0:00:15 > 0:00:18'Let's be gentlemen about this.'
0:00:20 > 0:00:22I'm sure we can work something out.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38'Your past has caught up with you, Kim.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:40The game's up.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41'We've penetrated the KGB.'
0:00:41 > 0:00:43You see how foolish this seems.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46It's astonishing, totally absurd.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48You know it's absurd.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Do you want me to give you my version of your work for the Russians?
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Do you want me to spell it out for you?
0:00:54 > 0:00:56- Are you serious? - Yes, Kim.
0:00:58 > 0:00:59I am.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'Is Nedosekin your contact?'
0:01:02 > 0:01:03'I don't have a bloody contact.'
0:01:08 > 0:01:13Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby, fellow officers in MI6,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16had been the closest of friends for more than 20 years.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21These were spies cut from the same cloth.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Yet, they could not have been more different.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28These friends were, in reality, bitter enemies,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32fighting on opposite sides of the Cold War.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39This peculiarly British friendship between two spies
0:01:39 > 0:01:41offers an extraordinary insight
0:01:41 > 0:01:45into one of the most important secret chapters of that conflict.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52OK.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Here's...
0:01:55 > 0:01:57PHILBY CHUCKLES
0:01:57 > 0:01:58H-Here's the scoop.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03'H-Here's the scoop.'
0:02:06 > 0:02:09'H-Here's the scoop. H-Here's the scoop.'
0:02:25 > 0:02:2714 years earlier,
0:02:27 > 0:02:3137-year-old intelligence officer, Harold "Kim" Philby,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36was bound to the US aboard one of Cunard's finest luxury liners.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40He had been offered a top job.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Philby was a rising star in MI6,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Britain's secret intelligence service.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53He arrived in Washington as the new Head Of Station,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57one of MI6'S plum postings.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02As the liaison between MI6 and the CIA,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Philby was now a key player in the Cold War,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09with access to America's most closely-guarded secrets.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16But Philby had a secret of his own, one that he did not share.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Philby led a double life,
0:03:18 > 0:03:23one as a loyal and supremely charming British intelligence officer
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and the other as a Soviet agent.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Philby appeared to be the quintessential English patriot.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33But for more than 15 years,
0:03:33 > 0:03:38he had been feeding British and American secrets to Moscow,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40causing the deaths of hundreds of people.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Philby's code name was Stanley
0:03:44 > 0:03:48and he was the Soviet Union's most important spy.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Moscow couldn't have been happier with Agent Stanley.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56London was also pleased with him.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00He was even being considered as a future chief of MI6.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04He'd been always talked about as this wonderful man
0:04:04 > 0:04:08who was a leading light in the office.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Of course, Philby just seemed so completely un-spylike,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15you didn't think of him as a spy.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17You believed in him.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19But then came disaster.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25This is the BBC Home Service and here is the news.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28On Monday, 11th June, 1951,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Kim Philby was urgently recalled to London
0:04:31 > 0:04:35and, as he put it, "I knew I'd landed in the soup."
0:04:38 > 0:04:41A fortnight earlier, two British diplomats,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Mr Morrison has made a statement in the House of Commons
0:04:51 > 0:04:55about the disappearance of the two Foreign Office officials.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59He said there had been no confirmed news of their whereabouts,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01security aspects of the case were being investigated
0:05:01 > 0:05:05and it was not in the public interest to disclose them.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09In the test match at Nottingham, England 419...
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Philby knew the missing diplomats
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and he knew that both of them were also Soviet spies.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Burgess was a close friend.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20A few weeks earlier,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23he'd been sharing Philby's house in Washington.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Through his work for MI6, Philby had discovered
0:05:28 > 0:05:32that Maclean was under surveillance and about to be arrested.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38So Philby had sent Burgess to London to warn Maclean
0:05:38 > 0:05:40that his cover was about to be blown
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and together they had fled to Russia.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Now, Philby's links with the two missing diplomats
0:05:48 > 0:05:51had made him a target of suspicion.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56He was invited to Leconfield House in Mayfair
0:05:56 > 0:06:01for questioning by MI5, the domestic security service.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Waiting for him was Dick Goldsmith White,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08the chief of counter-intelligence.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13The son of a Kentish ironmonger, White was a veteran spy hunter,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17polite, relentless and completely ruthless.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22It was White's job to snoop and pry.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24He had authority to bug, burgle
0:06:24 > 0:06:29and spy on anyone he considered a threat to national security.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33And what he needed to know was whether Philby was in league
0:06:33 > 0:06:37with the two Soviet agents, Burgess and Maclean.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Had a third man tipped them off to flee to Moscow
0:06:41 > 0:06:44and, if so, was Philby that third man?
0:06:45 > 0:06:50Their meeting was a polite, slightly embarrassed affair,
0:06:50 > 0:06:55but both men knew that a brutal game of cat-and-mouse had begun.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57White began by telling Philby
0:06:57 > 0:07:00that he was simply aiding an investigation
0:07:00 > 0:07:04into this horrible business of the two missing diplomats.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09He reassured him that he was not the target of an investigation himself.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12"Was it remotely possible," White asked,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15"that Burgess could have been a secret Soviet spy?"
