Cambridge Five
Encyclopedia
The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies
, recruited in part by Russian talent spotter Arnold Deutsch
in the United Kingdom
, who passed information to the Soviet Union
during World War II
and at least into the early 1950s. Four members of the ring have been identified: Kim Philby
(cryptonym: Stanley), Donald Duart Maclean
(cryptonym: Homer), Guy Burgess
(cryptonym: Hicks) and Anthony Blunt
(cryptonym: Johnson); jointly they are known as the Cambridge Four.
Several people have been suspected of being the "fifth man" of the group; John Cairncross
(cryptonym: Liszt) was identified as such by Oleg Gordievsky
, though many others have also been accused of membership in the Cambridge ring.
The term "Cambridge" in the name Cambridge Five refers to the conversion of the group to communism
during their education at Cambridge University in the 1930s. The four known members all attended the university, as did the alleged fifth man, Cairncross. Debate surrounds the exact timing of their recruitment by Soviet intelligence
; Anthony Blunt claimed that they were not recruited as agents until they had graduated. Blunt, a Fellow
of Trinity College
, was several years older than Burgess, Maclean, and Philby; he acted as a talent-spotter and recruiter.
Both Blunt and Burgess were members of the Apostles
, an exclusive and prestigious society based at Trinity and King's
Colleges. John Cairncross, long suspected of having been the 'Fifth Man', and formally identified as a Soviet agent in 1990, was also an Apostle.
Other Apostles accused of having spied for the Soviets include Michael Whitney Straight
, Victor Rothschild
, research fellow Lewis Daly and Guy Liddell
.
, to various degrees of success. Philby, when he was posted in the British embassy in Washington, D.C. after the war, learned the U.S. and the British were searching for a British Embassy mole
(cryptonym Homer) who was passing information to the Soviet Union
, relying on material uncovered by VENONA.
Philby learned one of the suspects was Maclean. Realizing he had to act fast, he ordered Burgess, who was on the embassy staff as well and living with Philby, to warn Maclean in England, where he was serving in the Foreign Office headquarters. Burgess was recalled from the United States due to "bad behaviour" and upon reaching London warned Maclean.
In early summer 1951, Burgess and Maclean made international headlines by disappearing. Their whereabouts were unclear for some time. Strong suspicion that they had defected to the Soviet Union turned out to be correct, but was not made public until 1956, when the two appeared at a press conference in Moscow.
It was obvious they had been tipped off and Philby quickly became prime suspect, due to his close relations with Burgess. Though Burgess was not supposed to defect at the same time as Maclean, he went along. It has been claimed that the KGB
ordered Burgess to go to Moscow. This move damaged Philby's reputation, with many speculating that had this not been the case, Philby could have climbed even higher in MI6
.
, as chief suspect for "the Third Man" and he called a press conference
to deny the allegation.
Philby was officially cleared by then Foreign Secretary Harold MacMillan
; this later turned out to be an error based on incomplete information and bureaucratic inefficiency in the British intelligence organizations.
In the later 1950s, Philby left the secret service and began working as a journalist
in the Middle East
; The Economist
magazine provided his employment there. MI6 then re-employed him at around the same time, to provide reports from that region.
In 1961, defector Anatoliy Golitsyn
provided information which pointed to Philby. An MI5
officer and friend of Philby from his earlier MI6 days, John Nicholas Rede Elliott
was sent in 1963 to interview him in Beirut
and reported that Philby seemed to know he was coming (indicating the presence of yet another mole
). Nonetheless, Philby confessed to Elliott.
Shortly afterward, apparently fearing he might be abducted in Lebanon
, Philby defected to the Soviet Union under cover of night aboard a Soviet freighter.
Blunt was interrogated by MI5 and confessed in exchange for immunity from prosecution. By 1979 Blunt was publicly accused of being a Soviet agent by investigative journalist Andrew Boyle
, in his book Climate of Treason. In November 1979, the Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
admitted to the House of Commons
that Blunt had confessed to being a Soviet spy fifteen years previously.
As he was by 1964 without access to classified information
, he had secretly been granted immunity by the Attorney General
in exchange for revealing everything he knew. He provided a considerable amount of information, and preventing the Soviets from discovering his confession increased the value of his information.
