EXC 🚨 Here are declassified StB intelligence files revealing how Geoffrey Goodman, a Fleet Street titan and confidante to Harold Wilson, spied for the Warsaw Pact.
Firstly, a delightful morsel contained in his 1,600 page archive: his old business card.
Firstly, a delightful morsel contained in his 1,600 page archive: his old business card.
Goodman met StB spies for the first time in 1955
His file is opened soon after, with his DOB, address and background
A Jew from Stockport, he grew up in poverty but studied under Harold Laski at LSE, got "excellent grades" and fought in WW2
He is given a codename: AGENT GUSTAV
His file is opened soon after, with his DOB, address and background
A Jew from Stockport, he grew up in poverty but studied under Harold Laski at LSE, got "excellent grades" and fought in WW2
He is given a codename: AGENT GUSTAV
Goodman starts meeting his handlers at the Gay Hussar, the Charing Cross Hotel and restaurants on Charlotte St.
Then a News Chronicle reporter, he provides gossip on Labour and unions
Handlers say he's "phlegmatic, reliable and candid" - and struggling to pay kids' school fees
Then a News Chronicle reporter, he provides gossip on Labour and unions
Handlers say he's "phlegmatic, reliable and candid" - and struggling to pay kids' school fees
Soon, the StB claim he is spiriting documents out of the corridors or power and into their hands.
Here is a memo on how he could conduct a "dead drop" of documents into a public toilet in Finsbury Park.
Here is a memo on how he could conduct a "dead drop" of documents into a public toilet in Finsbury Park.
On one occasion, Gustav meets a new handler in a pub in Arnos Grove
The handler is told to look for a man with a bundle of newspapers and smoking a pipe.
They then have a pre arranged "conversation" - aka a password - to confirm the other's identity.
The handler is told to look for a man with a bundle of newspapers and smoking a pipe.
They then have a pre arranged "conversation" - aka a password - to confirm the other's identity.
By 1964, Wilson's election means his importance has grown. He is offered a Christmas bonus which, his agents claim, he accepted with "delight".
The files include several invoice sheets, claiming he was paid more than £30,000 in today's money. Eg
The files include several invoice sheets, claiming he was paid more than £30,000 in today's money. Eg
During the 1960s, Goodman becomes a friend and confidante to Wilson.
Agent Gustav starts passing sensitive memos outlining Wilson's policy on Mao, LBJ and Europe (incl a meeting with Willy Brandt), his opinion on cabinet members and minutes of Whitehall and TUC meetings. Eg.
Agent Gustav starts passing sensitive memos outlining Wilson's policy on Mao, LBJ and Europe (incl a meeting with Willy Brandt), his opinion on cabinet members and minutes of Whitehall and TUC meetings. Eg.
We also have details of Goodman's apparently StB funded trips to Prague and Vienna.
After the Prague Spring in 1968, contact stops. It resumes briefly in 1972, then goes cold.
It is unclear what MI5 knew, but his family say counter espionage agent Charle Ewell took him in for day long interrogations.
In his memoirs, Goodman also says he thinks MI5 burgled him
It is unclear what MI5 knew, but his family say counter espionage agent Charle Ewell took him in for day long interrogations.
In his memoirs, Goodman also says he thinks MI5 burgled him
In 1975, Goodman was appointed an adviser for Harold Wilson and entered No 10.
But, as Bernard Donoghue states in his diaries, he was never granted access to top level security papers.
Goodman continued to believe his phone was being tapped.
But, as Bernard Donoghue states in his diaries, he was never granted access to top level security papers.
Goodman continued to believe his phone was being tapped.
Goodman's family say he was advancing peace and understanding between nations
He was a former RAF pilot and loved Britain - but hated the escalation between the West and East.
@Kevin_Maguire also says he was a patriot and a great man who influenced a generation of Labour MPs
He was a former RAF pilot and loved Britain - but hated the escalation between the West and East.
@Kevin_Maguire also says he was a patriot and a great man who influenced a generation of Labour MPs
Whatever your view, the file is a stunning contemporary history of the period. Read more today.
Thanks also to the amazing @TomCalver2 and Martin Dixon without whom the story would not have happened
thetimes.co.uk/article/agent-…
Thanks also to the amazing @TomCalver2 and Martin Dixon without whom the story would not have happened
thetimes.co.uk/article/agent-…
Ps. Goodman got the last laugh: a former member of the Communist Party, he kept a bust of Lenin on his desk in his later years. He died in 2013 and had his funeral attended by Alastair Campbell and the Kinnocks. But his activities were been rumbled - until now!
