British Spy Case Figures Cleared : Costly Trial Means Black Eye for Officials
The longest and costliest spy trial in British history ended in humiliation for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s law enforcement officers today when a jury completed its acquittal of all seven suspects on all charges.
The jury at London’s Old Bailey court cleared the last two defendants, including alleged ringleader Geoffrey Jones, after a deliberation of seven days.
It was the 119th day of a trial that is estimated to have cost $7 million.
Prosecutors alleged that the seven servicemen passed vital Western secrets “by the bagful” to Soviet agents while serving in Cyprus after being blackmailed over homosexual orgies.
Now Thatcher and her law chiefs, headed by Atty. Gen. Sir Michael Havers, face a storm in Parliament over what critics called the fiasco of a prosecution based on flimsy evidence and alleged forced confessions.
The case will also revive demands for the repeal of the 1911 Official Secrets Act, under which the men were prosecuted.
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