THE NOT-SO-SECURE WORLD OF A NATO NERVE CENTRE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96B01172R000300030009-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 20
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 14, 2007
• Sequence Number: 9
• Content Type: NSPR

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Five, who
exposed:-
a traitor
By Arthur Osman
Five officers from` a rural
police force took, the credit
yesterday for the downfall of
GeotTrey Prime, regarded' as
Britain's most dangerous traitor
since the atom spy Fuchs. They
won a commendation at the
Central Criminal Court but
West Mercia police said they
could not give details about
them.'
The force covers 'Hereford,
Worcester an Shropshire. At its
Worcester headquarters a senior
officer said:" We have been
instructed by the Director of
Public Prosections to, give
nothing but the briefest infor-
mation".
The five are: Del Chief'Supt'
David Cole, aged 44, married
with three children and head of
the CID. He was born in
Gloucestershire and joined the'
old Worcestershire force when
he was aged 16.
Del Supt Alan Mayo, aged 46,
his deputy, married with two
former Worcestershire force in
1957.
The not-so-secure world
of a Nato nerve centre
The Government Comniuni-
.cations Headquarters, where
Geoffrey Prime worked and
spied, is the European nerve
centre of NATO's long term
intelligence operation. The
aerials at C;CHQ's'two Chelten-
ham complexes are the ears of 'a
listening post ranging across
Europe and deep into the Soviet
Union.
GCHQ is part of a global
network, run principally by
Britain and the United States.
which listens, records and
analyses the diplomatic, civilian
and military communications
of friend and foe, 24 hours a
day. Cheltenham is one of' the
two main axes of the network
and also the monitor for
Euopean diplomatic traffic,
Moscow's links to the Weat and
Soviet military and police radio
channels.
It is the outward manifes-
tation of the technological
espionage, that is superseding
traditional spycraft. Human
Intelligence. "Humint", has
given way to Signal Intelligence
"Sigint", and its great listening
?computcf banks.
Del Chief Inspector Peter Sigint owes it's `origins to
Picken, aged 41, married with
two children, joined the Wor-
cestershire force when he was
aged 23.
Tbe two junior officers, who
initially interviewed Prime and
were passed over in yesterday's
plaudits were Oct. Sergeant
Michael Wilkes and Oct Police-
woman Marion Rhodes, of
Hereford.
Latest e'.,,
long fine -
Geoffrey Prime is the latest
in a long line of Iron,C'urtain
spies since the last war. Major
defections, arrests and scan-
dais show the breadth of the
infiltration by Russia and her
allies:
1946 Dr Alan Nunn May
discovered passing atomic
secrets,
1950 Dr Klaus Fuchs, depart-
mental head at Harwell, also
supplied atomic weapon de-
tails.
195(1 Dr Bruno Pontecorvo,
another Jiarwell scientist,
defected. -
1951 Donald Maclean, head of
the American Department at
the Foreign Office, and Guy
Burgess, second secretary at
the British Embassy in
Wi ashington, defected.
1958 Brian Linney, an instru-
Allied success in deciphering
enemy communications during
,I lie Second 'World War.. The
By Stewart Tendler
linked to Fort Meade allows
speedy exchange of 1111,01-
Illation.
Cheltenham also has labora-
tories and a training school tin'
technicians. Secure equipment
for embassies is developed there
and the laboratories are also
used to evaluate equipment
aegi ned'' from abroad.
Siicc the NSA works not only
for 'tile iIJJCIIIgCIICC ('01111111.11111y
but also fur cr' ihan clients such
as the FBI and the?Umted States
Drug Enforcenlent Agency,
interceptions have ranged very
vide. drawing further criticism.
Analysts who examine the
processed nicssages can hope-
fully provide an etlcefive
appraisal of movements, inten-
tions and dispositions which are
passed to Cabinet conlntittics in
Whitehall and to the White
I louse,
:British "Ultra" tcanl'ai Bletch-
;Icy Park broke down (icrnian
messages in one of the great
intelligence victories of the war,
while American cryptographers
punctured the defences of' the
key Japanese Purple Code.
In 1952 President Truman
signed an order founding the
National Security, Agency to
centralise and coordinate Ame-
rican Sign nit work. 'I he NSA at
Fort Meade, Maryland, is the
United States equivalent of
GCHQ. with all annual budget
said to be more than
It is through the NSA that
indications of the range of Sigint
work have come. In 1976 the
(`hunch Report. prepared by the
United States Senate on Amen-
can intelligence operations out-
lined the brief to which modern
intelligence operates,
Many of the British contrrc-
butions to those Sigint functions
are carried out or controlled
from Cheltenham. Developed
from a wartime base used by the
tinned States air Force to train
technicians, GCHQ now has
complexes at Oakley, the
original site, and Benhall, which
has expanded rapidly in the past
ten years.
Berthalt is honk fix hundreds
of linguists. Chinese and Rus-
sian speakers, like Geolirey
Prime, are at a premium. A
rapid communications system
Sir Brian 'covey:
CGI IQ chief
The efjcctrveness of arms
race momtorutg may partly
depend on Sigint operations.
'file first indications of war
woulcj 'emerge from sudden
troop movements, an upsurge.
in radio traffic and messages
intercepted at ('heltell haIll. In
wartime. (i('IIO would be vital
as tile electronic successor to the
Ultra team. .
A coon mentor on the Anteri-
can intelligence con)[llunrty
once desesibed technological
ill tell pence as "the most
reliable sensory organs of the
espionage body". If that de-
scriptron is right then Geoffrey
Prince gave Moscow access to
One of the most acuie of those
senses.