0:07:17 > 0:07:21"Absolutely inconceivable," said Philby,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23he'd known Burgess since Cambridge.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26The man was a drunk, a flagrant homosexual
0:07:26 > 0:07:30and totally unsuitable to be a spy, let alone a Soviet one.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Dick White suspected that Philby was lying,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41but the case against the MI6 man was circumstantial.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43MI5 needed hard evidence.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49Despite his growing certainty that Philby was a spy,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Dick White had to tread cautiously.
0:07:51 > 0:07:57Philby's powerful friends in the foreign intelligence service, MI6,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01were already rallying to his side in Westminster,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03and one in particular.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby were birds of a feather.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Products of public school and Cambridge,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14born into Britain's ruling elite,
0:08:14 > 0:08:19they had risen together through the ranks of MI6.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Elliott shared everything with Philby,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26but Philby had never revealed his own secret,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29the one that really mattered.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33This was an old-fashioned sort of friendship,
0:08:33 > 0:08:38between two upper-class Englishmen, who seldom discussed their feelings.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43It was based on cricket, clubs, alcohol and jokes.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46But this most intimate of friendships
0:08:46 > 0:08:49disguised the most intimate betrayal.
0:08:51 > 0:08:57Kim probably meant as much to my father, apart from my mother,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59as anybody in his life.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03They had tremendously convivial times together.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And so, in that circumstance,
0:09:08 > 0:09:14it was such an incredibly disturbing thought to him
0:09:14 > 0:09:16that Kim could possibly be a traitor.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22My father couldn't countenance the idea of betrayal.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Elliott flatly refused to entertain even the possibility
0:09:29 > 0:09:32that his closest friend could be a Soviet spy.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38They had joined MI6 together, they'd both been to Cambridge.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41For God's sake, the man was a member of the Athenaeum.
0:09:47 > 0:09:5271 runs. Oh, to be at Trent Bridge.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56It was a damn fine display, though.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Those South African chaps, they are a jolly good bowling outfit.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03I hope you can join me at Lords next week.
0:10:03 > 0:10:04I wouldn't miss it for the world.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Who would have thought they'd be one up?
0:10:15 > 0:10:18I rather hope all of this with Burgess will be sorted by then.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21I don't know.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Dick White wants to talk to me again.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26And he wants me to surrender my passport too.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Oh, Kim, you must fight like hell.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34If I were accused of treachery, I'd complain to the Prime Minister.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Nick, they think I'm a bloody communist,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39how would I get close to the PM?
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Well, we are not going to stand by and let your reputation
0:10:42 > 0:10:45be traduced by a... a bunch of half-baked rumours.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53I can't drag you into this mess.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56It's OUR mess, Kim.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59And we will sort it out, no matter what Dick White says.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Elliott defended his friend against all accusers,
0:11:07 > 0:11:13loudly declaring his innocence and bombarding MI5 with complaints
0:11:13 > 0:11:15about the way Philby had been treated.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20With the MI5 investigators closing in,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Philby was now given his own code name, Peach.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Dick White summoned Philby to his Mayfair office
0:11:28 > 0:11:34to give him another grilling, this time much less courteous.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38After the interrogation, Peach headed home,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40but now he was no longer alone.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Officers from MI5's surveillance unit, the watchers,
0:11:45 > 0:11:46were on his tail.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Most of the watchers were ex-policemen,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55selected for their sharp hearing, good eyesight
0:11:55 > 0:11:59and average height, in order not to be conspicuous.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04But they were also instructed to wear trilby hats and raincoats,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06which made them look exactly like spies.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25As an experienced intelligence officer,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Philby quickly sensed that he was being followed.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33But the watchers also had company.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41The streets of Mayfair were witnessing
0:12:41 > 0:12:44a Cold War battle of wits
0:12:44 > 0:12:47because the Russians also had Philby under surveillance,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49and his watchers.
0:12:49 > 0:12:55Moscow was alarmed, worried that its top mole, Agent Stanley,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59might be exposed, captured and even turned and used against them.
0:13:02 > 0:13:08The investigation into Kim Philby drove a wedge between MI5 and MI6.
0:13:08 > 0:13:14MI5 were convinced that Philby had tipped off Burgess and Maclean.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19The head of MI6 refused to believe it, but he was left with no choice.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Philby had to go.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27With great sadness, Major General Sir Stewart Graham Menzies,
0:13:27 > 0:13:32or C for short, called Philby in to give him his marching orders.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Reluctantly, the head of MI6 told Philby that he must do
0:13:40 > 0:13:44the honourable thing and resign, for the good of the service.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Philby's glittering career as an intelligence officer was over.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58Elliott was outraged by his friend's dismissal from the firm.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03He vowed that Philby wouldn't be frozen out of MI6 for long
0:14:03 > 0:14:07and he promised to get him back into the service as soon as possible.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Only weeks earlier, Philby had been a key player
0:14:13 > 0:14:15in the glamorous American capital.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22Now unemployed, he found himself house-hunting near Rickmansworth
0:14:22 > 0:14:24in the quiet Hertfordshire commuter belt.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29He and his wife, Aileen, and their five children,
0:14:29 > 0:14:34were crammed into this rented Victorian cottage called Sun Box.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38The name hardly matched Philby's mood.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Eventually, Philby found a job, filling out paperwork,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54importing Spanish oranges.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59The work was boring and the commute was dreary.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03He was miserable, argumentative and frequently drunk.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Philby was out in the cold.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14Month after month, MI5 watched Philby at home and bugged his telephone.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21The recordings of Philby's home phone,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Chorleywood 9-7, remain secret.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28But one intimate source of information
0:15:28 > 0:15:30has recently been declassified.