The term "Five" began to be used in 1961, when KGB
defector Anatoliy Golitsyn
named Maclean and Burgess as part of a "Ring of Five", with Philby a 'probable' third, alongside two other agents whom he did not know.
Of all the information provided by Golitsyn, the only item that was ever independently confirmed was the Soviet affiliation of John Vassall
. Vassall was a relatively low ranking spy who some researchers believe may have been sacrificed to protect a more senior one.
At the time of Golitsyn's defection, Philby had already been accused in the press and was living in a country with no extradition
agreement with Britain. Select members of MI5 and MI6 already knew Philby to be a spy from VENONA decryptions. Golitsyn also provided other information that is widely regarded as highly improbable, such as the claim that Harold Wilson
(then Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom) was a KGB agent.
Golitsyn's reliability remains a controversial subject and as such there is little certainty of the number of agents he assigned to the Cambridge spy ring. To add to the confusion, when Blunt finally confessed, he named several other people as having been recruited by him.
and The Tenth Man, both written by Graham Greene
- who, coincidentally, knew and worked alongside Philby during the Second World War.
It is now widely accepted that the spy ring had more than five members, possibly many more, since three other persons are known to have confessed, several more were nominated in confessions, and circumstantial
cases have been made against others. The following were certainly Soviet spies.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
is alleged to have been a Soviet recruiter at Cambridge by Kimberley Cornish in his 1998 book The Jew of Linz
, but his theories about Wittgenstein and the influence of Wittgenstein on Hitler
have found little acceptance.
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, recruited in part by Russian talent spotter Arnold Deutsch
Arnold Deutsch
Dr. Arnold Deutsch , variously described as Austrian, Czech, or Hungarian, was an academic who worked as a Soviet spy, most well known for having recruited Kim Philby. Much of his life remains unknown or disputed.-Early life:...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, who passed information to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and at least into the early 1950s. Four members of the ring have been identified: Kim Philby
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was a high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a spy for and later defected to the Soviet Union...
(cryptonym: Stanley), Donald Duart Maclean
Donald Duart Maclean
Donald Duart Maclean was a British diplomat and member of the Cambridge Five who were members of MI5, MI6 or the diplomatic service who acted as spies for the Soviet Union in the Second World War and beyond. He was recruited as a "straight penetration agent" while an undergraduate at Cambridge by...
(cryptonym: Homer), Guy Burgess
Guy Burgess
Guy Francis De Moncy Burgess was a British-born intelligence officer and double agent, who worked for the Soviet Union. He was part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War...
(cryptonym: Hicks) and Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
(cryptonym: Johnson); jointly they are known as the Cambridge Four.
Several people have been suspected of being the "fifth man" of the group; John Cairncross
John Cairncross
John Cairncross was a British intelligence officer during World War II, who passed secrets to the Soviet Union...
(cryptonym: Liszt) was identified as such by Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Gordievsky
Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky , CMG , is a former Colonel of the KGB and KGB Resident-designate and bureau chief in London, who was a secret agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1974 to 1985.-Early career:Oleg Gordievsky attended the Moscow State Institute of International...
, though many others have also been accused of membership in the Cambridge ring.
The term "Cambridge" in the name Cambridge Five refers to the conversion of the group to communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
during their education at Cambridge University in the 1930s. The four known members all attended the university, as did the alleged fifth man, Cairncross. Debate surrounds the exact timing of their recruitment by Soviet intelligence
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
; Anthony Blunt claimed that they were not recruited as agents until they had graduated. Blunt, a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, was several years older than Burgess, Maclean, and Philby; he acted as a talent-spotter and recruiter.
Both Blunt and Burgess were members of the Apostles
Cambridge Apostles
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
, an exclusive and prestigious society based at Trinity and King's
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
Colleges. John Cairncross, long suspected of having been the 'Fifth Man', and formally identified as a Soviet agent in 1990, was also an Apostle.
Other Apostles accused of having spied for the Soviets include Michael Whitney Straight
Michael Whitney Straight
Michael Whitney Straight, was an American magazine publisher, novelist, patron of the arts, a member of the prominent Whitney family, and a confessed spy for the KGB.-Biography:...
, Victor Rothschild
Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild
Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild, GBE, GM, FRS was a biologist by training, a cricketer and a member of the prominent Rothschild family...
