1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:04,200 DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,480 Paranoia emerged all the time. 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,680 Once, my wife and I were on leave from Moscow 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,720 and we went to a small Irish island. 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,480 And I remember walking round the cliffs of this island 6 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,280 with my wife. 7 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,360 And I said, "I think I'm under surveillance." 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,520 And I said to myself, "I must be mad! This is Ireland." 9 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,280 I mean, this is not Moscow. 10 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,640 But I still had this very strong sense that I was under surveillance, 11 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:41,560 and I couldn't place it until I looked over into the sea 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,440 and there were about 50 seals that had popped up 13 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,360 and were following one from the sea. 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,920 That sort of stayed with one, 15 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,560 the fact that you knew you were being watched 16 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:55,840 but you didn't quite know how. 17 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,400 This is the story of a critical moment in the Cold War... 18 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:09,880 ..told not just through the politicians... 19 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:13,400 ..but hidden figures. 20 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,320 There was complete misunderstanding on either side. 21 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,600 It's very difficult to determine whom you can trust. 22 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:28,280 As the Soviet Union faced off with the West in the early 1980s... 23 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,760 ..three secret agents played a dangerous game from the shadows... 24 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:38,720 ..seeking to win the upper hand 25 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,560 while the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. 26 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,320 These are their stories... 27 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:48,520 ..told in their own words... 28 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:55,160 After 11 years of secret work, maybe I developed paranoia. 29 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,800 ..testimony pieced together from interviews over the years... 30 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,760 It was actually the greatest intelligence operation 31 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:05,760 of the Cold War. 32 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,320 ..and never-before-heard recordings... 33 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:21,600 ..revealing the deadly intrigues 34 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,240 at the heart of the battle between East and West. 35 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:32,400 These kind of jobs are a bit like being actresses and actors, 36 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,400 where you're busily performing 37 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,360 for an audience you're not quite sure about. 38 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,680 Look, this is a war. 39 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:44,360 A secret war. 40 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:22,560 1982 was a time when people in Soviet Union still believed 41 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,320 in the reality of nuclear war. 42 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:35,280 Confrontation between West and East was very serious. 43 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,880 Sometimes it was not only 44 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:43,360 iron curtains, 45 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,880 it was like an iron sphere. 46 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,480 This is a dangerous time for the Soviet Union. 47 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,960 Almost 40 years into the Cold War... 48 00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:59,880 ..the economy is overstretched, 49 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:04,000 the military is unexpectedly entrenched in Afghanistan, 50 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,840 and support for communism is faltering. 51 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:13,560 The Soviet leadership, under Leonid Brezhnev, is stockpiling nuclear arms 52 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,840 in a show of strength against the West. 53 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,280 But there's a more subtle weapon, too. 54 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:24,040 Secret intelligence. 55 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:34,240 The head of the Soviet intelligence service is Yuri Andropov. 56 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:45,000 The KGB have been running the Russian life for years. 57 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,800 Andropov was getting more and more convinced of the menacing West. 58 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,800 He was a full-blown KGB person 59 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,560 who thought that it's either us or them, 60 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,840 and basically it'd better be them. 61 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:08,680 He started Operation RYaN. 62 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,600 Operation RYaN is a running tally of all possible signs that the West 63 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,200 is getting ready for nuclear attack. 64 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,040 Andropov believes that once his chart is full, 65 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,080 the Soviet Union should be ready to retaliate. 66 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,760 There is a chart for "Americans said this" 67 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:33,840 and "the Brits said that", 68 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:36,320 somebody was caught here, 69 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,440 and a plane crossed that border. 70 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,160 And I think, in Andropov's mind, he was absolutely convinced 71 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,720 that nuclear confrontation is coming. 72 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,680 And so Andropov is using every resource to keep close watch 73 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,040 on his adversaries. 74 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:08,040 Being a skilled intelligence officer, a spy, 75 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:09,760 life was exciting. 76 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:13,960 It was thrilling. 77 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:15,640 It was romantic. 78 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,440 I was thrilled by being involved in specific KGB operations, 79 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,120 like dead letterboxes. 80 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:32,160 Oleg Gordievsky is a very highly qualified intelligence officer. 81 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:40,520 He's like royalty, because he was born in a family working for KGB. 82 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,240 His brother working for KGB. 83 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,000 KNOCK ON DOOR 84 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:51,960 I think he was a good example of Soviet intelligence service. 85 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:02,120 Soviet Union always keen to put agents all around the world. 86 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,320 The KGB never sent abroad unmarried men. 87 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:13,880 I was married to my second wife, Leila, and we had two children. 88 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,160 I wanted to get abroad as soon as possible. 89 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,160 I wanted to participate in some daring operations. 90 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,240 Oleg Gordievsky is being sent across the Iron Curtain to London 91 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,200 to help understand British intentions. 92 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,120 NEWSREEL: President Reagan's vast limousine has just drawn up here 93 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,480 outside the Norman Porch, having come from Buckingham Palace. 94 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,960 This is going to be the first time that an American president 95 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:15,440 has addressed both Houses of Parliament here at Westminster. 