Gareth Williams

Gareth Willimas
Photo-credit The News Chronicle

Template:Current Events Gareth Williams was 31 years old when his body was discovered in a padlocked sports holdall submerged in 'a fluid' in the bath of his flat in the Pimlico area of London on the afternoon of 23 August 2010. He had last been see alive in London on 15 August 2010. Police reported that the body "was in an advanced state of decay" when found and this made establishing the cause of death problematical.

Employment

Williams was an employee of GCHQ Cheltenham. It is reported that, at the time of his death, he was nearing the end of a six month secondment to MI6 whose HQ is about a mile away from his London flat on the opposite side of the river Thames. Williams is reported to have been a 'mathematical genius' and key (though relatively junior) member of GCHQ staff working in the field of cryptography as it applies to the Signals and communications intelligence functions of GCHQ. He is reported to have been a regular visitor to US NSA establishments at Fort Meade, Maryland and to have been a recent visitor to military intelligence establishments in Kabul, Afghanistan.

MSM speculation

The British MSM has indulged itself in predictable speculations (some no doubt planted) surrounding the unexplained death of a so-called 'spy'. They have variously been alleged that:

• His mobile phone simcards were arranged in a "bizarre ritualistc manner"
• There were Escort Agency telephone numbers on one phone SIM card and pornographic material on another.
• He was gay and may have attracted the unwelcome attentions of a jealous aspiring partner
• "Bondage equipment was found at his flat.

The police - to their credit - have matter-of-factly stamped on most of this stuff.

As of 7 September 2010 the police seem to be doggedly pursuing their investigations. Their latest appeal being for information about a couple "of Mediterranean appearance" - with all the strange connotations the expression carries - who were allegedly captured on CCTV "one or two months before Mr Williams died"

Representative MSM Coverage

• MI6 worker found murdered in London flat - The Guardian 25 August 2010
• Spy last seen alive eight days before body was found in bag - The Guardian 25 August 2010
• FLAT OWNED BY FIRM NAMED AFTER ‘RUSSIAN MOTHERLAND’ Daily Express 26 August 2010
• MURDERED SPY MAY HAVE MET HIS KILLER ON MISSIONS TO USA Daily Express 27 August 2010
• MI6 bondage claims untrue - The Guardian 29 August 2010
• MI6 death: Murder most strange - The Independent 29 August 2010. Interesting takes on the matter from lots of SIS-connected people.
• Bondage claims over dead MI6 officer untrue, say police - The Guardia 29 August 2010. This article also contains information about Williams' visits to the Fort Meade NSA HQ and to Kabul. - Richard Norton Taylor
• MI6 spy Gareth Williams murder: police hunt for Mediterranean couple - The Telegraph 6 September 2010
• Was it poison? Two weeks after murdered spy was found in his bath, baffled police release CCTV of victim as they probe radiation theory - Daily Mail 7 September 2010