, research fellow Lewis Daly and Guy Liddell
Guy Liddell
Guy Maynard Liddell, CB, CBE, MC was a British intelligence officer during World War II.-Early life & career:...
.
Maclean and Burgess
All four were active during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, to various degrees of success. Philby, when he was posted in the British embassy in Washington, D.C. after the war, learned the U.S. and the British were searching for a British Embassy mole
Mole (espionage)
A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation, but whose loyalty ostensibly lies with his own nation's government. In some usage, a mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector becomes a spy only after gaining access...
(cryptonym Homer) who was passing information to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, relying on material uncovered by VENONA.
Philby learned one of the suspects was Maclean. Realizing he had to act fast, he ordered Burgess, who was on the embassy staff as well and living with Philby, to warn Maclean in England, where he was serving in the Foreign Office headquarters. Burgess was recalled from the United States due to "bad behaviour" and upon reaching London warned Maclean.
In early summer 1951, Burgess and Maclean made international headlines by disappearing. Their whereabouts were unclear for some time. Strong suspicion that they had defected to the Soviet Union turned out to be correct, but was not made public until 1956, when the two appeared at a press conference in Moscow.
It was obvious they had been tipped off and Philby quickly became prime suspect, due to his close relations with Burgess. Though Burgess was not supposed to defect at the same time as Maclean, he went along. It has been claimed that the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
ordered Burgess to go to Moscow. This move damaged Philby's reputation, with many speculating that had this not been the case, Philby could have climbed even higher in MI6
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
.
Philby
Investigation of Philby found several suspicious matters but nothing for which he could be prosecuted. Nevertheless he was forced to resign from MI6. In 1955 he was named in the press, with questions also raised in the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, as chief suspect for "the Third Man" and he called a press conference
News conference
A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides.-Practice:...
to deny the allegation.
Philby was officially cleared by then Foreign Secretary Harold MacMillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
; this later turned out to be an error based on incomplete information and bureaucratic inefficiency in the British intelligence organizations.
In the later 1950s, Philby left the secret service and began working as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
; The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
magazine provided his employment there. MI6 then re-employed him at around the same time, to provide reports from that region.
In 1961, defector Anatoliy Golitsyn
Anatoliy Golitsyn
Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn CBE is a Soviet KGB defector and author of two books about the long-term deception strategy of the KGB leadership. He was born in Piryatin, Ukrainian SSR...
provided information which pointed to Philby. An MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
officer and friend of Philby from his earlier MI6 days, John Nicholas Rede Elliott
John Nicholas Rede Elliott
John Nicholas Rede Elliott was an MI6 Intelligence Officer; Honorary Attache, The Hague 1938-40; Acting Lieutenant, Intelligence Corps 1940-45; Head of Station, Secret Intelligence Service, Berne 1945-53, Vienna 1953-56, London 1956-60, Beirut 1960-62, a director 1963-69; executive director,...
was sent in 1963 to interview him in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and reported that Philby seemed to know he was coming (indicating the presence of yet another mole
Mole (espionage)
A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation, but whose loyalty ostensibly lies with his own nation's government. In some usage, a mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector becomes a spy only after gaining access...
). Nonetheless, Philby confessed to Elliott.
Shortly afterward, apparently fearing he might be abducted in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Philby defected to the Soviet Union under cover of night aboard a Soviet freighter.
Blunt
MI5 received information from American Michael Straight in 1964 which pointed to Blunt's espionage; the two had known each other at Cambridge some 30 years before and Blunt had tried to recruit Straight as a spy; Straight, who initially agreed, changed his mind afterwards.Blunt was interrogated by MI5 and confessed in exchange for immunity from prosecution. By 1979 Blunt was publicly accused of being a Soviet agent by investigative journalist Andrew Boyle
Andrew Boyle
Andrew Philip More Boyle was a Scottish journalist and biographer. His biography of Brendan Bracken won the 1974 Whitbread Awards and his book The Climate of Treason exposed Anthony Blunt as the "Fourth Man" in the Cambridge Five Soviet spy ring.He was born in the Scottish city of Dundee and was...
, in his book Climate of Treason. In November 1979, the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
admitted to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
that Blunt had confessed to being a Soviet spy fifteen years previously.
As he was by 1964 without access to classified information
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
, he had secretly been granted immunity by the Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
in exchange for revealing everything he knew. He provided a considerable amount of information, and preventing the Soviets from discovering his confession increased the value of his information.
