A Spy Among Friends, written by Ben Macintyre,published by Crown Publishers,2014.

In retrospect, Kim Philby’s obsessive and unrelenting betrayal of his country seems odd given his indoctrination in the venerable halls of Westminster and Cambridge. This is a puzzling mystery that captivated the author and which compelled him to tell the story of Philby’s treachery by focusing on his “friends” within British Secret Intelligence, known as MI6. Much of the story concentrates on the differences of perspective between MI6 and the counterintelligence service known as MI5. The author makes a strong case for the argument that the failure of MI6 to grasp the full scope of Philby’s deception ultimately led to deadly consequences.

During the 1930s, the ongoing ideological battle between fascism and communism was ripe with strife … even at Cambridge. Philby joined the Cambridge University Socialist Society and virtually recruited himself to the communist cause. This led to his first marriage to Alice “Litzi” Kohlman, a committed communist, who brokered Philby’s introduction to the Soviet Intelligence Services. Philby, in turn, reached out to recruit his Cambridge “friends” including Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, Moscow covertly instructed Philby, using journalistic cover with the Times, to travel to Spain to support the Soviet-backed Republicans in their battle against General Franco’s Nationalists. After that, there was no turning back.

Philby was targeted against the British Foreign Service by Moscow and succeeded beyond every conceivable expectation. He managed to escape detection for over twenty years due to his total assimilation into the “Old Boys’ Network” of MI-6. Not that there wasn’t an abundance of evidence. In June, 1950, American interceptions of Soviet messages (Operation Venona) revealed a spy had been operating within the British embassy in Washington, D.C. The spy was identified as Donald Maclean. Guy Burgess, working in the British Embassy as the information officer, was likewise identified. Philby, privy to the intercepts, alerted Moscow. Maclean and Burgess then escaped to Moscow. Clearly they had been alerted, but by whom? Then in 1954, Vladimir Petrov, a KGB colonel defected. He revealed that Maclean and Burgess had been tipped off to escape by a “Third Man” who was a British official. The identity of the “Third Man” would remain unsolved for years. In the interim, under suspicion by MI5 and the Americans, Philby was fired for his indiscretions.

But that didn’t mean Philby still didn’t retain access to the secrets of MI6. Nicholas Elliott, a close “friend” within MI6, arranged for Philby to be “retained” on salary as a covert operative for MI6 in Beirut using journalistic cover with the Observer and the Economist. In this capacity, Philby continued to meet and pass information to his Soviet handlers. Then, in the spring of 1962, Major Anatoliy Golitsyn, a KGB defector, revealed the existence of an important spy ring who had met at a university and furnished valuable information to the Soviets for years.

Once again Philby was under suspicion. Nicholas Elliott was given the task by MI6 of confronting Philby in Beirut and obtaining a confession. This developed into a cat-and-mouse game which opened a brief window offering the opportunity for escape. Left unguarded, Philby abandoned his family and boarded a Russian freighter bound for Odessa. He spent the rest of his schizophrenic existence in Moscow, married a Russian woman, and died May 11, 1988. His service was commemorated with a Soviet postage stamp.