Daily Star : Spy killers 'returned to the scene' according to cops

Spy killers 'returned to the scene' according to cops

By Benjamin Russell | August 16, 2015

Detectives reckon they may have finally cracked the five-year mystery of Gareth Williams, who was found padlocked in a holdall in the bath at his London flat in 2010.

Investigators claim spooks from a secret crime cell killed him – and then broke back into his home through a skylight to get rid of the evidence.

Sources close to the probe even suggested they may have tried to make it look like he died in a sex game gone wrong.

It comes after it was revealed forensic equipment put in place after his body was found was moved – even though the flat was being guarded by armed police.

After the first day of the investigation, footplates which allow investigators to walk without contaminating the crime scene were found to have been disturbed.

A coroner’s inquest said the code-breaker was “unlawfully killed” but it is still unknown how he met his end.

His family believe he was murdered by “agents specialising in the dark arts of the secret services”.

Gareth was employed by Government listening post GCHQ in Cheltenham, Glos.

But he was working temporarily at the HQ of the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service near his Pimlico flat.

Detectives believe his work, gathering secret information on Britain’s enemies abroad, would have made him a target for terrorists and rival spies.

Mirror : Gareth Williams: Was M16 body-in-the-bag spy 'killed by agents who crept into his home through a skylight'?

Gareth Williams: Was M16 body-in-the-bag spy 'killed by agents who crept into his home through a skylight'?

By Richard Wheatstone | August 16, 2015

The MI6 spook who found dead inside a padlocked holdall could have been killed by agents who broke into his flat through a skylight, detectives believe.

Mystery has surrounded the death of Gareth Williams since the discovery of his body in a sports bag in his bath.

Met Police concluded he most likely died alone after locking himself inside it.

But detectives who probed the 2010 case believe spies may have broken back into Mr Williams’ Central London flat through a skylight to destroy evidence after his body had been removed.

A source said to be at the heart of the probe allegedly claimed footplates placed inside the flat appeared to have been moved after the first day of the investigation.

The forensic equipment allows officers to cross a crime scene without contaminating it.

And detectives concluded someone must have scaled the walls of the building – which was under armed guard – then entered through the skylight to clear up their tracks.

It supports a theory from Mr Williams’ family that a third party was involved in the spy’s death.

Their lawyer Anthony O’Toole told a 2012 pre-inquest hearing at Westminster coroner’s court: “The impression of the family is that the unknown third party was a member of some agency specialising in the dark arts of the secret services, or evidence has been removed postmortem.”

And a coroner’s inquest into the death later said the spy was “unlawfully killed”.

But a Scotland Yard review into the case said Mr Williams, who had a wardrobe full of women’s clothes, was likely to have died alone and may have been taking part in a solo sex game.

Gloucestershire Echo : Did killers of GCHQ codebreaker Gareth Williams break back into his flat to destroy evidence?

Did killers of GCHQ codebreaker Gareth Williams break back into his flat to destroy evidence?

August 16, 2015

GCHQ codebreaker Gareth Williams, who was found dead in a padlocked bag in his London flat, was 'murdered' and then someone broke back into his home to cover their tracks,

The Mail on Sunday reported today that a senior detective claims it was an agent from an' unknown secret service' that broke into Dr Williams' home to destroy or to remove evidence.

The 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker's body was­ found in a large holdall in the bath of his flat in Alderney Street in Pimlico, London, on August 23, 2010.

The bag was locked, from the outside ­­

Now, it is claimed some forensic equipment, footplates to allow officers to move through a crime scene without contaminating it, that were left in the flat by investigators had been moved.

The Mail on Sunday said this was despite the flat being under armed guard.

And it led Scotland Yard to think that someone had climbed up the building's wall and gained entry through the skylight to clear evidence.

An intelligence source told the paper: "The forensics officer was adamant that nobody was allowed in or out of the crime scene, so when he turned up the following day to find the footplates had been moved an investigation was launched.

"The only way anybody could have got into that building was to have scaled the walls and got in through the skylight."

The source added that someone appears to have broken in, potentially cleaned up, and then got out again while the entrance to the flat was under guard.

In 2013, the Metropolitan Police issued a report following further inquiries into Dr Williams' death which concluded that he was probably alone when he died.

Previously an inquest had decided that another person or persons were probably involved, as the mathematician was found locked, from the outside, in the bag.

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

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

Dr Williams was coming to the end of a three-year secondment to MI6 in London in August 2010, when he was reported missing by GCHQ, just days before he was due to return to Cheltenham.

Dr Williams, who rented a flat in Bouncers Lane for many years and was a keen cyclist and member of Cheltenham and County Cycle Club, was originally from North Wales.

His family have said they believed the coroner's view "accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth's death.

