Murdered spy was assuming new identity

MI6 SPY Gareth Williams was training to take on a new identity eight months before he was found dead, it was reported yesterday.

And a close friend also insisted he was not gay after detectives suggested the 31-year-old may have died at the hands of a mystery bondage sex partner he met on London’s gay scene.

Sian Lloyd-Jones, 33, told the Mail on Sunday that before he died, Williams was studying for a new identity as he visited her central London flat.

She said: “He said he was learning his new identity. It was all so relaxed.

“He often came round with his work. That night he came over with his box file and started going through it. He had two passports.”

And she said Williams was a straight man who was looking for a girlfriend.

She said: “He was open with his family, and if he was gay and had any temptations he would have spoken about them, especially to his sister.

“Hand on heart, there were no innuendos about him.”

She added: “He cherished the time he had with his sister and with me and he wanted that with other girls.”

Police have said it would have been impossible for the dead man to lock himself in the holdall where his naked body was found.

And they have revealed that forensic evidence indicates other people were in his Pimlico flat who they have been unable to trace.

But Scotland Yard said it is impossible to say whether Williams was already dead when he was put in the bag or died from suffocation once zipped inside.

The spy also had a secret passion for fashion and hoarded unworn women’s designer clothes worth £15,000 (€18,000) in his wardrobe alongside several wigs.

Lloyd-Jones, who went to primary school with Williams before renewing their friendship four years ago, said the outfits were probably gifts for her or his sister Ceri.

“He bought me a high-end Balenciaga top, a Gucci bag, a Mulberry bag, an Armani fur. He did the same for his sister.

“I truly believe that Ceri and I were going to receive the clothing. We received so many things from him, that wouldn’t have been strange,” she said.

Williams’ decomposing body was found in a large holdall sealed by a padlock through the zip fasteners. The keys were inside.