Britain’s history of espionage is rich with intrigue, double-dealings, and - particularly in the last century - spy scandals involving Moscow. SPYSCAPE opens the top-secret dossiers on seven torrid tales.

The Profumo Affair‍

The Profumo affair was a drama of operatic proportions. Showgirl Christine Keeler was intimately involved with two men during the 1960s Cold War - Britain’s War Minister John Profumo and Russian naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov, a spy based at Moscow’s London Embassy. She was introduced to both men by Stephen Ward, who committed suicide after being convicted for living off of the earnings of prostitution. Profumo initially lied about his affair to Parliament, triggering events that led to the downfall of the Conservative government. Some 60 years later, the affair is still captivating audiences as a TV series, movie, and even a musical.

‍

‍

Kim Philby and the Cambridge Five spy scandal

‍American confidence in the British government plunged after a series of scandals involving a ring of Cambridge University-educated spies who worked for British intelligence while spying for the KGB. Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean disappeared in 1951 and resurfaced in Moscow. Worse, MI6 spy Kim Philby, the UK’s chief liaison with the American intelligence agencies, was a KGB agent who posed a direct threat to US national security. Remarkably, Philby carried on undiscovered for more than a decade before defecting in 1963. British government files released 50 years later outline frantic efforts to cover up the ring and avoid embarrassing prosecutions.

KGB double agent George Blake's prison escape‍

British Secret Intelligence Service officer George Blake was imprisoned by North Korea in 1950 and returned as a KGB double agent. Although caught in 1961, Blake escaped from an infamous London prison using James Bond-like maneuvers. He forced open the bar on his cell window, dropped 20 feet to the ground - leaving behind a ladder made of rope and knitting needles - and scaled a 20-foot high prison wall with the help of accomplice Sean Bourke. Blake hid in London for months, then made it to East Germany and Moscow. He died in 2020 at the age of 98, having given a dramatic account of the escape to be published after his death. 

Melita Norwood spy scandal, Britain's long-standing double agent

Granny Melita Norwood whiled away the time by making jam and passing on UK nuclear secrets to the KGB for 40 years. She worked for the British Non‑Ferrous Metals Research Association in London which carried out research into uranium as part of Britain’s atomic bomb project. Codenamed Hola, her real name was revealed in the Mitrokhin Archive. Norwood confessed at a dramatic press conference in 1999. MI5 said they knew about Norwood but didn’t want to show their hand to the Soviets, so she wasn’t charged. Some suspect, however, MI5 wanted to sidestep questions about why the Soviet sympathizer wasn’t properly vetted and carried on leaking secrets for decades.
‍

Christopher Steele and the Trump dossier‍

One of the most explosive scandals of modern times involves Christopher Steele, an ex-MI6 spy who compiled a dossier on former US President Donald Trump. Steele’s work was the catalyst for an investigation into whether Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. The accuracy and sources of Steele’s dossier have been questioned (Trump calls the dossier ‘fake news’) but the ex-spy defended his work - 17 reports in all - in a 2021 TV interview. Steele’s allegations have not been proven, however, leading some to believe this scandal hasn’t yet fully run its course.

Anthony Blunt, the spy in Buckingham Palace‍

For decades, Anthony Blunt was the royal family's chief art curator while also working as an MI5-KGB double agent. Guy Burgess is believed to have groomed Blunt when they were both Cambridge University students. By the time his KGB ties were exposed in the 1960s - on the heels of the Profumo affair - Britain’s security services decided it was best to quietly grant Blunt immunity in exchange for a confession. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sensationally blew his cover in 1979 as journalists prepared to out Blunt, however. Curiously, although the Queen was aware of his KGB ties, Blunt carried on working for the royals for 15 years.

Klaus Fuchs, the atomic spy

British-German physicist Klaus Fuchs was at the heart of the US and British nuclear programs in WWII, working at New Mexico’s Los Alamos laboratory where he helped build the atomic bomb. Fuchs leaked every secret he knew to the KGB. The FBI and MI5 suspected Fuchs but couldn’t find evidence strong enough to bring Fuchs to court. By 1949, the paralysis had created such a rift between the Americans and British that MI5 brought in William Skardon, an ex-Scotland Yard officer spycatcher who laid a trap to extract a confession. Fuchs was one of many suspected atomic spies in the post WWII period including Americans Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Fuchs served nine years in prison then resumed his career as an East German physicist.