Little surprise was reported
among stafl'at GUI it) when tike
arrest in July of Geoffrey Prime
revealed that there was a spy in
their midst.
With up to 8,000 staff and
evidence of lax security at the
Cheltenham base, there were
those who felt that penetration
was inevitable.
Anglo-American signals intel-
ligence has been a central target
for the KGB. the GRU Russian
military rntcllligence. and other
espionage groups since the
middle 1940s. Yet former
Cheltenham staff have talked of
rnsuf7icrent security checks,
badly guarded gates and un-
supervised outside workmen
within theofficres
i/u limes has been told that
few of the Internal security
guards have police. or military
training while security for the
control and movement of.
documents 1s slack. Personnel
use limited entrances but when
a shift changes, every eight
hours, there are too few, guards
to check credentials. cars, or
cases,
Even before Prime's trial the
Americans were raising doubts
about British security, hinting
that the dissensions which
followed the Burgess/Maclean
case Ire the early, 1950s may
resurface.
Green the sporadic but
regular discovery of Soviet
penetration of' British intelh-
gencc, the security surrounding
C'hcltcnham should have been
extremely tight. The internal
security force which guards the
gates, patrols the perimeter and
building interiors, is understood
to include two MIS officers on
permanent secondment. Advice
tut security is also provided
from MI5's London head-
quarters.
Special baffles have been
installed to protect GCHQ's
computers from any form of
eavesdropping. Security men
also check on visitors to
C'heltell haIli's hotels.
Stall, within (iC'I-IQ are
vetted before they start employ-
ment and positive vetting of
personnel with very high secur-
ity clearance is supposed to be
repeated every three years.
(ieotfrcy Pnne would havc
gone to Cheltcnarn with seem-
ingly impeccable references His
record with the RAF would
have made hint an ideal recruit.
He would he aware of seculty
requirements and already have
received clearance to deal with
signals intelligence vyhiie an
airntait.
Quiet, stable and married.
there would he little about hint
to conjure suspicion. It' the,
vetting experts gram M15 and
the Special Branch made further
inquiries, they would have
found no evidence of unac-
countable finances
Within GUI IQ there seems to
base been little chance that Mr
Prince whuld be caught. One
fainter member' of staff de-
scribed the security there as "a
laughing stock".
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I C'Of 2,27
little girls' names
defendant is a married man
convictions recorded against
Over a number of vcars the
newspaters from the Here-
ford/Gloucester area.' -Frot'n
out the name of the girl, the
sometimes a home telephone
number. Armed with. this
information it was then his
attended and when her parents
were likely to be out of the
system, logging every call he
made with details -of who
answered the telephone and, if it
At the time of his arrest the
investigating officers 2,287
index cards for such girls.
i Crying and very
distressed
Wendy,-the girl referred of in
Count 1, lives in Gloucester-
shire with her parents. On April
10, the defendant telephoned
the home twice and spoke to
Wendy,,then aged 11, who was
alone in the house. He claimed
to be a Mr Brookes and asked if
he could visit the house to
attend to some plumbing. In the
loft the defendant pulled a hood
of striped pyjama material over
his head, placed his hand over
her mouth and told her to lift
her skirt up. As she started to
lift her skirt, the defendant was
Crown's case
disturbed by someone at the
door and left the house. Wendy
went to a neighbours house
crying, shaking and obviously.
very distressed.
Count 2, relates to the
dcfi;ndant's next victim, Donna,
who lives in Worcestershire
with her parents. On May 28,
1981, the defendant. telephoned
Donna, then aged 13. Claiming
to be a Mr Williams he asked if
he could do some painting
estimates, after pretending to
examine the house asked if he
could take a photograph of her
4nd threw her on a bed.
Threw girl
into bath
Donna fled to the bathroom,
and tried to call for help
whereupon the defendant threw
her into the bath, ordered her to
take off her jeans and pants
while he anasterbated. There-
after he made good his escape.
The girl named in Count 3,
Jacqueline, lives near Hereford
and in April 1982 was aged 14.
She had received a telephone
call on April 20 from the
defendant claiming to be a Mr
Williams doing, some painting
estimates. Jacqueline was per-
suaded to go upstairs to the
bathroom where he threatened
her and ordered her to pull
down her pants she began to
screem and this' unnerved the
defendant who left the house
but not before asking if she
knew any other girls on their
own.
The police had been trying to
catch the man who had
assaulted Wendy and Donna.
Unfortunately for the defendant
his car, a distinctive Cortina,
had been spotted and so it was
that on April 27, six days after
'he assault on Jacqueline, the
7endarit was seen.
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,0 eve V o t
Women loyally stay silent
Geoffrey Prime has been
married twice and he is
fortunate that both women have
in the past flew weeks shown
more loyalty to hint than he did
to his country. Both ha.c
consistently refused to discuss
their lives with hint, despite
sustained pressure from the
media.
He married Helena Organ, a
teacher, on August 9,' 1969, at
the Roman Catholic Church of
St Anseln and St Cecilia, in
'Kingsway, London. He de-
scribed himself as linguist
officer (Foreign Office).
It was not a happy marriage
and by the time they separated
in 1973 he had moved to
Cheltenham with GCHQ- and
she remained in London. She
has since remarried and lives in
south London,
Prime's second wife, Rhona,
aged 38, was married to Peter
Ratcliff and lived in Cirencester
Road, Cheltenham, when she
met Prime, who was not
responsible for the subsequent
breakdown of her marriage.