96 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:21,280 The Cold War was a view of the world 97 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:25,600 where you had a totalitarian empire, 98 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:27,360 run out of Moscow... 99 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,320 ..and Western countries, led by the United States, 100 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,120 facing off against each other. 101 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,720 It was an ideological battle, and the competition 102 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:40,960 really was for security, 103 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,640 and it was pretty much that way 104 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:45,520 since the early '50s. 105 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:52,520 Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan have joined forces in a new approach 106 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,040 to the hostile East that is feeding Andropov's every suspicion. 107 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:03,480 Ronald Reagan had met Maggie Thatcher and was amazed 108 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,240 that they thought alike. 109 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:12,760 Prime Minister Thatcher, who really did, despite her uptight bearing 110 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:17,200 and her hairdo, really loved to be with Ronald Reagan. 111 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,520 There was a certain magnetism, a certain glory to him. 112 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,560 And she felt that tingling. 113 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:27,280 My Lord Chancellor... 114 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,240 ..speaking for all Americans, I want to say how very much at home 115 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:34,200 we feel in your house. 116 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:41,160 Ronald Reagan said that Soviet communism will lie, cheat and steal 117 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,840 to advance its mission around the world. 118 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,720 That was the idea that Ronald Reagan had 119 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,760 to delegitimise the Soviet Union. 120 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:54,120 The decay of the Soviet experiment should come as no surprise to us. 121 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:58,720 We see totalitarian forces in the world who seek subversion 122 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,640 and conflict around the globe 123 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,360 to further their barbarous assault on the human spirit. 124 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,760 In 1982, the Soviet Union had 125 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,560 something like 33,000 nuclear weapons. 126 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:15,520 We had something like 22,000. 127 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,520 Way too many and way too scary. 128 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:22,840 Even before he became president, 129 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,440 Ronald Reagan said, "The Cold War will end 130 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:29,080 "and I know how it's going to end. 131 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,640 "We win and they lose." 132 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,840 The march of freedom and democracy, which will leave Marxism-Leninism 133 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:39,640 on the ash heap of history, as it has left other tyrannies 134 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:43,080 which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people. 135 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:54,240 That speech, it was offensive, 136 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,520 and it was actually offensive to a lot of people. 137 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:05,440 A lot of people I remember saying, "Who the hell are you to tell us 138 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,560 "that we're the heap of history?" 139 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:15,600 Closer cooperation between the UK and the US is exactly what Andropov 140 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,240 has been looking out for. 141 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:21,440 But in a cold war, 142 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:26,160 getting proof of what the other side is thinking is key. 143 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,560 The craft of intelligence is very ancient. 144 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,840 We need to know the intentions 145 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:46,200 and capabilities of those 146 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:47,680 who have an intent to harm us. 147 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:51,520 At this period of the Cold War, 148 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,760 both sides were monitoring very closely the other. 149 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,880 This is a very typical one of my wife and my aunt 150 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:12,520 eating ice cream in the snow outside the Bolshoi Theatre. 151 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:19,280 I'm Raymond Asquith and I was head of our SIS station in Moscow 152 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,720 in the early 1980s. 153 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,240 Civil servants are all signatories of the Official Secrets Act, 154 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:33,600 and what's not in the public domain is really not for discussion by us. 155 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,840 Our station in Moscow was quite a small one. 156 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:44,120 The whole apparatus of control and surveillance 157 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:45,440 was very sophisticated. 158 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,440 I mean, they used to paint radioactive paint 159 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,280 on the bottom of our cars, you know, in order to track us. 160 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,480 We were thin on the ground, really. 161 00:12:55,480 --> 00:13:01,520 It was extremely hard for outsiders to discover anything significant 162 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,240 about Soviet political intentions. 163 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,200 CHATTER OVER COMMS 164 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:18,920 As British agents seek inside access to Moscow's intelligence service, 165 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,640 Oleg Gordievsky joins Russian agents in London. 166 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,640 London was one of the major cities 167 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,960 where Soviet espionage was going on. 168 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:40,320 The KGB quarters in London, it's called a station. 169 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:45,520 KGB station is located in the Russian Embassy. 170 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,160 My name is Alexander Vassiliev. 171 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,480 I am a Russian journalist, writer, 172 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:55,560 espionage historian 173 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:59,680 and also ex-KGB intelligence officer. 174 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:10,360 That London job was extremely advantageous for Gordievsky. 175 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:15,560 It means that he was trusted and that he was a decent operative, 176 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:17,960 and it was good for him. 177 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,440 You must understand the nature of the KGB intelligence service. 178 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,120 Everything is top secret. 179 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,640 I wasn't supposed to write anything on an ordinary paper. 180 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,920 We had special notebooks for this. 181 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,600 So anything you write in your top-secret notebook... 182 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,960 ..immediately becomes top secret. 183 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:53,160 There were only a few people above Gordievsky in the station. 184 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,720 One of them is the station chief, Arkadi Guk. 185 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:04,680 General Guk, he was a big, fat man. 186 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,920 He was not able to speak good English, 187 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,160 so he could not do anything. 188 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,680 He could not write. He only was able to sign. 189 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,880 Gordievsky was supposed to spend most of his time, nine to five, 190 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,360 in the embassy, doing his official job, 191 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:34,120 and then after that he became a spy. 192 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:43,160 Other job was to get British secrets... 