0:15:32 > 0:15:38In 1951, the deputy head of MI5 was Guy Maynard Liddell.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40He kept a meticulous diary,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45chronicling the daily incremental progress of the investigation.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52Liddell's diary was so secret, it was locked in its own safe,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56and even had its own code name - Wallflowers.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59But if MI5 had hoped to catch Philby
0:15:59 > 0:16:02chatting on the telephone to his Soviet masters,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04they were disappointed.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Philby was too canny to say anything incriminating.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11instead he was often overheard in conversation
0:16:11 > 0:16:13with his friends in MI6.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Philby knew that his every word was being recorded and analysed.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Eventually, the telephone intercepts would fill 33 volumes,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27but Philby never gave anything away.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30He was pathologically discreet.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35But the intercepts do contain a fascinating new insight
0:16:35 > 0:16:38into the effects of Philby's betrayal.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Philby's wife, Aileen, was a woman of conventional patriotic loyalties
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and she had become a close friend of Nicholas Elliott.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53But she was also unstable and unhappy.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Unlike Elliott, she suspected
0:16:57 > 0:17:01that her husband HAD tipped off Burgess and Maclean,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03that he really was the third man.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12This entry is dated 4th August, 1951,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14shortly after Philby was asked to resign.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19TC, that's telephone intercepts, disclosed
0:17:19 > 0:17:24that Philby was going yachting from Chichester with a friend.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28His wife had said, apparently in jest, to Nicholas Elliott,
0:17:28 > 0:17:33"I don't suppose he's doing a dis?" A disappearing act.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Elliott reassured Aileen there was no danger of her husband defecting,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39since he was entirely innocent.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45but Aileen was not convinced of Philby's loyalties.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47In her increasingly agitated state,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51she began to believe that her husband was plotting an escape.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55One day, Aileen made another urgent telephone call
0:17:55 > 0:17:59to Nicholas Elliott, in a state of hysteria.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03"Kim's gone" she said. "Where?" asked Elliott.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05"To Russia."
0:18:05 > 0:18:09"How do you know?" "He sent me a telegram."
0:18:10 > 0:18:16At this, even Elliott's granite loyalty to his friend began to crumble.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19"What did the telegram say?" he asked.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23"It said, "Farewell forever, love to the children."
0:18:25 > 0:18:30Elliott was stunned. He immediately called MI5.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35An alert was issued to all ports and airports with instructions
0:18:35 > 0:18:38to intercept Philby if he attempted to leave the country.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44But when Elliott then checked with the Post Office
0:18:44 > 0:18:47to try to find a copy of Philby's telegram,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50he was told it did not exist.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52So where was Philby?
0:18:52 > 0:18:55TELEPHONE RINGS
0:19:05 > 0:19:07Chorleywood 9-7.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Oh, Kim, it's you, thank God.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12'Who were you expecting?'
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Er...I'm just glad you're at home.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Where else would I be?
0:19:18 > 0:19:20'Ha.'
0:19:20 > 0:19:21The next time I see you
0:19:21 > 0:19:23I'll tell you where else you could have been tonight.
0:19:23 > 0:19:24HE CHUCKLES
0:19:25 > 0:19:27'Good night.'
0:19:35 > 0:19:38- 'Chorleywood 9-7.' - 'Kim, it's you, thank God!'
0:19:40 > 0:19:45- 'Who were you expecting?' - 'I'm just glad you're at home.'
0:19:45 > 0:19:47'Where else would I be?'
0:19:48 > 0:19:51'The next time I see you I'll tell you where else you could have been tonight.'
0:19:53 > 0:19:55'Good night.'
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Aileen's warning turned out to be a false alarm,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04but she had been remarkably close to the truth.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Philby had often considered making a run for Moscow.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14Anxious and uncertain, he relied on Elliott more than ever.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Elliott supported his friend unconditionally.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23He paid Philby's bills and he bolstered his flagging spirits.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Philby genuinely valued this friendship.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31In his strange double world, he relied on Elliott's kindness
0:20:31 > 0:20:36and advice, while lying to him and betraying him.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45On Tuesday 25th October 1955,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Philby took a morning train into Central London.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52He had an important appointment in town.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Philby knew he was still being watched by MI5,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02so on arrival, he went shopping for a new hat and raincoat.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07And then, he performed something rather more out of the ordinary.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11What Philby called the cinema trick.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16He bought a movie ticket,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20but instead of sitting back to enjoy the show,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23he surreptitiously surveyed the audience.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Before the film was over, Philby slipped out,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31making sure he wasn't being followed.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36He had other plans, a meeting with his Soviet controller.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The MI5 watcher couldn't give himself away by simply
0:21:43 > 0:21:46standing up and following him out.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Philby had thrown off his tail.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56The KGB had arranged a meeting with Philby to reassure him
0:21:56 > 0:22:00of their continued moral and financial support.
0:22:06 > 0:22:13The rendezvous went according to plan, but then Philby got a shock.