In the early 1970s she and !ter
husband had a shoe shop at Up
Hatherley on the outskirts of
Cheltenham They ran into
financial difficulties and she
approached GCHQ offering a
room for a lodger and Prime
moved in.
By Arthur Osman
After separating from his first
wits, Prime had a t ui'ly low-key
affair with a teacher in Chelten??
ham.
Prime married Rhona on
June 18, 1977, at Cheltenham
Register Office. She is a slight
and attractive woman, a former
pupil at the town's Pates
Grammar School, who now
works as a school meals
supervisor.
Last Saturday she began the
unhappy task of sellutg some of
her husband's favourite
POs- advertising in the local
newspaper such items as his
squash racket at E16 and asking
Or oficrs for Ills car radioes and
other equipment,
She has maintained that,
contrary to suggestions made to
her by sonic people, money was
a problem and on one occasion
she told rate: "I certainly cannot
afford taxi rides".
She has resisted offers for her
personal story of life with
Britain's latest spy. She said: "It
is a question of morality: I am
standing by Geoffrey, Marriage
is a very private affair and I
intend to keep it so. 'I am saying
nothing to anybody."
Mrs. Prime has refused to be
interviewed, saying that as far as
possible she intended to keep
her dignity. Site had accepted,
her husband's guilt.. h
"-lie is a very good mtan'
She declined to Na%
although she agreed t
feared fur hint ill the to
ahead. He had been
ately unhappy" while
viand in Gloucester it
nunghani prisons ac
added: "He is a ratan of
and an active man,
certainly not an averal
over''.
She has jealousy guari
privacy and that of he
sons. At one time there
police guard on the tie
unostentatiously fu
house in l'ittvtlle (.
Lane, Cheltenham.
She revealed that sl
been in regular telphone
with Prime's first wife.
Prime was happy with
and extremely fond of hi
stepsons. He took then,
larly to watch Stoke
joined in impromptu soce
rugger games in the loca
He even joined a squash
help one of the boys wl
started to play the game.
It is thought that thik
found happinesss will
fancily he - "inherited"
largely responsible for
decision not to defect
Soviet Union.
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The background to'Prime: Kremlin man in the heart of Cheltenham
The knm who unn, asked the spy showing the kit he used. From left the officers are Det Chief Supt Cole; Mr Robert
Cozens, thief Constable of West Mercia, Det Chief Inspector Picken and Det Supt Mayo. The articles include a
briefcase with a hidden compartment, a tape recorder and a short-wave radio set, as well as code pads
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Five who
exposed.
a r for
By Arthur Osman
Five officers from' a rural
police force took, the credit
yesterday for the downfall of
Geoffrey Prime,regarded as
Britain's most dangerous traitor
since,the atom,.spy Fuchs. They
won a commendation at the
Central Criminal Court but
West Mercia police said they
could not give details about
them.'
The force covers Hereford,
Worcester an Shropshire. At its
Worcester headquarters a senior
officer said:" We have 'been
instructed by the Director of
Public Prosections to. give
nothing but the briefest infor-
mation".
The five are: Det Chief?Supt
David Cole; aged 44, married
with three children and head of
the CID. Hr was born in
Gloucestershire and joined the
old Worcestershire force when
he was aged 16.
Det Supt.Alan Mavo, aged 46,
his deputy, married, with two
children. He also joined the
former Worcestershire force in
1957,
Dct Chief' Inspector Peter
Picken? aged 41, married with
two 'children, joined the Wor-
cestershire force when he was
aged 23.
The two junior officers who
initially interviewed Prime and
were passed over in yesterday's
plaudits were Dct Sergeant
Michael Wilkes and Piet Police-
woman , Marion Rhodes, of
Hercfbrc3.
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The . ifwho.. coin not live
with conscience
Mrs Rhona Prime, aged 36, people" and had made a close
went into the witness box Wife's evidence friend in prison. "I believe for
smartly dressed in light grey the first time Geoffrey Prime
suit and wide brimmed grey hat has found the goal in his life.
trimmed with- a bright blue that he was always seeking,"
ribbon, bright blue jumper and a Dark-haired Mrs Prime re- she said.
string of pearls. plied: "Yes it did come as a
She described herself as a great shock." Mrs Prime said: "I intend to
practising Christian and told the During the weeks after her stand 'by my husband. As a
Lord Chief Justice that her first husband was taken into custody Christian I can only utterly
marriage broke up and she was for the sexual offences she had condemn the terrible crimes he
left bankrupt with three sons, discovered "the raw material" of has committed. But I know in
Prime came to her as a lodger his spying. She had informed my heart as a Christian I can
in Cheltenham and they were the police first of what she had forgive him because he is totally
married in June, 1977. found and secondly of what repentant and remorseful and is
Mr Carman asked how she Prime had told her, 5o full of guilt, he is a broken
reacted when Prime admitted "[ took legal advice and I had man."
the sexual offences. Mrs Prime: a choice - I didn't have to do it. Later, moments after Prime
"Total shock. I knew nothing But morally I had to go to the was led away to the cells after
about it at all." authorities and tell them be- sentencing, Mrs Prime col-
"u.se 1 MUM not live Mr Carmen asked how Prime Christian with- that on- my She was immediately sur-
had treated her and her three rounded by police officers and
sons. With the "utmost re- conscience or my husband's
conscience and I believe in the was supported. by a police
spect", she replied. She did not end I have done him a favour, woman as. she was led from how k` owe life." he did it, living his and hopefully the country." con the offlcer~s ourt. Still crying; with her head
Her sons had more respect for Mr Carman asked: "what is walked uncertainly to a private
Prime than for their real father. Your husand's attitude to the room.
