British intelligence agencies have carried out an extraordinary global operation, spending two decades hunting for a suspected Russian double agent at the heart of MI6.
For nearly two decades, Britain’s MI5 and MI6 intelligence agencies ran a massive operation, codenamed Operation Wedlock, to expose a senior MI6 officer suspected of working for Russia. The “highly unusual” investigation, which began in the mid-1990s and ended in 2015, was sparked by information from the CIA about the suspected spy.
The Daily Mail writes about this.
There were serious concerns that a British intelligence officer in London was passing confidential information to Moscow.
Incredible risks and lack of evidence
Operation Wedlock was the longest and probably the most expensive operation in MI5's recent history, involving 35 surveillance, planning and analysis officers travelling around the world.
During the investigation, there were instances where the surveillance team traveled to the Middle East without permission from the local government, putting themselves at risk of violating international law. The agents were given clear instructions: if they were detained, they would be left alone, without support.
Despite all their efforts, the spy agency never received “convincing evidence” of the mole’s existence. This means there is a possibility that the double agent could still be spying for Russia. One source claims that the Americans were convinced of the existence of a Russian mole in British intelligence and referred to him as “suspect 1A.”
Comparison with Philby and an uncertain outcome
There were fears within the organisation that they were dealing with “another Philby”, a reference to the notorious MI6 double agent Kim Philby, who defected to Moscow in 1963. wiretaps and hidden cameras.
Despite the significant resources and time spent on the operation, its success remains questionable due to the lack of hard evidence.
“MI5 never got the hard evidence they were looking for. They said if it wasn't him, maybe MI6 still had to find the mole,” a source close to the investigation said.
This leaves open the question of whether the double agent is still active.
Let us recall that a large-scale spy scandal has rocked Switzerland. A high-ranking officer of the cyber unit of the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) allegedly passed secret data to the Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, which provided them to the Russian special services. In Switzerland, they believe that for at least 5 years, the country's secrets went straight into the hands of the Kremlin.