0:22:14 > 0:22:15Returning home,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Philby saw a headline that made his blood run cold.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24He'd been identified as a Soviet spy during a parliamentary debate
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and his name was all over the Evening Standard.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32The accusations against Philby, kept secret for so long from the public,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34were now out in the open.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38TELEPHONE RINGS
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- Elliott. - 'Nick. It's me.'
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Have you seen the Standard?
0:22:50 > 0:22:55'My name's all over the papers. I have to do something.'
0:22:55 > 0:22:58They're calling me the third man.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01- 'It's absurd.' - Yes, it's outrageous.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04There was a reporter outside the kitchen window today.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06He scared the cook to death.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I've had to disconnect the doorbell.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Someone's even ripped the door knocker off.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11'Kim, calm down.'
0:23:11 > 0:23:15We need to think about this for a day or two, at least.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17'Until then, you need to keep silent.'
0:23:17 > 0:23:19- Keep silent?! - Kim, please, you need to trust me.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25'We will respond in due course. Don't do anything now, all right?'
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I am being hung out to dry, Nick.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34'You're not alone, you know that. I'll call you tomorrow.'
0:23:39 > 0:23:41'People who had known Kim really well
0:23:41 > 0:23:46'simply would not believe that he could be a Communist spy.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50'He was charming, sympathetic and intelligent,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53'fun to talk to, a family man.'
0:23:53 > 0:23:56He seemed so genuine and so...
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Well...one trusted him completely.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Scenting an enormous story,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10the press accused the Tory government of a cover-up.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16The authorities would now have to either prosecute Philby
0:24:16 > 0:24:17or clear his name.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23On Monday 7th November, Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan
0:24:23 > 0:24:25addressed the House Of Commons.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Macmillan was emphatic.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31He said there was no evidence
0:24:31 > 0:24:34that Philby had ever betrayed the interests of his country.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37He had been an able and conscientious diplomat
0:24:37 > 0:24:40with not a stain on his character.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45Philby was not the so-called third man, if there even was one.
0:25:01 > 0:25:07Why did Macmillan exonerate a man that MI5 believed was guilty?
0:25:08 > 0:25:13Because once again, Philby's friends in MI6 had rallied to his cause
0:25:13 > 0:25:17and convinced the Foreign Secretary of his innocence.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Careful, rigorous and impartial.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27That's what he said, Kim.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30And no evidence, no evidence.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Well, that's a relief, I can tell you.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41This whole squalid affair is almost over with. Thank you.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Oh, there's no need, no need.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46The whole thing was ridiculous, a storm in a teacup.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00The only mark against you is your association with Burgess
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and you know what I've always thought of that.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Thankfully, I have other friends that I CAN rely upon on.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Time for a swift one?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Tomorrow, Kim. Tomorrow.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15You should go home, get some rest.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19You need to prepare, the world will be watching.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30On Elliott's advice,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Philby called a press conference for the very next morning.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39It was to be held at his mother Dora's fourth floor flat,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41here in Kensington.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49The conference was scheduled for 11 o'clock on the dot.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02When Philby opened the door,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05he was greeted with proof of his new celebrity -
0:27:05 > 0:27:08the stairwell was packed with journalists.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Philby ushered the world's press into Dora's sitting room.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17What followed, as the camera bulbs popped,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20was a dramatic tour de force,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24a display of unrivalled public dishonesty.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Philby was in control.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31Holding court, charming, smiling, supremely confident.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Mr Philby, Mr Macmillan, the Foreign Secretary,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37said there was no evidence that you were the so-called third man
0:27:37 > 0:27:39who allegedly tipped off Burgess and Maclean.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Are you satisfied with that clearance that he gave you?
0:27:42 > 0:27:43Yes, I am.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Or if there was a third man, were you in fact the third man?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49No, I was not.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50Do you think there was one?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52No comment.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Philby looked the world in the eye with a steady gaze
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and lied his head off.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I'm debarred by the Official Secrets Act
0:28:00 > 0:28:05from saying anything that might disclose to unauthorised persons,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09information derived from my position as a former government official.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12It was such a brilliant demonstration of lying,
0:28:12 > 0:28:17that MI6 still use the footage as a training tool.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Mr Philby, you were asked to resign yourself from the Foreign Office,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23a few months after Burgess and Maclean disappeared
0:28:23 > 0:28:25and the Foreign Secretary has said that in the past you'd had
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Communist associations, is that why you were asked to resign?
0:28:29 > 0:28:33I was asked to resign because of an imprudent association.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36- That was your association with Burgess?- Correct.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41- He gave you no idea that he was planning to go?- Never.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Would you still regard Burgess, who lived with you for a
0:28:46 > 0:28:49while in Washington, would you still regard him as a friend of yours?
0:28:49 > 0:28:50How do you feel about him now?
0:28:52 > 0:28:54I consider his action deplorable.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57On the subject of friendship,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00I prefer to say as little as possible because it's very complicated.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Philby played the part of a man
0:29:03 > 0:29:07wrestling with his own conflicted feelings of duty,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10conscience and personal loyalty.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14A man who had been betrayed by his friend.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17It was a virtuoso performance.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25After some polite chitchat, Philby invited the newsmen
0:29:25 > 0:29:29through to the dining room for drinks.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33There was even time to meet Dora, his proud mother.