193 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:50,800 ..especially secrets concerning Britain's foreign policy. 194 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,800 It was a very good career move for Gordievsky. 195 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:04,400 But the British counter-intelligence service MI5 is considered 196 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,480 one of the most professional services in the world. 197 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:14,200 So I'm pretty sure he knew that it wouldn't be a picnic for him. 198 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,680 British intelligence is watching closely to stop Soviet spies 199 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,960 from getting access to political plans and military capabilities. 200 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:39,320 MI5 has a specialised team, known by insiders as "the watchers". 201 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:43,680 There was lots of locking away of everything and shredding 202 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:47,200 and then burning and then re-shredding and re-burning. 203 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:50,240 It added to the sort of glamour that what we were doing 204 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,120 was very secret, and we were therefore rather special. 205 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,520 My name's Miranda Ingram 206 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:03,960 and I worked for the security service MI5 in the early '80s. 207 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,840 We spent a few days with Special Branch. 208 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:13,560 We were learning how to spot a tail, I think. 209 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,520 The person who was head of training and the person who trained me 210 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:19,920 was a man called Michael Bettaney. 211 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,080 My course is Oxbridge. 212 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,080 But he was northern working class. 213 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:39,600 We had both got posted to K, which was the top job everyone wanted, 214 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:41,920 because it was against the Russians. 215 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,120 Michael, I suspect, is quite glad to get onto K Desk. 216 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:53,600 The MI5 agents are there to monitor Russians in London, 217 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:58,080 identify active agents and track their activities. 218 00:17:58,080 --> 00:17:59,640 That was a very popular job, 219 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:01,880 because the Russians are very good spies, 220 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,240 so it was intellectually fulfilling, 221 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,800 but also, morally, it was very straightforward. 222 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,720 We spied on them. They spied on us. 223 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,480 Michael Bettaney, he was very kind, 224 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,360 intelligent, quite academic. 225 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:20,160 He was quite old-fashioned. He was very well dressed 226 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:21,920 and well mannered. 227 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:25,240 Conscientious. 228 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:29,960 By the early '80s... 229 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,800 ..spirits were fairly high. 230 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:38,280 I was aware that we had identified quite a lot of spies. 231 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,480 You might have the letters opened, see where they were going, 232 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,080 who they were meeting. 233 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:49,680 Russians are very good. 234 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:51,520 So they don't slip up on the phone. 235 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:56,200 So it was almost exclusively talking about what white goods to buy 236 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,400 on the Tottenham Court Road to take back to Moscow. 237 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:01,400 An awful lot of it! 238 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,720 Well, I've got various newspaper cuttings, 239 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,720 but also photos with Mrs T. 240 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:26,440 Margaret Thatcher was uncompromising in her dislike of socialism 241 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:31,040 and of communism, and that was what drove her. 242 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:33,440 I look so young and innocent. 243 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:35,200 My job was really to make sure 244 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,320 that 10 Downing Street worked well 245 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:38,800 for the Prime Minister. 246 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,200 Yes, OK, certainly. Margo! 247 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,120 Margaret Thatcher was fascinated by intelligence. 248 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,720 Part of it was the glamour, 249 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:55,160 but also, she liked to collect as much information as possible, 250 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,800 and intelligence was one of the sources. 251 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,560 There was a special box in Number 10 known as "stripey", 252 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,800 because it had a red stripe across a blue box, 253 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,880 and there would have been regular reports 254 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:15,120 of anything which became known about Soviet activity in the UK. 255 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,840 What the Prime Minister doesn't know 256 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,000 is that her intelligence service has a very special resource in play. 257 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,000 There was a number of secrets in my life. 258 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:45,000 In Britain, I was supposed to be just an official, 259 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,320 civilian official of the Soviet state. 260 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,920 Meanwhile, I was a KGB spy... 261 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:53,840 ..spying against Britain. 262 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,760 But Oleg Gordievsky has an even bigger secret. 263 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,840 Gordievsky was recruited as a double agent 264 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,880 while working in Denmark in the 1970s... 265 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,040 ..but was summoned back to Moscow, and all contact went cold. 266 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,440 His British handlers have been waiting four years to hear from him. 267 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,520 You can imagine... 268 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:01,800 ..a combination of anticipation 269 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,440 and delight, 270 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,240 but on the other hand, the realisation that this would be 271 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,360 an extraordinarily sensitive operation to run. 272 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:15,440 A completely unparalleled situation. 273 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,160 I would be regarded by the Soviet state 274 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,720 as a traitor and a criminal. 275 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:31,120 There are some things that I really cannot go into. 276 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,480 I know you'll understand the nature of what we're talking about. 277 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,640 When Oleg arrived in London in 1982, 278 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,960 it was invaluable 279 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,560 to have the views of an insider 280 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,000 in the Russian Embassy in London 281 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,920 who knew the meaning of everything that was happening. 282 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,560 I hated the communist system. 283 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,840 I wanted to fight against it. 284 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,880 I was euphoric about working not for a tyranny, 285 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:15,880 but for a democratic state. 