Prime had been "just marvel- fact that you are the person who Mrs Prime, looking calm and
Ions." provided this prosecution with composed, later left the Central
"He has worked very hard the ammunition it possesses?" Criminal- Court by a side
and brought me to a standard of She said:. "He has taken it entrance-. She did not speak as
living I would never have had incredibly well. He has become she was. escorted into 'a taxi by
without him." a changed man, the man I police. Once-inside, she bowed
Mr Carman asked: "When he always thought was always her head and hid her face in her
confessed ton the evening underneath. He has lost all 'his hands.
burden and is now a new mate. - With Mrs Prime was her
of April 26 this year that he had. Because of the terrible burden parish priest, Farther Adrian
not only committed sexual he carried for so many years he Hurst,- who had helped'her in
offences but had also been was incredibly unhappy. He was court and who watched the trial
engaged in activities as a a tortured personality." from the back row of the public
Russian spy, did that come as a Mrs Prime said her husband-. gallery. Another woman also left
shock to you?" was now able to "relate to with Mrs Prime.
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ommission
to study
Prime case
By Anthony Bevins,
Political Correspondent
The Prime Minister will this
afternoon announce a Security
.Commission investigation into
the circumstances of the Prime
Affair. The 'commission,
chaired by Lord Bridge of
Harwich, a former Lord of
Appeal in Ordinary, will be
asked to advise the Prime
Minister whether any changes
in security procedures are
necessary in the'light of the case.
Mrs Margaret Thatcher will
be seeing Mr Michael Foot,
Leader of the Opposition, to
inform him of the reference
before she makes a formal
statement to the Commons. .
. The statement, which prom-
ises to be brief, will rehearse the
circumstances of Prime's
treachery and present a prelimi-
nary assessment of the damage
done, but Mrs Thatcher will not
go into any detail because of
security considerations.
But, Dr David Owen, the
former Foreign Secretary, who
was therefore responsible for
GCHQ operations at Chelten-
ham, said yesterday that the
security and intelligence servic-
es should start to spy on their I
own spies in order to help to
preserve state secrets.
He said in an interview on
independent. television's News
at One programme that positive
vetting procedures were ' not
going to halt Soviet penetration
of the intelligence agencies.
Continued on back page, col 3
Lord Bridge to
head Prime
investigation
Continued from page 1 I
"Unfortunately, what you
also have to have to buttress
your own internal security is
some form of surveillance. In a
free. democratic society nobody
likes surveillance - people do'
not like the idea of spying on
your own people to ensure that
they have not got contact with
the Soviet Union - but some
degree of surveillance is necess-
ary and that is a better check
than positive vetting," Dr Owen
said.
"People have to feel that if
they know they are given secret;
information by the state, that)
the state will also take some
measures to ensure that they are
watching; to ensure that they do
not pass it on."
Dr Owen also criticized the
Prime Minister's tendency "to
centralize all forms of control,
particularly on intelligence, in
her own person". He believed
that a committee of privy
councillors should have the
power to question ministers
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/Sip'' y' scandal strains
US ' security fink.
By Henry Stanhope and Nichgplps,Ap.shford
The latest spy scandal has put by Mir Caspar Weinberger, the
further strain on the. Anglo- American' - Defence Secretary,
American 'special relationship that the security breach was
in intelligence Which has Sur -unfortunate but not a great
vived a number of crises during disaster.';
its 35-gar life. Some of the 'most crucial
By ftr the most'embarrassing information which Prime could
aspect of the affair is held to be have communicated was West-
the 'ws y disclosures Geoffrey ern technology for monitoring
Russian ' contacts involved and decoding Soviet electronic
United States and'other allied communications at GCHQ and
elsewhere.
.secret information.
The tlink is European sources were step-,
especially- transatlantic
close between, 'the tical about American reports
that Prime had disclosed infor-
Government. Communications inatipn to 'the, Russians, about
Headquarters (GCHQ) at Chel- Nato troop.
tenham,_ where Prime spent the positions and
missile deployments. It would
last part of 'his career as' an . seem unlikely that he would be
agent, and the US National dealing with that kind of
Security Agency. ? . information.
The two organizations even But by selling details of
share a programmeof intercept- western intelligence techniques
' ing Soviet: intelligence com- he could force Britain, the
ded ati o s and analysing their` United States and maybe other
d nic
This is the kind of work that
Prime, a fluent Russian speaker,
was apparently involved in.
Last night western sources
were being even more than
usually secretive, on security
matters when asked about the
effects of Prime's long betrayal
and its impact upon Nato.
At Nato's Brussels head-
quarters an official said simply:
Nato powers to change their
system..
Mr James Bamford, an
American who has specialized
on 'the workings of the National
Security Agency said last night
that the interchange between
Britain and the United States on
Soviet communications was
total. "No secret is kept from
either country".
"Yes, we know all about it here. But even more damaging
But it is all extremely confiden- than the actual material which
tial." Prime was able to communi-
At'the American Embassy in cate, is the fact that he operated
London there was a similar for so long, and concealed a
response; officials pointed to sexul perversion, without being
last week's reported comment apprehended.
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?r~e jailed for
leaking Secre T" S
to the llussians
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the Russian spy, sentenced to 38
years imprisonment at ? the
--Central Criminal Court yester-
day, has raised a question mark
over the competence of British
security and the extent of Soviet
penetration in key intelligence
areas.