0:29:36 > 0:29:42This was Philby's moment of triumph. His finest hour.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45He had been officially exonerated by the British Government,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48the world believed him innocent.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07It was a complete vindication for Philby and for Elliott,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10who had insisted on his friend's innocence for so long.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18'Mr Kim Philby, please.'
0:30:20 > 0:30:24'Kim, it's Nick. Why don't you pop down to the front?'
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Something unpleasant again?
0:30:27 > 0:30:32'Quite the opposite, old boy. I may have a new post for you.'
0:30:32 > 0:30:34The Middle East, Beirut.
0:30:34 > 0:30:35Beirut?
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Under what cover?
0:30:40 > 0:30:42'A journalist.'
0:30:42 > 0:30:43Who would send me?
0:30:43 > 0:30:46I've persuaded an old friend on The Observer to take you.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49They'll pay you a salary and so will we.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51How could I say no?
0:30:51 > 0:30:56Good. The country can ill afford to be without a man of your abilities.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03Elliott had used his influence to get Philby a new job.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07He would be working as a foreign correspondent,
0:31:07 > 0:31:13while simultaneously, secretly, gathering intelligence for MI6.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21Kim Philby's re-entry into MI6 showed the old boy network
0:31:21 > 0:31:24running at its smoothest.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28A word in the right ear, a nod, a drink with one of the chaps
0:31:28 > 0:31:30and Philby was back in the club.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Philby set off for Beirut alone,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44leaving behind his wife Aileen and five children.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50With the Suez Crisis looming, the Middle East was fast becoming
0:31:50 > 0:31:53a new front in the Cold War.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56And Beirut was a city of intrigue.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02Exotic, tense and dangerous, a fertile ground for journalism
0:32:02 > 0:32:06and an even better place for espionage.
0:32:08 > 0:32:1030-year-old Dick Beeston
0:32:10 > 0:32:14was working in Beirut as a foreign correspondent.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20One was rather suspicious of Kim when he arrived, but actually,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23when we got to know him very well, one sort of,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25dropped one's suspicions and
0:32:25 > 0:32:27he used to come round to our house
0:32:27 > 0:32:29and we used to go on picnics and things.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31He was very disarming, I mean,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34he was very relaxed and, you know, easy going.
0:32:34 > 0:32:40He got to know the children, and became a sort of family friend.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42He never let his guard down.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45He's a sort of split personality.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Just a few months after his arrival,
0:32:49 > 0:32:54Philby began an affair with 42-year-old Eleanor Brewer.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57Eleanor was tall, slim, sweet-natured
0:32:57 > 0:33:00and married to one of his friends.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03But Philby was untroubled by convention.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09In one of the many love letters Philby wrote to Eleanor,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11he told her that he loved her
0:33:11 > 0:33:14because she accepted him for what he was.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17But of course, she had no idea who he really was.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26Then, in December 1957, Philby received an urgent telegram.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29His wife, Aileen, had died.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34She had been found alone at home.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Just before Christmas, we were in the flower market in Beirut
0:33:40 > 0:33:43and Kim came up to us and said,
0:33:43 > 0:33:45"Darling, I've had some rather wonderful news,
0:33:45 > 0:33:49"let's go and have a drink and I'll tell you all about it
0:33:49 > 0:33:52"at the Normandy Hotel," which was his sort of place.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55And then he produced this cable saying that his wife had just died,
0:33:55 > 0:33:58which was rather sort of chilling.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01But, he said, "Oh, it was, you know, the best for everybody,
0:34:01 > 0:34:04"she'd been very ill," and he was quite light-hearted about it.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06It was rather strange really.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12As a KGB agent, Philby was relieved.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14He was now free of the one person
0:34:14 > 0:34:18most convinced that he was a traitor.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Kim Philby and his new girlfriend, Eleanor Brewer,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27oblivious to his treachery, were soon married.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32For the Philbys, it was a new beginning.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38The couple moved into a fifth floor apartment in downtown Beirut.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44It's abandoned now, but when Philby lived here,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47it was luxurious, even equipped with its own bar.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53And to complete Philby's happiness, who should arrive in Beirut
0:34:53 > 0:34:58but Nicholas Elliott, as the new MI6 Station Chief
0:34:58 > 0:35:00and now, his new boss.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03The two friends met for lunch
0:35:03 > 0:35:07on the very first day that Elliott arrived in Beirut.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10It was he said, "A most agreeable reunion."
0:35:12 > 0:35:17I remember parties at our beach house outside Beirut.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Kim made a very, very vivid impression on me.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23He was tremendously charismatic,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26enormously charming, extremely convivial
0:35:26 > 0:35:30and I have to say that I was fascinated with him.
0:35:30 > 0:35:36I still feel, oddly enough, a genuine kindness that came from him.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38That I remember quite well.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Elliott put his friend to work hurtling around the Middle East
0:35:43 > 0:35:48gathering intelligence for MI6, under journalistic cover.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51He was now Elliott's unofficial advisor.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54His guide to Middle Eastern skulduggery.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57The friends were once again inseparable,
0:35:57 > 0:36:00professionally and socially.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04Elliott often took his camera with him and his family albums are filled
0:36:04 > 0:36:08with images of the intermingled Philby and Elliott clans.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Philby is in many of the photographs.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Often in his bathing trunks, relaxed,
0:36:16 > 0:36:20smiling and frequently very obviously drunk.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24Philby and Elliott were closer than ever.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30They now met a couple of times every week to share a drink
0:36:30 > 0:36:32and to share secrets.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36Elliott has entitled this photograph,
0:36:36 > 0:36:38'Dining with the Copelands'.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43Miles Copeland was a CIA agent, you can see him here in the middle.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47On the right is Nicholas Elliott smiling at his friends.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51And here is Kim Philby.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54MI6, CIA...