The term "Five" began to be used in 1961, when KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
defector Anatoliy Golitsyn
Anatoliy Golitsyn
Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn CBE is a Soviet KGB defector and author of two books about the long-term deception strategy of the KGB leadership. He was born in Piryatin, Ukrainian SSR...
named Maclean and Burgess as part of a "Ring of Five", with Philby a 'probable' third, alongside two other agents whom he did not know.
Of all the information provided by Golitsyn, the only item that was ever independently confirmed was the Soviet affiliation of John Vassall
John Vassall
William John Christopher Vassall was a British civil servant who, under pressure of blackmail, spied for the Soviet Union....
. Vassall was a relatively low ranking spy who some researchers believe may have been sacrificed to protect a more senior one.
At the time of Golitsyn's defection, Philby had already been accused in the press and was living in a country with no extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
agreement with Britain. Select members of MI5 and MI6 already knew Philby to be a spy from VENONA decryptions. Golitsyn also provided other information that is widely regarded as highly improbable, such as the claim that Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
(then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
of the United Kingdom) was a KGB agent.
Golitsyn's reliability remains a controversial subject and as such there is little certainty of the number of agents he assigned to the Cambridge spy ring. To add to the confusion, when Blunt finally confessed, he named several other people as having been recruited by him.
Fifth Man
On the basis of the information provided by Golitsyn, speculation raged for many years as to the identity of the "Fifth Man". The journalistic popularity of this phrase owes something to the unrelated novels The Third ManThe Third Man
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...
and The Tenth Man, both written by Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
- who, coincidentally, knew and worked alongside Philby during the Second World War.
It is now widely accepted that the spy ring had more than five members, possibly many more, since three other persons are known to have confessed, several more were nominated in confessions, and circumstantial
Circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...
cases have been made against others. The following were certainly Soviet spies.
- John CairncrossJohn CairncrossJohn Cairncross was a British intelligence officer during World War II, who passed secrets to the Soviet Union...
(1913–1995), confessed in 1951; this was publicly revealed in 1990. He was also accused by Anthony Blunt during Blunt's confession in 1964. - Leo Long (later an intelligence officer), similarly accused by Blunt in 1964.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
is alleged to have been a Soviet recruiter at Cambridge by Kimberley Cornish in his 1998 book The Jew of Linz
The Jew of Linz
The Jew of Linz is a controversial 1998 book by Australian writer Kimberley Cornish. It alleges that the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had a profound effect on Adolf Hitler when they were both pupils at the Realschule in Linz, Austria, in the early 1900s...
, but his theories about Wittgenstein and the influence of Wittgenstein on Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
have found little acceptance.
In fiction
- A Question of AttributionA Question of AttributionA Question of Attribution is a 1988 one-act stage play, written by Alan Bennett. It was premièred at the National Theatre, London in December 1988, along with An Englishman Abroad. The two plays are collectively called Single Spies....
(dramatization of Blunt's term as Keeper of the Queen's Pictures), An Englishman AbroadAn Englishman AbroadAn Englishman Abroad is a 1983 BBC television drama, based on the true story of a chance meeting of an actress, Coral Browne, with Guy Burgess , a member of the Cambridge spy ring who worked for the Soviet Union whilst with MI6...
(dramatization of Burgess in Russia), and The Old Country (about a fictional Philby-esque spy in exile), all by Alan BennettAlan BennettAlan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
. - Another CountryAnother Country (play)Another Country is a play written by English playwright Julian Mitchell that premiered in 1981 at the Greenwich Theatre in south-east London and later transferred to the West End in March 1982. In the summer of 2000 the play was revived at The Oxford Playhouse. From 4 September 2000 until 28...
(a play loosely based on Guy Burgess' life) by Julian MitchellJulian MitchellJulian Mitchell FRSL , full name Charles Julian Humphrey Mitchell, is an English playwright, screenwriter and occasional novelist...
, and the subsequent film Another Country. - A Perfect SpyA Perfect SpyA Perfect Spy by John le Carré is a novel about the mental and moral dissolution of a secret agent.-Plot introduction:A Perfect Spy is the tale of Magnus Pym, a long-time spy for the United Kingdom. After attending his father's funeral, Pym mysteriously disappears...