Whitehall sources say . the
possibility of a leak within the
Government Communications
Headquarters (GCHQ). at Chel-
tenham, where Prime worked
and committed his most serious
espionage, has been suspected
for the past 10 years.
They hope the capture of
Prime, who spied alone, has
ended the spillage, and investi-
gations, they believe, prove this.
But American intelligence
sources are reported to believe
the leak remains and suggest as
many as three other agents have
penetrated 'GCHQ, one of the
West's two main centres for
communications surveillance.
Film contained
500 documents
The sort of damage they
could cause was illustrated by
the Prime case yesterday. Lord
Lane, the Lord Chief Justice,
told Prime, a former linguist
and analyst, that his 14 years as
It Soviet agent had done
"incalculable harm to the
interests and security of this
country and our friends"..
As the judge passed sentence
he told Prime, aged 44, of
Cheltenham, "it is said you are
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questioned by the police he
confessed privately to his wife;
Rhona, aged 38, and also
revealed he had spied.
He gave himself. up to the
police the next day for the
assaults but said nothing of the
espionage. Yesterday Mrs Prime
told the court she spent three
weeks wondering what she
should do about her husband's
betrayal of secrets.
She had discovered equip-
ment, part of what Sir Michael
described as the "indispensible
tools of the modern spy". After
talking to a doctor, her parents
and a solicitor Mrs Prime went
to the police. She,told the court:
"I did not have to do anything
but morally I had to go to the
authorities. As .a.,Christian I
could not have that on my
conscience or my husband's. I
believe I have done him a
Mrs Prime gave the police the
first inkling of the fact that they
were unwittingly holding the
most serious Russian agent for
two decades or more. .
In. time Prime, who told the
court through counsel that he,
bore his wife no malice for her
actions, admitted his life as a
spy in a 30-page statement.
He said: "I believe that I first
embarked on those activities
partly as a result of a misplaced
idealistic view of, Soviet
socialism which was com-
pounded by basic psychological.
problems within myself."
He offered himself to the
anxious to repair the damage .;Russians while wbrking.for the
you have done but it is perfectly RAF in West Berlin. Trained as
plain that a huge proportion of,A, a spy in East Berlin, he returned
it is quite irreparable". to Britain with a kit including
Earlier Sir Michael Havers,
QC, the Attorney General, told
the court That Prime's work had
not given away the secrets of
nuclear dispositions - nor
inli0r1)ation about agents but
the damage caused became
more and more "grave" by the
mid-1970s when Prime arrived
at (i('[-IQ. On one occasion he
passed fiIm of 500 secret
documents.
The court Was emptied for a
time as the judge listened in
camera to details , of the
information leaked .
Prink, who left GCHQ in
1977, was arrested earlier this
year after a' series of indecent
assaults on young girls in the
methods of secret communi-
cation, cash and passwords.
Discharged from the RAF,
Prime joined what Sir Michael .
would only refer to as "Govern-
ment Service". In the time that
Prime served in the RAF, and
then in the "Government
Service" in London and
Cheltenham, the material he
handled rose to "matters of the
very highest secrecy".
Wife spoke in
his defence
Paid usually no more than a
few hundred pounds at a time,
his total payment from the
Russians was far less than
# 10,000, Prime was, nonethless,
highly esteemed. Sir Michael
said they offered him retirement
in the Soviet Union' with a
pension and the rank of colonel.
Twice Prime, himself, con-
sidered going to the Soviet
Union. and booked flights to
Helsinki. The Times has, been
told that on one occasion he
changed his mind only as he
was driving to Heathrow. air-
port. ,
The story of Prime's treach-
ery was spelt out before a court
packed with almost fifty
journalists, policemen and sec-
urity officials. Prime mopped
his eyes as his wife spoke in his
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 Approved For Release 2007/12/14: CIA-RDP96BO1172R000300030009-7
rime jailed fir leaking
secrets ? t?. ssians
Continued from page one
defence, but otherwise. sat
almost motionless during the
two-hour hearing.
As the case got underway a
5,000 word copy of Sir
Michael's opening speech was
issued to journalists, who
included many representatives
of American newspapers and
television.
A gaunt figure in-the dock,
Prime told the judge he had
nothing to say before sentence
was passed. But 'he was clearly
stunned as he was taken down
to face the start of a total,of 38
years in prison, including three
years for the sex offences.
While awaiting trial,,'Prime
applied for an Open University
place. . ' ,
As the court emptied, Mrs
Prime, who has three sons from
a former marriage," collapsed.
Tears running down her face
she wept on the shoulder of ?a
police woman as she, was helped
onage since the last war. In 1963
George Blake, an M16 officer,
was given 42 years for betraying
details of his service to the
Russians.
Yesterday the judge made it
'clear the- sentence would have
been higher but for the fact that
Prime pleaded guilty, provided
a statement of his guilt and was
prepared to cooperate with the
atuthorities.
Prime's official grading was
that of 'analyst of decrypted
intercepts, in Cheltenham's
Russian section, 'which is the
largest at the centre's Oakley
site where the massive corn-
puter is also based.
He was thus able to feed back
to them 'the particular areas of
activity, i 'which the keenest
interest was being shown.
- He was able to tell them how.
much'of 'their, radio traffic we
could "break" and, mor_
importantly, how fast. This
certainly helped to divert the
main thrust of the centre's
Her husband received one of electronic surveillance work. !
the highest sentences'foi? espi
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CheRe
am:a
i ; lawe for secrets%
THE SORDID story unfolded at the Old Bailey last week
raises disturbing questions about the whole of British
security. Geoffrey Prime may or may not be the last source
of secrets leaks from Cheltenham Communications Head-
quarters. In the nature of the game, nobody, including the
Attorney-General, Margaret Thatcher, even Prime himself,
can possibly know. What we do know is-that Prime was able
to weave in and out of the supposed security checks with an
ease that has left not only Americans aghast.