286 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,720 He was very, very intellectually disciplined. 287 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:23,320 He knew all the tricks of the trade. 288 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,000 They're not all very good, but some of them are, 289 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,440 and he was. 290 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:35,120 I knew so much about the crimes of the communist power 291 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:36,880 against the Russian people 292 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,400 and the peoples of other territories - 293 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,360 Lithuanian, Ukrainian - 294 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:45,920 that I simply would have regarded myself as not an honest person 295 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,200 if I wouldn't be fighting against that system. 296 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:55,040 It's a huge risk for Oleg, 297 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,080 because Soviet Union, it was a death sentence 298 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,560 for all people who betrayed their own country. 299 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,280 What I know about Oleg, 300 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,440 he was very balanced and very strong. 301 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:14,080 Some people have their own destiny. 302 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,160 My name is Marina Litvinenko. 303 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,640 I'm a British citizen, 304 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,800 and I live in the country even after my husband was killed. 305 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:35,280 It would be very, very few people anywhere who knew about Oleg. 306 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,600 You don't want anybody at any stage 307 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,000 to betray the source 308 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,440 because accidents happen. 309 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,640 Usually things are very, very carefully contained. 310 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,560 Only people who need to know. 311 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,640 That's a great principle - need to know. 312 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,280 You have to keep completely tight 313 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,000 to a very few people. 314 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:16,720 Only eight people in the country have been told about Gordievsky. 315 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:21,040 But MI5's watchers are always on the tail of Russians in London 316 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,920 so could accidentally blow his cover. 317 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,440 Two of Michael Bettaney's colleagues at K Desk 318 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,600 are let into this highly sensitive operation 319 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,600 at a highly sensitive time. 320 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,880 A specially extended Nine O'Clock News with Michael Buerk. 321 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:49,520 President Brezhnev, ruler of Russia for nearly two decades, is dead. 322 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,920 For the Soviet people tonight, five days of mourning begin. 323 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,400 For leaders who've grown old in his shadow, 324 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:58,520 the chance of ultimate power. 325 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:01,920 Who will take over? 326 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,440 Brezhnev was there for 18 years. 327 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:13,840 There was a whole generation 328 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:16,920 that didn't know how to deal with the death of a leader. 329 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:21,080 The Communist Party decides 330 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,880 to promote someone with a very clear agenda. 331 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:31,200 Andropov becomes, from the KGB, the head of the Soviet Union. 332 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,960 He was quite a terrifying man. 333 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,040 He came out of the apparatus of control, 334 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,440 and he then ran the Soviet Union as a very controlled environment. 335 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:53,320 When he's marched into the General Secretary of the Communist Party... 336 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,840 ..it's a coming-of-age moment. 337 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,240 Because of the Krushchev name, my great-grandfather, 338 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,560 when Andropov became the head of the Soviet Union... 339 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:21,920 ..my family was simply terrified, 340 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:23,840 because he's the KGB head. 341 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:25,880 Khrushchev dismantled, 342 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:27,240 or as much as he could, 343 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,640 he dismantled the KGB after Stalin's death. 344 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,280 So Andropov, as my mother was convinced, 345 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,000 was going to come back at us, at the family, with a vengeance. 346 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,680 And, you know, there was even a talk 347 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,840 that the gulags are going to be reinstated. 348 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,560 He's going to push forward certain policies, 349 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:50,400 including international policies. 350 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,120 Now he is leader of the Soviet Union, 351 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:56,600 Andropov's Operation RYaN charts 352 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:01,760 are taken from the KGB backrooms to the heart of Soviet policy. 353 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:06,200 It was Andropov's obsession, those charts that we talked about. 354 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,560 He did think that confrontation 355 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:11,840 and particularly nuclear confrontation 356 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,640 with the United States can happen. 357 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:16,880 And so the Soviet Union has to be 358 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,600 completely and utterly prepared to push that button. 359 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,640 All eyes are now on Reagan in this uncharted new landscape. 360 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:28,200 Reagan was adamant 361 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,720 that he's not going to deal with those red...red bastards. 362 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:39,200 So, for him, Andropov was that icon that he imagined. 363 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:48,280 And for Andropov, Reagan was that icon, 364 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:53,240 the cowboy who is going to destroy the Soviet Union, 365 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,920 because he was playing in all these films like John Wayne. 366 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,320 Reagan and Andropov, in some ways, found each other. 367 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:08,920 Neither of them would back off. 368 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,080 Reagan, of course, was going to whip it up 369 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,160 and show those Russkies. 370 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,760 When they're such mirror images, 371 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,840 then of course it would be 372 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:29,560 obviously a cycle of animosity. 373 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:36,880 This was the moment when we were really scared of the nuclear war. 374 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:41,600 That really stayed with me as the scariest time 375 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,480 that I've ever experienced in my life in the Soviet Union. 376 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:55,200 The opposing sides in the Cold War could not be further apart. 377 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,680 Now Britain's double agent is their best chance 378 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,160 at understanding where Andropov's paranoia is leading. 