0:36:55 > 0:36:57..KGB.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04This is the Cold War captured in miniature,
0:37:04 > 0:37:09a cosy image of gentlemen spies sharing the world's secrets.
0:37:09 > 0:37:14An image of clubbiness that disguises a great betrayal.
0:37:15 > 0:37:16Because once again,
0:37:16 > 0:37:21Philby was handing everything that Elliott told him to Moscow,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24playing his role dutifully as a loyal friend
0:37:24 > 0:37:27and, simultaneously, a traitor.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34But soon, the wheel of their friendship turned again.
0:37:35 > 0:37:41In 1962, Elliott was recalled to London to take up a new post.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45The friends were sad to part.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47Elliott was losing one of his best agents
0:37:47 > 0:37:52and Philby had lost his best source of information for the KGB.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56BIG BEN CHIMES
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Number 54 Broadway
0:38:02 > 0:38:06was apparently home to the Minimax Fire Extinguisher company.
0:38:06 > 0:38:11In fact, it was MI6's London headquarters.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14And the extinguisher company had a new boss.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21Dick White, the MI5 officer who hunted Philby throughout the '50s,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23had by now been promoted to head MI6.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27And just as Elliott returned,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31White found the evidence he'd been seeking for over a decade.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36The revelation did not come from detective work,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39it came from a broken friendship.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46In 1937, Philby had tried to recruit Flora Solomon,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50a left wing friend, who'd introduced him to his future wife, Aileen.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Solomon refused to join his cause,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58but she never forgot Philby's unusual offer.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02In the intervening years, Flora had followed Philby's career
0:39:02 > 0:39:04and the controversy surrounding it,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07and she was appalled by the way he had treated Aileen.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12In a chance encounter with one of Philby's former colleagues,
0:39:12 > 0:39:17she remarked, "How is it The Observer uses a man like Kim?
0:39:17 > 0:39:20"Don't they know he's a communist?"
0:39:21 > 0:39:25Solomon was interviewed by the mole hunters,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28and they believed they finally had the proof they needed.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34Within days of Elliott's return to London, he was summoned to the firm.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40Dick White told Elliott that there could no longer be any doubt -
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Philby was a traitor.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47He'd betrayed his country, his class and his club.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51But no-one had been more comprehensively betrayed
0:39:51 > 0:39:54than his best friend, Nicholas Elliott.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01An intense debate now began over how to take Philby down.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04A trial would be embarrassing.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07Philby could be abducted or even killed,
0:40:07 > 0:40:11but that was not really MI6'S style.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16Elliott demanded the opportunity to confront Philby.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18He'd known him for over half his life
0:40:18 > 0:40:22and if anyone could extract a confession, it was surely he.
0:40:25 > 0:40:31In January 1963, Elliott set off for Beirut in secret.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37Before confronting Philby, he stayed with his friend, Rozanne Colchester.
0:40:38 > 0:40:43Nicholas came out to catch Kim and tell him that his time was up,
0:40:43 > 0:40:44that he'd been found out.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49He was quite excited, quite tense,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53you know, het up about it, about having to do it.
0:40:53 > 0:40:59And, but also, completely convinced that he had to go,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03I mean, because Philby was a terrible danger.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14Philby was invited to take afternoon tea
0:41:14 > 0:41:18with the new MI6 head of station, Elliott's successor.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24It was a ruse, intended to catch Philby off guard
0:41:24 > 0:41:25and to make him talk.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37When Elliott answered the door,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40Philby reacted with remarkable composure.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43"I rather thought it would be you," he said.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46So, how are you, Kim?
0:41:46 > 0:41:49The two men exchanged pleasantries.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50Perfectly tolerable.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52Elliott asked after Philby's health
0:41:52 > 0:41:55and Philby in turn enquired after Elliott's children.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00But both knew what was coming.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Elliott secretly recorded their extraordinary conversation.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07'To what do I owe the pleasure?'
0:42:07 > 0:42:11What follows is based on extracts from various sources.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14'It's business, unfortunately.'
0:42:14 > 0:42:15'Unfortunately?'
0:42:16 > 0:42:18We've got some new information.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Lord, do we really have to go over that rubbish again?
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Your past has caught up with you, Kim. Game's up.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29We've penetrated the KGB.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34'So you're here to interrogate me?'
0:42:34 > 0:42:37To persuade an innocent man to confess?
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Oh, for God's sake, we know you're a Soviet agent, Kim!
0:42:40 > 0:42:42Don't you understand?
0:42:42 > 0:42:45If you knew what I know...
0:42:47 > 0:42:49- If you were in my position... - If I were in your position,
0:42:49 > 0:42:53I wouldn't be talking to you the way you're talking to me.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56How would you talk to me?
0:42:56 > 0:42:58I'd offer you a drink.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Instead of this lousy tea.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08Philby had prepared his whole adult life for this confrontation.