Even before last week there was enough evidence of
personal misdemeanour by GCHQ employees--at Chelten-
ham, in Hong Kong, and at other out-stations at home and
abroad-to demand an inquiry into the whole organisation.
Nor- should the inquiry stop at security in the narrowest
sense. Rightly or wrongly, most people will conclude that
there is something gravely wrong with any Intelligence body
that can recruit and harbour a man like Prime who was so
manifestly sick, to say nothing of the alcoholic section heads,
property fiddlers and depressives whose doings have come to
light in the Press in the past three years.
Clearly, these are only a fraction of the 20,000 loyal and
highly qualified people who serve Signals Intelligence at
Cheltenham and elsewhere. But it can fairly be asked whether
the in-grown world of ' Siglnt ' is not in need of a drat ght of
clear air.
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fears Pri
ye"am r
by PATRICK BISHOP, ANDREW WILSON and IAN MATHER
SENIOR- American de- techniques, euallcthe inrter-
fence strategists believe toned, and of. ioovecific signals
that years of work asses- wcePlif"ll hich would enable the Bus-
sing Warsaw Pact military sians to take evasive action
and defence postures may and plant false intelligence.
have been wrecked by the He was also able to obtain
treachery" of .the jailed information about the use of
spy, Geoffrey Prime. American ` Rhyolite' satel-
' A highly placed Pentagon lites for intercepting, long
source told THE OBSERVER distance microwave telephone
that the most serious conse- calls, as well as monitoring
quence of Prime's activities signals from missiles during
was probably a flow of care- test firings.
fully planted ' disinforma- ' Until Prime has been thor-
tion ?' contained in signals that oughly interrogated no one
the Russians knew would be outside the Soviet military
intercepted -and decoded. and intelligence leadership
wxecked
suggest that the cell systetr
-introduced in the i95Os a"
the Americans' behest- wa:
as creaky as other aspects nl
Cheltenham security, and tha
the free-and-tact attitude ti
exchangit1g information in
side GCHQ would have mark
it a relatively simple matte!
for Prime to obtain details of
NATO nrdgrs of battle an(+
other highly sensitive in-
formation.
Ivlr Jock Kane, a : radir
supervisor who left GCHQ.
after 32 years' service it
1978. after a long and unsuc-
ressfiii campaign to alert his
A huge A sLnii < ? use Prime's information was
Bence operation on . under way and politicians to security
to -reassess all information put. failures said : 'Tile cell sys
obtained,by signals intercep Initial reports from Wash- tern simply doesn't work.
tion -during the 14 years ington based on ` security ' I knew a radar technician
Prime spied for the Soviet sources' claiming Prime had who was often called on to do
Union. revealed the location of covert jobs around the coup
For several. weeks experts NATO nuclear warheads and try. It was secret work and
from the National Security details of agent networks his section boss wasn't mean,
-Agency have been at the have been dismissed by both to know where he was.
Government Communications the United tales Defence ' One day he got annoyed
Headquarters (GCHQ). in Secretary, Mr Caspar Wein- because the Irian was absent
and the ? Attorney again
and he needed him.
berger
i
,
,
me
re Pr
Cheltenham whe worked as a Russian linguist, General at the trial. He went to the principal
trying, to establish what The denials are based on station radio officer and tole
reached Moscow and what the assumption that Prime's him he wanted to get hold of
did not. job would not have allowed him. The radio officer rant
Prime's job- placed him in him access to that informa- Cheltenham and was imme
a position to inflict serious tion and that the supposedly diatelv told where he was.'
damage on Western security. ' watertight ' cell system oper- fir Kane, whose allegation'-
As a section head he had full ated at Cheltenham would about yawning secnrit>
access to details of intelli- have made it impossible for breaches at GCM.)'s Hong
gence ` targets,' decoding him to obtain it. Kong station were substan?
GEOFFREY PRIME:
Disinformation
security, ` One Against the
System,' said he believed
other agents had been operat-
ing inside GCHQ.
` GCHQ supplies 85 per cent
of the foreign intelligence
received by the Cabinet; he
said. 'it is unlikely that the
KGB would have a'lowed
Piime to stay out of touch
with them for two years un-
less they had alternative`
sources of information. Prime
was obviously useful but not
essential.'
One important side-effect
of the Prime affair has been
the damage it has done to.
relations between British and
US intelligence.
A Washington source said
that US intelligence were
angry at their British couti-.
tiated by exhaustive media -earlier to the security breach,
inquiries two years ago, also and in particular for not
said that Prime could have handing over the interroga-
-ibtained information outside Lion reports on Prime that.
the scope of his immediate would have given an initial..
work without arousing sus- idea. of the seriousness of his
oicion. treachery.
He would have had access ra Shadow Home Secretary-
to practically anything,' he Mr Roy H.attersley said
said. ` He would be able to yesterday that Labour would'
isk for any references to continue to press for a House
help him in his work - docu of Commons inquiry into
mentary `stuff', etc., without Britain's security services
'arousing any notice what- Speaking at a Birmingham-
ever.' That could include. meeting, he said there was a
claimed Mr Kane, details of widespread belief on both
NATO battle plans. :ides of the House ' that other
Mr Kane, who has written scandals, as yet uncovered,
an unpublished account of will reveal further failures
his campaign to tighten in the system.'