379 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:14,400 After some time, I started to spirit authentic KGB documents 380 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:18,400 out of the KGB premises, which was a great risk for life. 381 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,800 So it was not just me telling them and briefing the British officials 382 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,560 but also producing real, authentic KGB documents. 383 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,640 You should always be slightly on edge. 384 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,880 The mistakes are endless that you could make, 385 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:42,280 and if you get relaxed, 386 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,360 that's when you make them. 387 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:50,240 One day, the head of station, a KGB general... 388 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,480 ..drove past me when I was crossing the road. 389 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:03,720 It was very dangerous. 390 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:09,960 It turned out that he was such a poor driver 391 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,560 that he simply failed to see me. 392 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:27,320 Gordievsky is now firmly established as a high-value asset, 393 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,040 and so MI6 make a decision. 394 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:36,520 It was in December 1982, as I recall... 395 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:42,360 ..that MI6 needed to tell the Prime Minister 396 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,640 that they had a source but it was highly secret. 397 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:49,480 Good morning, good morning. Happy Christmas to you all. Same to you. 398 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,200 Wonderful to be here. Mrs Thatcher, lovely to see you. 399 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,760 We weren't told the name. 400 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,960 It's lovely to see you here. Wonderful to be here. 401 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,240 We weren't even told the position. 402 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,840 The spirit of peace and goodwill! Thank you, Prime Minster. 403 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,560 She would have recognised the importance 404 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:11,520 of protecting this asset very, very carefully... 405 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:12,760 Good afternoon. 406 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,280 ..partly, I think, for the glamour of it, 407 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,480 but partly for real necessity. 408 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,120 She would have not wanted to know the real name 409 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,800 and would have invented a name that she could use. 410 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,480 The inner circle who know about Gordievsky is growing. 411 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:33,040 But Britain's advantage over the Soviets must be kept secret. 412 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,880 Two months later, Gordievsky provides crucial intelligence, 413 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:44,040 revealing that the new Soviet leader 414 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:47,800 has pushed Operation RYaN to the foreground. 415 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:52,960 We were instructed to watch for signs of special activities 416 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,400 during the day and particularly by night. 417 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,360 Lit windows of the Ministry of Defence 418 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:00,080 and the Foreign Office. 419 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,640 The American Embassy working overtime 420 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,920 until early morning hours. 421 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:10,840 What Oleg Gordievsky really brought 422 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,000 was an inside understanding 423 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,400 of what Operation RYaN was really about. 424 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:21,440 It was showing a paranoia. 425 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:25,440 But the paranoia was real. 426 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:30,520 As soon as they were receiving reports, 427 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:34,920 the number of crosses was slowly, slowly growing, 428 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:39,040 which was making the point, "Yes, they're preparing!" 429 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,360 When two sides don't know one another, 430 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,160 they both misread signs. 431 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,560 You can see how dreadful things can happen 432 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:55,200 by that kind of misunderstanding. 433 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,840 Despite Andropov's suspicions, 434 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,480 the West has no plans for a nuclear attack. 435 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:07,280 So they will watch and wait 436 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,880 and protect their source at all costs. 437 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:17,080 The decision not to tell the Americans about Gordievsky 438 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:20,680 would have been because this was such a valuable asset 439 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:23,200 that you would want to protect it as much as possible, 440 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:24,880 illustrated by the fact that 441 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:29,920 Margaret Thatcher didn't even know his name or his position. 442 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:37,880 Without Gordievsky's insights, 443 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:42,520 Reagan is not thinking about the Soviets' true state of mind. 444 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:47,080 He steps up his strategy to scare them into backing down 445 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,040 with a brazen new stance. 446 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:53,280 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. 447 00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:00,000 In 1983, I was arms control director. 448 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:04,400 Ronald Reagan gives his speech 449 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,480 before the evangelicals, of all people... 450 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:15,440 ..saying that the Soviet Union is "the evil empire, 451 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:18,640 "the focus of evil in the modern world". 452 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,520 The Soviet leaders have openly and publicly declared 453 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,520 that the only morality they recognise 454 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,960 is that which will further their cause, 455 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,160 which is world revolution. 456 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,280 Ronald Reagan felt that there was a tendency in the world 457 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,760 to equate the two sides. 458 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:41,080 They're both to be blamed for the Cold War, 459 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:43,920 they're both to be blamed for all these nuclear weapons, 460 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:46,920 there's a moral equivalence between the two. 461 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,280 Ronald Reagan was saying there's no moral equivalence. 462 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,560 Let us pray for the salvation 463 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:55,480 of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness. 464 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:59,040 They are the focus of evil in the modern world. 465 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:01,040 APPLAUSE 466 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:06,120 Most Soviet people, including Andropov, 467 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:10,240 believed that there could be a nuclear attack from the West. 468 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,320 By the way, the Soviet Union never bombed anyone with A-bombs. 469 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,360 The Americans did it twice. 470 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:23,040 You know, somehow in the Western media, 471 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:27,840 the Soviets are presented like, you know, paranoid people. 472 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:29,360 Excuse me! 473 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:33,040 Look from our point of view at America. 