Why are spies never believed? When I saw the news this morning, I had hoped it would be about Sir Roger Hollis, the MI5 head named by Peter Wright in Spy Catcher as a Russian agent. Instead it is about Maurice Oldfield, the man who Alec Guinness based his rendition of George Smiley on.
I am currently researching and writing an ‘experience’ for Airbnb about the Spies of London. It is split in two halves, as all good stories are. The first is about the Cold War, which for most people is the period from 1945 to 1990 when the Berlin wall came down. The second half moves from 1990 to 2017, when the Russians came back to London to kill their own agents using radioactive poison.
I had not thus far uncovered the Oldfield allegations, and they do surprise me. It is also surprising that it took quite so long to clear his name. A name that I was not aware was in need of clearing. So why the story today? It simply makes another generation of people aware of the claims which have now been disproved.
This kind of thing is the media at its worst. The BBC feel they have to mention it because the press mention it. The press only mention it to sell papers. Spies are like gold dust. Everyone loves them, or hates them, but hardly anyone feels indifferent towards them.
So as you read the news today, just as you should on any given day, ask yourself why? Why today? Why this story? What is the message behind the news? What are they not telling you?
See you in Mayfair in June.