0:43:08 > 0:43:14He had always feared that one day, he might be called to account.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17But he didn't know whether Elliott was bluffing.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20He could only guess how much his friend really knew.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25A brutal dual now ensued.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29The Cold War conflict was about to be played out in a small,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32hot room, in the heart of Beirut.
0:43:37 > 0:43:38I thought I was talking to a friend.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41So did I, Kim. So did I!
0:43:45 > 0:43:47You took me in - for years.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53I looked up to you.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55You know, I was on your side.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59My God, I despise you now.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04I only hope you've enough decency left to understand why.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09You see how foolish this seems?
0:44:11 > 0:44:13It's astonishing.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18Totally absurd, you know it's absurd.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23Do you want me to give you my version of your work for the Russians?
0:44:23 > 0:44:24Do you want me to spell it out for you?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26- Are you serious?- Yes, Kim!
0:44:27 > 0:44:29I am.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38Elliott played his first card.
0:44:38 > 0:44:44If Philby refused to cooperate, his life would be made intolerable.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48His passport would be withdrawn, he'd never get another job.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52Philby would spend the rest of his life as a leper.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56But, explained Elliott, there was an alternative.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01Elliott offered to make a deal.
0:45:01 > 0:45:02We can only offer you immunity
0:45:02 > 0:45:05if you give us all the information you have.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Firstly, we need the names
0:45:09 > 0:45:11of all of those who've been working for Moscow.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15I KNOW who they are, by the way.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18Philby was in turmoil.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Trapped and tempted by Elliott's proposition.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25But if he struck a deal, he would have to reveal the identity
0:45:25 > 0:45:28of every other mole in Britain,
0:45:28 > 0:45:32every secret he had ever passed to Moscow.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35His every instinct resisted telling the truth.
0:45:37 > 0:45:38OK.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Here's...
0:45:44 > 0:45:47HE CHUCKLES H-Here's the scoop.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53'But, first, you owe me a drink. I haven't had a drop for ages.'
0:46:41 > 0:46:44I tipped off Burgess.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47And Maclean.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51It was out of loyalty.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55Loyalty to a friend.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02I'm sure you understand that much, don't you?
0:47:05 > 0:47:06Is Nedosekin your contact?
0:47:06 > 0:47:08'I've got no bloody contact.'
0:47:11 > 0:47:14'I haven't been in contact with the KGB for years.'
0:47:14 > 0:47:17Philby was still prevaricating.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21Offering Elliott a blend of truth, half-truth and lies.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27He'd admitted to treachery, but by raising the issue of friendship,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31he was trying once again to manipulate Elliott's loyalty.
0:47:34 > 0:47:35Now...
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Let's be gentlemen...about this.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44Why don't you come over tonight for dinner?
0:47:44 > 0:47:47I'm sure we can sort something out.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52I'll be in contact once I've made my report.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14Later, Elliott made his way to Philby's apartment.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Elliott found Philby here, passed out on the floor,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23having consumed an entire bottle of whisky.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28Not for the first time, he and Eleanor carried Philby to bed.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31That night, Elliott sent a cable to London
0:48:31 > 0:48:34saying that his friend had finally broken.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38Philby's career as a Soviet spy was over.
0:48:48 > 0:48:54And then, around midnight on 23rd January, Philby vanished.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00After one last drink alone in a hotel bar,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02he headed to the Beirut docks
0:49:02 > 0:49:05where he was smuggled aboard a Soviet freighter
0:49:05 > 0:49:07en route to the Black Sea.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11Nicholas Elliott was now dealing with a defector.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13But how surprised was he?
0:49:14 > 0:49:19Elliott could hardly have made it easier for Philby to escape.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21He didn't tap his telephone
0:49:21 > 0:49:24and he didn't have him watched.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27The door to Moscow was left wide open.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33Now, that was either monumentally stupid
0:49:33 > 0:49:35or exceptionally clever.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47MI6 and Elliott had avoided
0:49:47 > 0:49:50an embarrassing public trial.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53Philby was now securely behind the Iron Curtain
0:49:53 > 0:49:56and unlikely ever to re-emerge.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Remarkably, news of his defection
0:50:03 > 0:50:07was hidden from the British public for six months.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Then, in June, the Soviet press announced
0:50:11 > 0:50:14that Philby had been welcomed in Moscow as a hero.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20Philby hid behind a mask for 30 years,
0:50:20 > 0:50:24but now, the truth was finally out.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28He'd been a Soviet spy since the age of 20.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30He was the "third man".
0:50:32 > 0:50:35For me, it was extraordinary.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37I was at Eton
0:50:37 > 0:50:39and I walked down the stairs one day
0:50:39 > 0:50:42and picked up the Daily Express
0:50:42 > 0:50:45and emblazoned on the front page
0:50:45 > 0:50:50was "Kim Philby in Moscow, Third Man Revealed", the whole nine yards.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53I was obviously quite shocked.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57The scandal of Kim Philby
0:50:57 > 0:51:01would hang over British intelligence for a generation,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04and it rumbles on today.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07It would test friendships and alliances
0:51:07 > 0:51:10on both sides of the Atlantic to breaking point.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Yet, his betrayal also left a legacy of suspicion in Moscow.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36When he fled to Russia, Philby had expected to be made a KGB colonel...