474 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:43,200 Reagan's approach is to openly and expensively arm Europe 475 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:47,920 as a way to force the increasingly impoverished Soviets to back down. 476 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:53,400 The Defence Secretary told NATO that we would be prepared to have 477 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,880 160 cruise missiles based here in Britain. 478 00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:00,080 The main base is to be Greenham Common near Newbury, 479 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:02,800 where 76 of the missiles will be stored. 480 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:06,760 The cruise missile can carry any size of nuclear warhead, 481 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:08,720 and with a range of 1,700 miles, 482 00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:11,120 the ones soon to be based at Greenham Common 483 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:12,920 could reach as far as Moscow. 484 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:19,880 Margaret Thatcher was always a firm supporter 485 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:22,720 of the policy of nuclear deterrence. 486 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:29,680 In the mid-1980s, it was very much a disputed matter. 487 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,840 There were many people who were very anxious 488 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,800 about the danger of nuclear weapons. 489 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,600 Of course, this coincided 490 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:50,320 with the deployment of nuclear missiles to Europe 491 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:53,720 and the basing of them in the UK. 492 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:59,840 She felt that that was necessary for the safety of Europe. 493 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:01,920 She knew it was going to be opposed. 494 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:06,640 As protests gained momentum, 495 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:11,720 KGB agents seized the opportunity to impress Andropov back at home. 496 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:15,000 The KGB office in London 497 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,840 was claiming credit with Moscow 498 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:19,240 for having organised 499 00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:20,960 the Greenham Common protests. 500 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,680 They couldn't organise a soapbox in Hyde Park as a protest, 501 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:26,400 let alone, you know, 502 00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:30,320 a massive, massive spontaneous protest 503 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,000 like Greenham Common. 504 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:37,880 And, of course, that eventually blew back to the Conservative government, 505 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:40,840 and certain Conservative politicians at the time 506 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:45,920 started to accuse Greenham Common women of being funded by Moscow. 507 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:52,320 And so they got tarred unjustly at the time 508 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:55,640 as being sort of puppets of Moscow. 509 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,800 Internal memos are shared within the Government 510 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:03,240 as the rumour takes hold. 511 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:06,520 The British secret service quietly starts surveillance 512 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:10,040 on the peace movement at Greenham Common. 513 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:13,360 The use of watchers to keep control at home 514 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:16,800 sits uneasily with Michael Bettaney. 515 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,240 I think Michael was becoming increasingly unhappy 516 00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:23,920 that domestic surveillance as such was being expanded. 517 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:26,640 Who checks on what the spies are doing? 518 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:28,560 Who spies on the spies? 519 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,880 Because we were beginning to see MI5 as a microcosm of society 520 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:37,320 and a society that he was growing more and more disillusioned with. 521 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:47,600 I got on with him very well 522 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:50,000 because I very much liked his sense of humour. 523 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:55,080 And he was quite interesting to talk to. 524 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,440 He liked talking to me about Russian culture, 525 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:03,840 Russian literature, Russian music. 526 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,480 He didn't really want to hear all the realities 527 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:11,800 of the day-to-day hardships of the Soviet citizens. 528 00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:16,640 And he'd sometimes make odd little comments, 529 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:20,840 you know, about, I don't know, how wonderful Russia was or something, 530 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:24,800 that I took to be ironic but perhaps weren't, in retrospect. 531 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,880 Michael Bettaney, he became more and more disillusioned 532 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,080 with British governmental policies. 533 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,920 He then decided communism was a better path for mankind. 534 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:05,160 I think he was a man still looking and still searching for... 535 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:07,120 ..the meaning in his life. 536 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:24,520 Michael Bettaney pushes a letter through the letterbox 537 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:27,720 of General Arkadi Guk, 538 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:29,600 offering his services. 539 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,800 I think he was probably more interested 540 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:36,840 in hurting the Establishment than... 541 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,640 ..giving secrets to the Russians. 542 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:44,320 It just seemed like something out of a novel, 543 00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:46,160 like a sort of John le Carre thing 544 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:48,960 that you didn't expect to happen in the real world. 545 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:50,880 You didn't really expect people 546 00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:55,320 to be approaching the Russians and fixing dead letterboxes, 547 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:58,080 no, even despite all our training. 548 00:41:58,080 --> 00:42:00,400 It did seem rather extraordinary. 549 00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:14,520 When that letter arrived in Arkadi Guk's flat, 550 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:16,640 I'm pretty sure he was suspicious 551 00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:20,720 because he had huge experience as a counterintelligence officer. 552 00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:23,000 So he was extremely careful. 553 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:29,520 Gordievsky learned that there had been some offer 554 00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:32,320 but of course didn't know who. 555 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:36,120 Guk said, "Now, look, that man is sending us 556 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:39,120 "their information about KGB, 557 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:42,520 "which means they're sending us what we already know." 558 00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:44,600 It was not real intelligence. 559 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:51,000 The KGB deliberate over whether the offer is genuine. 560 00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:57,240 Gordievsky can feel danger inching closer. 561 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:05,640 The potential spy giving away secrets to the KGB was dangerous. 562 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:12,520 I felt...tremendous pressure. 563 00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:17,520 The nerves were beginning to fail me. 564 00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:22,120 My health started to deteriorate. 565 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:25,480 I had insomnia... 566 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,160 ..and high blood pressure. 567 00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:35,280 I told the British intelligence service. 