MI6 rebel ordered to leave by Swiss

RICHARD TOMLINSON, the renegade former MI6 officer, was yesterday ordered by the authorities in Switzerland where he has been living, to leave the country immediately.

Mr Tomlinson, 35, was accused of naming 116 MI6 officers and agents on the Internet last month. He strenuously denies the charge. Mr Tomlinson has been living in Geneva since October last year but was detained yesterday by the Swiss authorities and taken to a police station. He says he will take the next flight to any country that will accept him.

The Foreign Office last night denied the British Government had brought pressure on the Swiss to expel Mr Tomlinson. A spokesman said, "As far as we are aware this is a entirely a matter for the Swiss authorities who acted unilaterally."

At the time the 116 names were leaked, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, attacked Mr Tomlinson saying, "What he is doing is irresponsible, damaging and potentially dangerous to people who have worked in the service." While it is clear the Foreign Office are no longer so certain that Mr Tomlinson published the list himself they still see him as a loose cannon.

Mr Tomlinson's solicitors, Irwin Mitchell of Sheffield, said in a statement last night, "Irwin Mitchell's client, Richard Tomlinson, was today detained by the Swiss police. He was not arrested or charged with any criminal offence but has been asked to leave the country. He has now been released pending his departure to another country and is seeking advice on appealing the police's decision."

Mr Tomlinson's options are limited. He has been barred from the United States, Australia and France. He has not returned to the United Kingdom as the British authorities have refused to assure him that he would not face charges under the Official Secrets Act. Few countries will want to provoke the British Government's wrath by giving him sanctuary.

A Cambridge graduate, Richard Tomlinson, 35, joined MI6 in 1991. He was sent on a number of top-secret missions involving Bosnia, Russia and Iran. In 1995, after a bout of depression, Mr Tomlinson was fired by MI6. His attempts to take the spy-masters to an industrial tribunal were blocked.

Disgruntled, he then began to write a book about his experiences in MI6. Following the Spycatcher affair in the mid 1980s the Official Secrets Act was reformed to prevent former spooks publishing anything about their lives in MI6. The British authorities learnt that he had gone to talk to publishers in Sydney about the project.

He was arrested on his return and prosecuted. In a trial held largely in camera he was found guilty of a breach of the Official Secrets Act and jailed for six months. He was released in April last year. Two months later he went to Paris. The British authorities were concerned that Mr Tomlinson, now even more angry and resentful, was still planning to publish details of his MI6 career. In Paris he was arrested at the request of the British. His computer and discs were seized, but he was then released.

Mr Tomlinson moved to Switzerland. In September he left files on an Internet cafe computer identifying seven MI6 officers and stating that British Intelligence had a spy in the German Bundesbank. They were found and published by Swiss journalists.