George Blake

DIE SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

British spy George Blake has died aged 98. Born in Holland, Blake was a POW in the Korean War before working for the RAF and M16. Unbeknownst to them, Blake had been turned in captivity by the Communists and was now passing on secrets to the KGB. How much information is disputed, with Blake claiming it was nowt much (but then he would) and the British claiming it led to the execution of their men in the field. He was arrested in 1961, confessed to spying, and despite being defended by the legendary lawyer Jeremy Hutchinson, was sentenced to 42 years in jail. Hutchinson said the length of the sentence was a “Licence to try and escape”, and sure enough, in 1966 he escaped Wormwood Scrubs with the help of members of a splinter group from the CND. He was driven in a camper van to East Germany, in a chain of events that speaks more for the British incompetence than any great feat of escapology. In 1990 he published his autobiography, and in 1991 he testified via video link in the trial of the two men who helped him escape. They were acquitted. He remained loyal to the Russian cause till the very end, and denied he was a traitor, stating that as he was never personally British he couldn’t betray folk. Surprisingly, the double agent’s death was announced by Moscow swiftly after it happened.

George Blake
11 November 1922 – 26 December 2020
3 teams