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 Approved For Release 2007/12/14: CIA-RDP96BO1172R000300030009-7
0
a
h 'M
By R. H. GRE ENFIELD
IT looks an ui.wa '. ntable impact, upon the even tenor
affront to the, muted of Cheltenham life.
elegance of Cheltenham. , Elderly military gentlemen,
And so it is __ though. not still 'wish a courteous gogd
nearly so much of an morning to. passing strangers.
affront-as the corrdudll of A vintage Sunbeani stands
the man who worked there. gleaming in the driveway'ofz?
GCH to villa in Queen's Road. A
Q, the Governmont's tiger's head, boar's tusks and'.
massive electronic espionage a cluster of cavalry sabres'
centre, is housed in two com- decorate the bar of the prin- ',
plexes on either side of the. 6-pal hotel.
town, at Benhalt and Oakley, It was into this- placid mill.
on sites resembling a pond of, supremely Epglish'
couple of technical colleges re p.eetability that one rest-'z.
that have outgrown their dent - Geoffrey Prime, child
accommodation. The two molester and traitor = r
main blocks, built in the elrbpl his sordid bombshell;
idiom of "modernist layer- Townspeople are reluctant
cake," are surrounded by to speak of it. " Disgraceful!'.,--
sprawls of what loot like That's all I would say. Disc
hutted classrooms. graceful!" commented a tall*',
Ardhitecturaliy, GGIiQ is mart with a distinctively mill-:`
an insensitive breach of tar',v bearing. And his wife?",;
rood manners. But it is an W9 all very distasteful, and'
offence that has paled into I don't tvis to dis ua! tie .r
insignificance beside the n'l3tter."
enormity of engaging and Ozheraa are more' ptdo-
promoting Geoffrey prime, sopirical. ?' IQ'is ncs art;;,
the man who has brought esiablisbed part of fie place,,
shame on a town that has and makes' a welcome contt?i="'
always been a byword for button to our trade and,
well-bred respectalaility. employment," said Mr Bi a_9 ,';
Wynn, the Town Clerk.
Most of the places men- "Thee is ea sea aai_r 6sn.5
toned at his trial--Berlin, of loyalty to G?'liQ in Chel,"
l otsdam, Vienna--have an tenham a certain rall ing
exotic flavour appropriate round. To criticise it p:'eacly''
to the melodramatic. if not now would be like tiring a
faintly n absurd "John le scandal in the fanr~i~y"
Ca
" of passwords,
dead letter boxes, secret Undoubtedly there are briefcases and other para- many local r s;dents who ard",
phernalia of modern espion- nffr of the cudaly GCHQ"'
ag. But not Cheltenham. . lengthen. Even national at Che1ten."!
Cheltenham is a once- ham Ladles' Cone' c it has it#
fashionable . spa. w h i c h impact; the achco' h de~'l.
acquired its handsome ter- oped a strong Russian.
races and promenades in language depattmerit, many,
Georgian and Regency times, of whose pupils can expect t'71
and its tradition as the home go on to a modestly-paid bu l
of retired colonels from the safe career behind those' .!
days when 19th-century sec- anonymous chain4ink fences.
wants of empire sought out But for all 'the tacatl.Q.
its agreeable climate. It is a closing of ranks in this tight.
town now noted in the guide knit community, wh a t
books for its handsome archi- Geoffrey Prime did is boun
Lecture, its annual Festival of to have a permanent impa
Music and Literature its art on the town. There will galleries and antique shops. be other headlines on the'V"
In the past few decades front pages of national netiv'~'
indystry and business have ' papers, but Geoffrey Prime
'moved in, as well as CCIIQ, himself will not be going;
but. the place retains its away. Behind the hightsecur.
aura of gracious living. The ity walls, floodlights and dog,
10,000 or so employees of patrols of Long Larton, about
.GCHQ, in particular, with 20 miles off, he looks set t,:'
their own exclusive social become a settled but far less
club, sports teams and welcome neighbour 'of thl--`
Government-owned quarters, town than . Prince ' d aarles
have hitherto ma Approved For Release 2007/12/14: CIA-RDP96BO1172R000300030009-7
 by Ed Blanche
nalist who,specialises in cover-
ing the spy world, has claimed
the Soviets still have as many
as 25 agents in Britain's secret
LONDON services.
TH Ea unmasking of Soviet Just how serious the damage
spy Geoffrey Prime, ?j ailed Prime's betrayal caused is not
Wednesday for 35 years, yet known and may never be.
further undermined confi But Judge Lord Lane de-
dence in Britain's security !, J dared as he sentenced Prime:
d b r "By your treachery, you have
services, spy penetrate for done incalculable harm to the
19y after , interests and security of this
three decades. I, country, and the interests and
Prime, 44, a former transla-
tor at the top secret electronic g i xl security of our friends in the
eavesdropping complex in vl (NATO) alliance."
Cheltenham, is the latest in a Attorney General Sir Mich-
long Havers, prosecuting, said
$
i; ry,o
long line of British traitors a
who have betrayed their coon Prime had done exceptionally
try and fellow agents, and in- 4; `d grave damage."
flicted serious damage on i 3x The details that have
Western security. t , ? a emerged, particularly of
Their names include Guy `' + M Prime's work at the govern-
Burgess, Donald Maclean, ment communications head-
Philby and Anthony quarters in Cheltenham north-
Kim
west of London, indicate that
Blunt.
his treachery could rank with
f 16 t
her 24 as saying Prime's be-
trayal was potentially the
most damaging Soviet pene-
tration of Westerri security
since World War 11.
