The World - News from Oct. 29, 1985
The longest and costliest spy trial in British history ended in a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s legal officers when a jury acquitted the last of seven suspects on all charges. Prosecutors had charged that the seven, all servicemen, passed Western secrets “by the bagful” to Soviet agents after being blackmailed over homosexual orgies. Thatcher is expected to face a storm in Parliament over what critics called a prosecution fiasco based on flimsy evidence. The 119-day trial is estimated to have cost $7 million.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