0:51:38 > 0:51:43..an active, high-ranking officer in Soviet intelligence.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46But the Russians never fully trusted him.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51He was extensively debriefed, applauded, rewarded
0:51:51 > 0:51:54and then quietly put out to grass.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57An Englishman in exile,
0:51:57 > 0:52:02Philby spent his days wandering the city with a KGB minder in tow.
0:52:03 > 0:52:08He still read The Times, but his copies arrived weeks out of date,
0:52:08 > 0:52:12containing accounts of cricket matches long since over.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19Philby lived in secret near Moscow's Pushkin Square.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24His friendship with Elliott was over,
0:52:24 > 0:52:28but the relationship between the two spies was not.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36Shortly after Philby surfaced in Moscow,
0:52:36 > 0:52:40an anonymous letter arrived in Elliott's letterbox.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45The identity of the sender was unmistakable.
0:52:46 > 0:52:50"I wonder if this letter will surprise you," wrote Philby.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53"Our last transactions were so strange,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57"I cannot help thinking that perhaps you wanted me to do a fade."
0:52:57 > 0:53:01Fade is spy jargon for a defection.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03Philby had become convinced
0:53:03 > 0:53:08that Elliott had deliberately forced him to flee to Moscow.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10And he was probably right.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14The letter continues, "I am more than thankful..."
0:53:14 > 0:53:18..for your friendly interventions at all times.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20I would have got in touch with you earlier,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23but I thought it better to let time do its work.
0:53:23 > 0:53:28It is invariably with pleasure that I remember our meetings and talks.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33They did much to help one get one's bearings in this complicated world.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36I deeply appreciate now...
0:53:36 > 0:53:38..as ever, our old friendship.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43Philby's charm had not deserted him.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46He suggested a secret meeting for old times' sake
0:53:46 > 0:53:49in a neutral country.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52I am enclosing an unsealed addressed envelope.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55In the event of your agreeing to my proposal, would you post it,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58including some view of Tower Bridge?
0:53:58 > 0:53:59On receipt of your letter,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02I will write again through the same channel.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07But what was Philby up to?
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Was this an elaborate KGB sting
0:54:09 > 0:54:12to lure Elliott into a trap?
0:54:12 > 0:54:16Or was Philby trying to worm his way back into MI6,
0:54:16 > 0:54:19by offering to work as a triple agent?
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Or was he simply trying to rekindle an old friendship
0:54:22 > 0:54:26and draw Elliott back into complicity with him?
0:54:26 > 0:54:30'Let me hear from you soon. Love to Elizabeth...
0:54:30 > 0:54:33'to whom, by the way, you had better not disclose
0:54:33 > 0:54:36'the contents of this letter, or to anyone else, of course.'
0:54:48 > 0:54:52Whatever Philby was trying to do, it didn't work.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57Elliott immediately informed his bosses at MI6.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03Elliott's response to Philby was disdainful,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06a retort to all the years of betrayal.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11He reminded him of just one of the many, many agents
0:55:11 > 0:55:13he had sent to their deaths.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17"Please, put some flowers from me on poor Volkov's grave."
0:55:29 > 0:55:32For two decades, Philby had called the tune.
0:55:34 > 0:55:35But the days of manipulating
0:55:35 > 0:55:38and betraying his friend, Elliott, were over.
0:55:40 > 0:55:41They would never meet again.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44My father disguised his feelings
0:55:44 > 0:55:47about Kim being a traitor very, very well.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52But I think the sense of betrayal had to be enormous.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57He buried a lot of how he really felt.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05My father had a wall around him that was unapproachable.
0:56:07 > 0:56:08For the rest of their lives,
0:56:08 > 0:56:13Philby and Elliott would remain locked in ideological battle.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16Just as they had once seemed locked in friendship.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26On 11th May 1988, Kim Philby died of heart failure.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32His open casket was put on display
0:56:32 > 0:56:35and he was buried in a Moscow cemetery,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37with full military honours.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Just a year later, the Berlin Wall,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47the great emblem of political division, was torn down.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52Philby had always believed in the inevitability of a Soviet victory.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57He did not live long enough to see communism fail.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03Soon after, Nicholas Elliott went public.
0:57:04 > 0:57:09Philby is often described in the press as a double agent.
0:57:09 > 0:57:10In point of fact,
0:57:10 > 0:57:15Philby was a straightforward, high-level, disreputable traitor.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19Outwardly he had very considerably charm.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21But, of course, underneath it all,
0:57:21 > 0:57:23there was a total ruthlessness.
0:57:30 > 0:57:35"I am really two people", Philby said, soon after arriving in Moscow.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39"I am a private person and a political person.
0:57:39 > 0:57:45"Of course, if there is a conflict, the political person comes first...
0:57:45 > 0:57:47"whatever the consequences."
0:57:48 > 0:57:52In some ways, the Cold War was a civil war,
0:57:52 > 0:57:56a conflict that turned friends into enemies
0:57:56 > 0:58:00and sometimes made it impossible to tell the difference.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04The entwined lives of Kim Philby and Nicholas Elliott
0:58:04 > 0:58:08represent a defining chapter of that war,
0:58:08 > 0:58:13a story of bloodied friendship and intimate betrayal.