and I never heard music coming from the flat. He was the perfect tenant and I doubt I’ll be able to find one as good as him again.’

Mr Williams had a close friendship with former GCHQ colleague Raphael L’hoste-Morton, who now works for a young people’s charity in Gloucester.

Mr L’hoste-Morton denied having had a relationship with Mr Williams, and his mother Maryse said she would not comment on her son’s private life.

Mr Williams, a Welsh speaker, was raised in Holyhead on Anglesey by his father Ian, who worked at the nuclear power plant, and mother Ellen, together with sister Ceri.

Friends recall how it was his father who led Gareth to a love of cycling and together they were a frequent sight - even recently - pounding the roads of Anglesey.

According to his uncle William Hughes, it was always apparent that Gareth was an outstandingly bright boy.

‘The family knew this from a very, very young age. He was a very clever lad. When he was at secondary school he would go to university one day a week.’

According Mr Hughes, Gareth graduated at the age of only 19 from Bangor University and went on to Cambridge to continue his studies.

‘He was quiet, unassuming. When he came home on his weekends and holidays he’d be on his bicycle riding around the lanes of Anglesey.

‘He worked for GCHQ for many years. We knew he was working in London, but he’d never talk about his work and the family knew not to ask really. We didn’t know what he was doing. He never spoke about it.’

Mr Hughes added that to learn of the murder was a terrible shock.

‘I got a phone call... I couldn’t believe that such a thing had happened.’

John Barnes, who once worked with Gareth Williams’s father and who regularly cycled with the two men, said: ‘Gareth was brilliant at maths - a genius.’

Mr Williams’s parents were abroad on holiday when their son’s death was discovered and were said to be staying last night in London. Scotland

Yard detectives were at the family home in Holyhead, where they were speaking with the dead man’s sister, Ceri Subbe, who lives with her doctor husband, Christian.