Daily Mail : Agents ‘killed the body-in-bag spy... then got into flat through skylight to destroy evidence’: New theory could solve the mystery five years later

Agents ‘killed the body-in-bag spy... then got into flat through skylight to destroy evidence’: New theory could solve the mystery five years later

Gareth Williams' body was found in his London flat in August 2010
But Mail on Sunday can now reveal unknown agent may be behind death
Special footplates were moved after the first day of the investigation
Led Scotland Yard to believe someone had broken into the crime scene

By Robert Verkaik for The Mail on Sunday | published: August 15, 2015 | updated: August 16, 2015

Detectives who investigated the mysterious death of a British spy found padlocked in a bag in his flat believe he was murdered and that his killers then broke back in through a skylight to cover their tracks.

Gareth Williams, 31, was discovered in a holdall in the bath at his London home five years ago this month. Now a source at the heart of the investigation has told The Mail on Sunday that Scotland Yard detectives believe an agent from an unknown secret service broke into the victim’s flat to destroy or remove evidence.

The new claim centres on the revelation that part of the forensic equipment placed in the flat after the body was found was moved – despite the fact the building was under armed police guard.

Special footplates, which allow officers to walk across a crime scene without contaminating it, were moved after the first day of the investigation. This led Scotland Yard to conclude that someone must have scaled the building’s walls and broken in through the skylight to cover their tracks. This so far unknown line of inquiry raises questions about how Mr Williams, a maths genius and expert cryptographer, really met his end. It also supports his family’s suspicions he was murdered by ‘agents specialising in the dark arts of the secret services’.

Mr Williams had been working with the American National Security Agency in Washington before returning to London, where he underwent training and was sent on active operations.

The exact nature of his work remains a closely guarded secret, but sources claim he dealt with equipment that tracked the flow of cash from Russia to Europe.

The technology enabled MI6 to follow money trails from bank accounts in Russia to criminal European gangs. One theory is that Mr Williams had disrupted a Mafia ring closely linked to the Russian state.

Cars registered to the Russian Embassy were spotted near his Pimlico flat just days before his body was discovered on August 23, 2010.

Mr Williams was last seen alive on August 15 – a Kremlin car was seen near his property that day.

Other lines of inquiry, also dismissed by the Met at the time, were that he was killed by MI6 or American agents after stumbling on sensitive data, or because he threatened to make secret intelligence public.

There were also claims Mr Williams may have been killed by a lover during a bizarre sex game.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox, who heard the 2012 inquest into his death, criticised MI6 for failing to report that the spy had been missing for a week, saying this caused extra suffering for his family and led to the loss of forensic evidence. The delay, for which MI6 apologised, also meant a Home Office pathologist was unable to find a cause of death.

Dr Wilcox concluded that Mr Williams’s death was ‘unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated’. She said she was satisfied ‘on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully’, as it was likely someone else had put his body in the bag and locked it.

But a year later, Scotland Yard ended a review of the investigation, saying it was more likely Williams had locked himself in the bag and that no one else was involved.

However, the latest line of inquiry supports the family’s belief that the flat was ‘steam-cleaned’ by secret agents – which may be why no DNA evidence was found. Their lawyer, Anthony O’Toole, told a pre-inquest hearing they believed a third party was present at the time of death or later destroyed evidence.

Mr O’Toole told Westminster Coroner’s Court: ‘The impression of the family is that the unknown third party was a member of some agency specialising in the dark arts of the secret services, or evidence has been removed post-mortem.’

It now appears the coroner was not told about the tampering with the footplates, or the belief by detectives that someone had broken into the building.

An intelligence source said: ‘The forensics officer was adamant that nobody was allowed in or out of the crime scene, so when he turned up the following day to find the footplates had been moved an investigation was launched. The only way anybody could have got into that building was to have scaled the walls and got in through the skylight.

‘This was never revealed as it was pretty embarrassing for the Met. Somebody appears to have broken in, perhaps cleaned up and got out again while officers were guarding the entrance to the flat.’

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

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

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

November 14, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[video here]

Daily Mail : You are not above the law Met chief tells MI6 agents as he demands unprecedented access to solve spy-in-the-bag murder

You are not above the law Met chief tells MI6 agents as he demands unprecedented access to solve spy-in-the-bag murder

* Tests on microscopic human traces on a hand towel in the spy’s flat could identify his killer
* Employees at MI6 and GCHQ could face mass voluntary DNA screening within weeks

By Daily Mail Reporter | May 9, 2012

Britain’s top policeman told MI6 last night that no one is above the law as he demanded unprecedented access in a bid to solve the murder of spy Gareth Williams.

Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said there was ‘nothing in law’ to stop police making secret agents give statements and forensic samples.

The Scotland Yard chief said employees at MI6 and GCHQ could face mass voluntary DNA screening within weeks.

Detectives believe tests on microscopic human traces on a hand towel in the spy’s flat could identify his killer.