, by John Le Carré (New York 1986). Events in the life of the character Magnus Pym are partly based upon the life and career of Kim Philby. - Dennis PotterDennis PotterDennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
's television play TraitorTraitor (TV drama)Traitor is a BBC television drama written by Dennis Potter, which featured in the Play for Today on 14 October 1971.It features the prominent British comedy actor John Le Mesurier, in a straight acting role, as Adrian Harris, a character loosely based on Kim Philby, although he may also contain...
(1971) features a central character called Adrian Harris (John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
) being interviewed in his Moscow flat by western newspaper reporters, eager to get the story on his defection. Harris appears to be a composite of Philby, Burgess and Maclean. Potter later returned to similar territory with Blade on the FeatherBlade on the FeatherBlade on the Feather is a television drama by Dennis Potter, broadcast by ITV on 19 October 1980 as the first in a loosely-connected trilogy of plays exploring language and betrayal...
(1980), inspired by the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, although in this drama the protagonist Jason Cavendish (Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
) is clearly modeled after Philby. Philby is later name-checked as the sports reporter on The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
in Potter's Lipstick on Your CollarLipstick on Your CollarLipstick on Your Collar is a 1993 British television serial written by Dennis Potter, originally broadcast on Channel 4 expanded from Potter's earlier play Lay Down Your Arms...
(1993), and appears to be giving inside tips on horse-races to officials at the War Office. - The UntouchableThe Untouchable (novel)The Untouchable is a 1997 novel by the Irish author John Banville. The book is written as a roman à clef, presented from the point of view of the art historian, double agent and homosexual Victor Maskell—a character based on the life of Cambridge spy Anthony Blunt, as well as on elements from the...
by John BanvilleJohn BanvilleJohn Banville is an Irish novelist and screenwriter.Banville's breakthrough novel The Book of Evidence was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the Guinness Peat Aviation award. His eighteenth novel, The Sea, won the Man Booker Prize in 2005. He was awarded the Franz Kafka Prize in 2011...
. The character Victor Maskell seems to be a combination of Anthony Blunt and poet Louis MacNeiceLouis MacNeiceFrederick Louis MacNeice CBE was an Irish poet and playwright. He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" which included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis; nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group — a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco...
. - The Jigsaw ManThe Jigsaw Man (film)The Jigsaw Man British espionage film starring Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier and Robert Powell. Directed by Terence Young, it was based on a novel by Dorothea Bennett and the screenplay was by Jo Eisinger.-Plot:...
a 1983 film starring Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
. Caine plays a character named Philip Kimberley who returns to England after his defection. - Cambridge SpiesCambridge SpiesCambridge Spies is a 2003 four-part BBC television drama concerning the lives of the best-known quartet of the Cambridge Five Soviet spies from 1934 to the 1951 defection of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean to the Soviet Union...
(BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Drama) with Toby StephensToby StephensToby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip...
as Kim Philby, Tom HollanderTom HollanderThomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
as Guy Burgess, Rupert Penry-JonesRupert Penry-JonesRupert William Penry-Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as Adam Carter in the British television series Spooks, also broadcast under the title MI-5.-Family life:Penry-Jones was born in London on September 22, 1970...
as Donald Maclean, and Samuel WestSamuel WestSamuel Alexander Joseph West is an English actor and theatre director. He is perhaps best known for his role in Howards End and his work on stage. He also starred in the award-winning play ENRON...
as Anthony Blunt. - Philby, Burgess and Maclean, 1977 Granada TelevisionGranada TelevisionGranada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
drama-documentary, recently re-broadcast on BBC FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, with Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
as Burgess. - Escape, drama-documentary on Philby's defection.
- Blunt: the Fourth Man, television drama, with Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
as Guy Burgess and Ian RichardsonIan RichardsonIan William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
as Anthony Blunt. - High Season (1987 movie) includes a character named "Sharp", fleeing England before being unmasked as a spy.
- In Alan Moore'sAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black DossierThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black DossierThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier is an original graphic novel in the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. It was the last volume of the series to be published by DC Comics. Although the third book to be...
, there appears a Cambridge Five analogue consisting of the Famous Five from Greyfriars SchoolGreyfriars SchoolGreyfriars School is a fictional English public school used as a setting in the long running series of stories by the writer Charles Hamilton, who wrote under the pen-name Frank Richards. Although the stories are focused on the Remove , whose most famous pupil was Billy Bunter, other characters...