568 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:37,960 They started to look for a traitor. 569 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:47,240 It was really important to identify who this anonymous person was 570 00:43:47,240 --> 00:43:49,600 who was offering secrets 571 00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:51,800 to the Soviet Embassy. 572 00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:54,600 A mole hunt, classic mole hunt. 573 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,480 MUSIC: Newsnight Theme Tune 574 00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:09,760 As British intelligence raced to protect Gordievsky, 575 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:13,200 a drama is unfolding on the other side of the world 576 00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:17,400 that plays into every paranoia on both sides of the Iron Curtain. 577 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:22,680 Good evening, and our apologies for joining you later than usual. 578 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:26,840 We had a fire alarm in the building, which fortunately came to nothing. 579 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:29,080 But now for our programme. 580 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:32,040 In perhaps the most alarming diplomatic incident 581 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:33,840 since the Second World War, 582 00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:37,040 a Russian MiG fighter has shot down a civilian airliner. 583 00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:41,040 All 269 people aboard are presumed dead. 584 00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:42,760 The missile attack happened 585 00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:46,120 when the South Korean jumbo jet strayed into Soviet airspace. 586 00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,240 The crisis over Flight 007... 587 00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:58,360 Just about half were Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese... 588 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:02,000 The free world was outraged. 589 00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:06,960 For once, it's no exaggeration to say that Western governments 590 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:09,760 have been stunned and even a little frightened. 591 00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:15,760 Once the news comes that the Soviets had shot down the Korean airliner, 592 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:19,760 Ronald Reagan immediately goes on national television 593 00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:24,240 and uses every dirty word for their behaviour 594 00:45:24,240 --> 00:45:27,400 that he can find in the thesaurus. 595 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:30,320 What can be said about Soviet credibility 596 00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:34,080 when they so flagrantly lie about such a heinous act? 597 00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:38,960 The military in Moscow explain. 598 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:42,600 "The Korean jumbo was spying, so our missiles brought it down." 599 00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:47,800 Being in the Soviet Union, you've been limited for information. 600 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:52,640 It was all controlling, all propaganda style. 601 00:45:52,640 --> 00:45:54,280 This was all right. 602 00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:58,640 This was just an aeroplane just crossed the border 603 00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:00,960 and nobody knew what it's going to be, 604 00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:03,360 and this was only way to shut it down. 605 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:08,840 The Soviet Union becomes very defensive, very quiet 606 00:46:08,840 --> 00:46:12,040 and makes no apologies at all. 607 00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:16,440 So that drove people in the West, especially conservatives like me, 608 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:20,840 to think, "Boy, they are even worse than we thought they were." 609 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,200 THEY SHOUT 610 00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:27,280 NEWS CORRESPONDENT: 611 00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:27,280 The Soviet people don't know 612 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:29,560 that there is a major diplomatic crisis, 613 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:31,400 because they haven't been told. 614 00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:36,720 It was a frightening moment. 615 00:46:36,720 --> 00:46:39,960 But there was so much going on in 1983 616 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:41,840 that was frightening. 617 00:46:46,280 --> 00:46:50,720 Gordievsky will need to help the British interpret the Soviet mood. 618 00:46:52,280 --> 00:46:55,760 But first, he must watch his own back. 619 00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:57,880 The mole has tried again. 620 00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:02,840 A rather frustrated Michael Bettaney 621 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:06,000 put a second letter through Guk's letterbox, 622 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:08,640 in this case enclosing a list 623 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:14,560 of all the identified KGB officers in London. 624 00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:18,760 Guk was very boastful. 625 00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:25,520 And he was saying things which were unnecessary to say. 626 00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:27,600 He was not supposed to tell me. 627 00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:33,880 The document provides a much-needed clue. 628 00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:39,120 Only someone at K Desk could have access to these details. 629 00:47:46,440 --> 00:47:52,080 Gordievsky's lead takes MI5 to Michael Bettaney's door. 630 00:47:52,080 --> 00:47:55,040 He didn't confess initially. 631 00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:57,720 So they left him to sweat it out overnight 632 00:47:57,720 --> 00:48:00,560 in a safe house with a bottle of whisky. 633 00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:04,480 And the next day he said, "I'll make a clean breast of it." 634 00:48:12,160 --> 00:48:14,520 My name is Helena Kennedy. 635 00:48:14,520 --> 00:48:17,840 I was one of the barristers who was instructed 636 00:48:17,840 --> 00:48:20,240 to act for Michael Bettaney. 637 00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:25,960 I remember that we asked, "Why did you ask for us?" 638 00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:28,760 And he said, "Because I knew you and I knew your work," 639 00:48:28,760 --> 00:48:32,200 and he made it very clear that he did have informants 640 00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:35,680 inside all these campaigns, in the cases that we did. 641 00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:38,760 Bettaney tells his lawyers that spying on British citizens 642 00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:41,240 like Helena Kennedy and the women of Greenham Common 643 00:48:41,240 --> 00:48:43,400 fuelled his betrayal. 644 00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:46,680 I think that he then felt that he was 645 00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:49,280 party to something that was discreditable, 646 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:51,320 in fact, to the British state. 647 00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:54,760 He was not going to play that game. 648 00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:01,400 I think he did feel a sense of outrage 649 00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:04,080 that took him down this crazy road. 650 00:49:10,080 --> 00:49:14,800 Once his house was raided by the security services, 651 00:49:14,800 --> 00:49:18,400 they found a large amount of accumulated material 652 00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:20,720 that would never, in normal circumstances, 653 00:49:20,720 --> 00:49:22,680 be sitting in somebody's house. 654 00:49:24,360 --> 00:49:27,320 Michael Bettaney, I don't want to have it on my conscience 655 00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:31,440 that there are people in jail because of my information. 656 00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:33,560 I feel uneasy about it, because I'm a human being 657 00:49:33,560 --> 00:49:35,920 and I've got my conscience and my soul. 658 00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:40,280 The concern of the security services 659 00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:43,600 was that Michael Bettaney had passed information, 660 00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:46,840 information about Gordievsky, to the KGB. 661 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:07,240 Bettaney's arrest means the KGB has missed a valuable opportunity 662 00:50:07,240 --> 00:50:10,000 to see what the West are really up to. 663 00:50:12,240 --> 00:50:16,200 Andropov's paranoia is now at boiling point 664 00:50:16,200 --> 00:50:17,720 but remains unheeded. 665 00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:30,000 Still unconvinced about how their actions are being read, 666 00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:32,440 Western forces carry on as normal... 