The sprawling Cheltenham
facility is the nerve centre of
Britain's electronic
intelligence-gathering appara-
tus. It is linked to a worldwide
network of Western spy bases,
ships, planes and satellites
and shares information with
the US National Secuiity Ag-
ency, and with Australia and
Canada.
Its banks of computers inter-
cept Soviet bloc radio, telex
and telephone traffic and deci-
pher coded messages.
Official sources said Prime's
work as a senior translator
handling secret intercepts
made him invaluable to the
Soviets. He could tell them
__
._-
...
,.
.
.
damage dc Approved For Release 2007/12/14: CIA-RDP96B01172R000300030009-7 portantly, which codes
Despite the exposure o
the major security disasters of
Soviet spies or espionage rings the 1950s and 1960x.
in Britain since 1946, US Prirrte...14 Fears of Opposition Labour Party
intelligence has long suspected passing secrets.
that other British "moles" legislator Donald Anderson, a
were still compromising West- curity in the I-louse of Com- former senior Foreign Office
ern interests. mons. official, charged that Havers'
US authorities are angry Lawmakers are demanding admission "shows the affair is
that London has not yet pro- greater parliamentary probably in the same league as
vided a full assessment of the scrutiny of Britain's intelli- Philby, Burgess and Maclean."
A4 and Maclean were
e,r
mt
a
i
,... RI1rPP
submarine to sink another
ship intentionally. Argentina's
one and only cruiser was torpe-
doed and sunk by a British
nuclear submarine.
The Argentine cruiser was
not the first ship to be sunk by
a nuclear submarine. An
American nuclear submarine
sank a Japanese trawler acci-
dentally when they collided
while the submarine was just
below the surface and appar-
ently did not notice the
which was on the sur-
trawler
,
face as trawlers have a habit of
Uncle Ayu hopes such nu-
elear submariners are better
at detecting such other traffic
inconveniences as mines,
which are much smaller than
trawlers.
which of their communications
were being monitored and,
 ----..-..,_____.....,....- r,--.,,-yw,.a,as?nr.,a:;r.^nfrrx;s z.... : _..? .?,1d only people to
Approved For Release 2007/12/14: CIA-RDP96BO1172R000300030009-7 [ly used a nuclear
services, penetrated by one A. your reac ery, y
" "?: < ~. rinno incalculable harm to the The sprawling Cheltenham
trzing
Uncle Ayu hopes such nu-
clear submariners are better
at detecting such other traffic
inconveniences as mines,
which are much smaller than
trawlers.
BYE bye for now, whether
thou be sheep or cow --- or
even human.
Ayumon9OI
Soncakul
further undermined con
dente in Britain's security + , E { ` Glared as he sentenced Prime: tration of Western securit.
t ou have since World War II
Wednesday for 35 years, fir: k,
r ~.z r y But Judge Lord Lane de- most damaging Soviet pene.-
THE unmasking of noviey, ~~ -
spy Geoffrey Prime, jailed Prime's betrayal caused is not ber 24 as saying Prime's be-
known and may never be. traval was potentially the
ing the spy world, has claimed
the Soviets still have as many
as 25 agents in Britain's secret
1'rime, 44, a iornier i.z ui. i-
for at the top secret electronic security of our friends in the intelligence-gathering appara-
(NATO) alliance." tus. It is linked to a worldwide
eavesdropping complex. in Attorne General Sir Mich- network of Western spy bases,
Cheltenham, is the latest in a y
long line of British traitors ael Havers, prosecuting, said ships, planes and satellites
who have betrayed their coun Prime had done "exceptionally and shares information with
try and fellow agents, and in 4 gave damage." the US National Security Ag-
flicted serious damage on \ d l,. ; "k~ The details that have ency, and with Australia and
Western security. ,A M~ F: ? ro } " emerged., particularly of Canada.
ames include Guy Prime's work at the govern- Its banks of computers inter-
Their names'
Burgess, Donald Maclean, ment communications head- cept Soviet bloc radio, telex
Kim Philby and Anthony quarters in Cheltenham north- and telephone traffic and deci-
(i --` f r d
icat , that nher coded messages.
o
ith
Despite the exposure of 16 ` his treachery could rank w
Soviet spies or espionage rings `~J the major security disasters of
in Britain since 1946, US Prime...14 years of the 1950s and 1960s.
O osition Labour Party
one and only UruI3c:i r: a~ ~.._~.
doed and sunk by a British
nuclear submarine.
The Argentine cruiser was
not the first ship to be sunk by
a nuclear submarine. An
American nuclear submarine
sank a Japanese trawler acci-
dentally when they collided
while the submarine was just
below the surface and appar-
ently did 'not notice the
trawler, which was on the sur-
face as trawlers have a habit of
intelligence has long suspected passing secrets. PP `
that other British "moles" legislator Donald Anderson, a Official sources said Prime's
were still compromising West- curity in the House of Com- former senior Foreign Office work as a senior translator
ern interests. mons. official, charged that Havers' handling secret intercepts
US authorities are angry Lawmakers are demanding admission "shows the affair is made him invaluable to the
that London has not yet pro- greater parliamentary probably in the same league as Soviets. He could tell them
vided a full assessment of the scrutiny of Britain's intelli- Philby, Burgess and 1Vi' cleaP " which of their communications
o i damage do Approved For Release 2007/12/14 : CIA-RDP96BO1172R000300030009-7 portantly, which codes
rll~ lil ilr ~~~i ~ i t3~.JV~;,i", ;~;,~Ti,i f., e si~