, including Harry Wharton who would become Big Brother, Bob KimKim (novel)Kim is a picaresque novel by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published serially in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901, and first published in book form by Macmillan & Co. Ltd in October 1901...
Cherry (named after Kim Philby) who would be also known as Harry LimeThe Third ManThe Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...
and subsequently MM (James Bond)M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
or MotherMother (The Avengers)"Mother" is a fictional character in British TV series The Avengers. "Mother" is a codename. In the series the incumbent in the role is a wheelchair using male British government official. He made his debut in The Forget-Me-Knot, which was Emma Peel's final episode and Tara King's first. In...
, Francis Alexander WaverlyThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
(possibly formerly known as Frank Nugent) and Sir John NightEmma PeelEmma Peel was a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight.-Casting:...
(possibly formerly known as John Bull). - The Fourth ProtocolThe Fourth ProtocolThe Fourth Protocol is a novel written by Frederick Forsyth and published in August 1984.-Explanation of the novel's title:The title refers to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which contained four secret protocols. The fourth, of the protocols, was meant to prohibit the non-conventional...
, a novel by Frederick ForsythFrederick ForsythFrederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan and The Cobra.-...
uses a fictionalised Kim Philby as a central character, who conspires to smuggle a portable nuclear weapon into Britain. - Burgess, Maclean and Philby appear in the Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
Eighth Doctor AdventuresEighth Doctor AdventuresThe Eighth Doctor Adventures are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. 73 books were published overall...
novel EndgameEndgame (Doctor Who)Endgame is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor, as well as the Players.-External links:*...
dealing with their defection to Russia. - The InnocentThe Innocent (novel)-Summary:The novel takes place in 1955-56 Berlin at the beginning of the Cold War and centres on the joint CIA/MI6 operation to build a tunnel from the American sector of Berlin into the Russian sector to tap the phone lines of the Soviet High Command. Leonard Marnham is a 25-year-old Englishman...
, a novel by Ian McEwanIan McEwanIan Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
, involves a spy tunnel which the Soviets discover but do not initially expose, similar to the Philby tunnel - The Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
education show KNTVThe KNTV ShowThe KNTV Show is an educational television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom beginning in 2006, which taught about science, and philosophy ....
features a character called 'Burgess MacPhilbin', who provides information for teenagers in the form of a spy dossier. - The 2004 film A Different LoyaltyA Different LoyaltyA Different Loyalty is a 2004 drama film inspired by the story of British traitor Kim Philby's love affair and marriage to Eleanor Brewer in Beirut and his eventual defection to the Soviet Union. The story takes place in the 1960s and stars Sharon Stone and Rupert Everett...
, directed by Marek KanievskaMarek KanievskaMarek Kanievska is a British film director. His films have won various awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Florence Film Festival.-Film:*The First Day - short film*Another Country...
, is inspired by Kim Philby's affair and subsequent marriage to Eleanor Brewer, as well as events leading up to his defectionDefectionIn politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
to the USSR. - In 2009, Michael DobbsMichael DobbsMichael Dobbs, Baron Dobbs is a British Conservative politician and best-selling author.-Background:Michael Dobbs was born on 14 November 1948 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, the son of nurseryman Eric and Eileen Dobbs. He was educated at Hertford Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford University....
wrote a short play, "Turning Point," for a series of live broadcast TV plays on Sky Arts channel. Based on a 1938 meeting between a young Guy Burgess and Winston Churchill, the play sees Burgess urging Churchill to fight the appeasement policy of the British government. In the live broadcast, Burgess was played by Benedict CumberbatchBenedict CumberbatchBenedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking ; William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace ; the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy ; Paul...
. - Kim Philby appears as one of the central antagonists in William F. Buckley's 2004 novel Last Call for Blackford Oakes.
- The plot of Charles CummingCharles CummingCharles Cumming is a British writer of spy fiction. The son of Ian Cumming and Caroline Pilkington , he was educated at Ludgrove School , Eton College and the University of Edinburgh , where he graduated with 1st Class Honours in English Literature...
's 2011 novel, The Trinity Six, is built on the premise that there was a sixth spy and that his existence is being covered up by MI6.