Mr Hogan-Howe said: ‘There is no difference in law, as you would expect if someone has committed a serious crime, no matter who they are.’

Asked if MI6 will grant full access, he said: ‘They do not have to sign up to it, it is called the law. There is no reason why they need to agree to it.’

No one has been arrested over the murder of Mr Williams, whose naked body was discovered in a padlocked bag in the bath of his central London flat in August 2010.

Mr Hogan-Howe said: ‘There is no difference in law, as you would expect if someone has committed a serious crime, no matter who they are.’

Asked if MI6 will grant full access, he said: ‘They do not have to sign up to it, it is called the law. There is no reason why they need to agree to it.’

No one has been arrested over the murder of Mr Williams, whose naked body was discovered in a padlocked bag in the bath of his central London flat in August 2010.

His family lashed out at MI6 last week after a coroner ruled he was probably unlawfully killed and the case may never be solved.

Fears remain that the solution to the riddle of his death could lie within MI6 or that a secret agent could even be responsible for the murder.

Detectives investigating the mysterious death of the body-in-the-bag spy believe a killer could have slipped back into his flat through a skylight to cover his tracks, it has been claimed.

Many close to the case believe he was assassinated by a spy working for foreign powers because of his work for MI6 and the US National Security Agency.

Speculation over the exact nature of his work has been growing since Foreign Secretary William Hague signed a a document to stop details being released about his job on security grounds.

It has been claimed that MI6 and the government eavesdropping centre GCHQ, to which Williams was attached, have been working on a computer virus designed to disrupt Iran's nuclear programme.

Questions are also being asked as to how MI6 came into possession of a second iPhone belonging to Mr Williams when Police found only one at his flat.

Daily Mail : Did spy-in-bag killer slip back into flat through skylight to cover his tracks? New theory emerges over MI6 codebreaker death

Did spy-in-bag killer slip back into flat through skylight to cover his tracks? New theory emerges over MI6 codebreaker death

* Theory rival spy 'trained in the dark arts of the secret services' murdered British agent
* Mystery of second mobile phone containing video of victim dancing naked in nothing but cowboy boots

By Daniel Miller | May 6, 2012

Detectives investigating the mysterious death of the body-in-the-bag spy believe a killer could have slipped back into his flat through a skylight to cover his tracks, it has been claimed.

MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams was found dead in his London flat in 2010. A coroner ruled that he was 'probably killed illegally and his family remain convinced he was the victim of a rival agent.

Many close to the case believe he was assassinated by a spy working for foreign powers because of his work for MI6 and the US National Security Agency.

Speculation over the exact nature of his work has been growing since Foreign Secretary William Hague signed a public interest in order to stop details being released on security grounds.

It has been claimed that MI6 and the government eavesdropping centre GCHQ, to which Williams was attached, have been working on a computer virus designed to disrupt Iran's nuclear programme.

Questions are also being asked as to how MI6 came into possession of a second iPhone belonging to Mr Williams when Police found only one at his flat.

The agency handed over the mobile containing a video of Mr Williams dancing naked except for a pair of cowboy boots after his death was discovered.

However MI6 workers are forbidden from taking their personal phones into work and experts believe it is unlikely Williams would have risked bringing in a phone containing such a video.

Curiously the iPhone discovered by police searching the flat had been completely wiped of all memory.

Investigators are now believed to be working on a theory that the second phone was taken from the flat after Williams died but before police conducted a thorough search of the property.

MI6 regulations mean efforts are made to contact any employees who do not arrive at work by 10pm, yet Mr Williams' disappearance was not reported for eight days.

Another irregularity was the fact that heating in the flat had been turned up full blast - possibly because it would have accelerated the rate at which the body decomposed - helping to destroy any evidence.

The Sunday Mirror newspaper reports an intelligence source as saying: 'It's never been mentioned that there is a skylight but it was pretty clear to a lot of people in the case that there was no better way for the killer to get back into the flat.

'They could have come back to clean up the crime scene and got in through the skylight while police were outside.

'Of course, if MI6 were involved in his death that is one explanation for how they managed to get his phone.'

Anthony O'Toole, a barrister representing the family, has suggested that Gareth could have been killed by someone who specialises in 'the dark arts of the secret services.'

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said the theory that Mr Williams was killed by a spy was 'legitimate line of inquiry'.

She has questioned the motives of those who leaked details about Mr Williams's private life, including his visits to bondage websites. His family say the visits could have been work-related.

Police wasted time on false leads generated by the leaks. Reports that Mr Williams went to gay bars in the Vauxhall area of London, and visited websites on sadomasochism and claustrophilia – the sexual pleasure of confined spaces – proved to be false.

Dr Wilcox said Mr Williams was not a transvestite and that his collection of £20,000 of unworn women's clothes were probably gifts for friends.

She said the cause of death was unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated' and dismissed claims that Mr Williams had entered the sports bag seeking sexual gratification.

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