667 00:50:33,480 --> 00:50:36,840 ..and launch a military exercise, 668 00:50:36,840 --> 00:50:41,320 gathering 40,000 US and NATO troops across Europe, 669 00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:43,240 right on Russia's border. 670 00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:53,080 Able Archer was a normal military exercise by NATO command... 671 00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:59,280 ..to prepare NATO forces in Europe 672 00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:02,640 for an attack from the Soviet Union. 673 00:51:05,320 --> 00:51:09,120 But the way it was done was not normal at all. 674 00:51:09,120 --> 00:51:13,840 The nuclear component of the exercise was hyped up. 675 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:16,760 RADIO COMMS: 676 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:16,760 Yankee 4 Lima... 677 00:51:16,760 --> 00:51:18,600 The idea of it was, 678 00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:23,840 make this as realistic as you could possibly make it. 679 00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:25,800 For Andropov, it looks like 680 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:29,400 his Operation RYaN prophecy could be coming true. 681 00:51:31,760 --> 00:51:35,960 They were receiving much more cables during Able Archer. 682 00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:39,680 I knew it was a dramatic moment. 683 00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:42,440 I knew Moscow was nervous. 684 00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:45,800 Daytime, 01.55... 685 00:51:47,040 --> 00:51:50,400 B-52 bombers with nuclear capabilities 686 00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:53,400 now arrive at the US German airbase. 687 00:51:56,520 --> 00:51:59,760 Andropov is watching it unfold from hospital. 688 00:52:02,360 --> 00:52:04,680 But the Soviet people aren't told 689 00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:06,480 about their leader's declining health 690 00:52:06,480 --> 00:52:09,440 as he keeps his hands firmly on the reins of power. 691 00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:16,240 I think KGB people have a different kind of brain 692 00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:18,200 than a politician. 693 00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:22,400 KGB is all about state security. 694 00:52:22,400 --> 00:52:24,280 They are protecting the state 695 00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:26,880 from all this malign interference and influence. 696 00:52:26,880 --> 00:52:29,880 And so if Andropov would get that close 697 00:52:29,880 --> 00:52:33,520 to feeling that the nation is threatened, 698 00:52:33,520 --> 00:52:34,960 why not? 699 00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:40,000 In response, the Soviets get into position. 700 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:44,320 Nuclear submarines are primed and ready to rise and launch. 701 00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:48,400 Soviet troops are put on a 15-minutes' combat standby. 702 00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:53,960 Andropov, he's dying, but he's clutching that red button. 703 00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:57,240 He really thinks if it's not him, who else? 704 00:52:57,240 --> 00:52:58,760 He's in charge. 705 00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:02,240 But the exercise continues, 706 00:53:02,240 --> 00:53:06,840 unaware that a nuclear confrontation is now just a phone call away. 707 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:11,200 The prevailing attitude was, 708 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:13,440 "We're not even thinking about them." 709 00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:17,240 You know, their reaction to all this is something that... 710 00:53:17,240 --> 00:53:20,360 ..you know, that doesn't come up, just doesn't come up. 711 00:53:22,120 --> 00:53:25,880 Ultimately, you kind of have this mendacity. 712 00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:29,040 You believe in your own propaganda of your own greatness, 713 00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:31,320 you're in the control of the state. 714 00:53:37,920 --> 00:53:40,520 All Russian and Soviet dictators, 715 00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:45,040 their problem is they always think they're the last line of defence. 716 00:53:47,160 --> 00:53:50,480 While the country is being starved to death, 717 00:53:50,480 --> 00:53:53,160 eliminated, bombed, 718 00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:56,000 destroying others in your wake, 719 00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:57,680 you still think that, 720 00:53:57,680 --> 00:53:59,720 because the greatness of the state 721 00:53:59,720 --> 00:54:02,960 belongs to you, you are in power, 722 00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:07,400 you have the right, if you decide, to destroy it 723 00:54:07,400 --> 00:54:09,400 so nobody else would get it. 724 00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:15,800 Two weeks after it began, 725 00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:19,240 the Able Archer operation wraps up on schedule. 726 00:54:20,560 --> 00:54:22,800 Andropov off is finally persuaded 727 00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:25,480 that this really was just an exercise. 728 00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:28,640 This time. 729 00:54:30,680 --> 00:54:34,120 Western forces pack up their kit, 730 00:54:34,120 --> 00:54:39,080 not realising how close the world could have come to nuclear war. 731 00:54:40,520 --> 00:54:42,720 We knew the times were dangerous. 732 00:54:42,720 --> 00:54:46,920 What we didn't know was even worse than we thought at the time, 733 00:54:46,920 --> 00:54:49,600 and they could press the button 734 00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:52,600 and unleash a nuclear war against the West. 735 00:54:52,600 --> 00:54:57,160 We don't know what's happened in the Kremlin during those days 736 00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:01,120 or especially the last few hours of the drill. 737 00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:07,920 My contribution was to explain that this is dangerous. 738 00:55:09,240 --> 00:55:12,120 You're playing with fire, you simply don't understand 739 00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:15,160 the mentality of the old Russian leaders. 740 00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:19,520 The Able Archer exercise, 741 00:55:19,520 --> 00:55:23,080 the world came very close to nuclear war. 742 00:55:32,040 --> 00:55:35,600 It's important that the agent feels 743 00:55:35,600 --> 00:55:38,880 that the risks they're running are properly recognised. 744 00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:47,720 After the Bettaney case, Margaret Thatcher, through MI6, 745 00:55:47,720 --> 00:55:51,240 sent congratulations to Gordievsky 746 00:55:51,240 --> 00:55:53,640 for helping expose Bettaney. 747 00:55:53,640 --> 00:55:56,160 Little things like that really matter. 748 00:55:58,320 --> 00:56:00,080 Michael Bettaney never knew 749 00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:03,280 about the double identity of Oleg Gordievsky. 750 00:56:03,280 --> 00:56:07,400 Britain's highest-ranking mole is safe...for now. 751 00:56:09,560 --> 00:56:12,160 Bettaney is found guilty of ten charges 752 00:56:12,160 --> 00:56:17,800 under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to 23 years in jail. 753 00:56:17,800 --> 00:56:23,360 To be a traitor, to hand over names of people who might end up dead, 754 00:56:23,360 --> 00:56:24,960 that is wrong, 755 00:56:24,960 --> 00:56:27,920 because of the harm he could cause to other people. 756 00:56:27,920 --> 00:56:30,120 And then the people left behind 757 00:56:30,120 --> 00:56:32,480 are working in an atmosphere where they don't know 758 00:56:32,480 --> 00:56:34,920 if they can trust the people they're working with. 759 00:56:39,720 --> 00:56:41,800 He could have done with somebody in his life 760 00:56:41,800 --> 00:56:44,400 that just said, "Oh, come on, stop fantasising 761 00:56:44,400 --> 00:56:48,200 "and let's, you know, go and see a film, or something." 762 00:56:54,040 --> 00:56:56,400 He wrote to me from prison. 763 00:56:58,000 --> 00:57:02,720 "A young sparrowhawk chose my exercise yard for a picnic. 764 00:57:02,720 --> 00:57:06,040 "We looked at each other in mutual amazement. 765 00:57:06,040 --> 00:57:08,800 "Bird puzzled by man in cage. 766 00:57:08,800 --> 00:57:11,320 "But it only lasted for a couple of minutes, 767 00:57:11,320 --> 00:57:14,480 "so I have to try and relive the experience in my imagination." 768 00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:37,200 Our goal was to weaken the enemy 769 00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:41,000 and eventually help the suppressed to rise up 770 00:57:41,000 --> 00:57:44,560 and build another communist nation. 771 00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:48,560 I felt instinctively that my time was running out. 772 00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:53,680 From cyber intelligence 773 00:57:53,680 --> 00:57:56,920 to undercover operatives and so-called honeypots, 774 00:57:56,920 --> 00:58:01,560 the shape of espionage has constantly changed with the times. 775 00:58:01,560 --> 00:58:04,440 For an interactive look at spying's past, 776 00:58:04,440 --> 00:58:06,160 go to the address below 777 00:58:06,160 --> 00:58:08,800 and follow the links to the Open University.