As WikiLeaks continues to out diplomatic cables in the pursuit of “truth”, the Brits have found their own relic of the cold war spy game — or so they think.
A “leggy blond” from Russia, working in the U.K. as an aide for British parliament member Michael Hancock has provoked MI5, the British security service, to issue a deportation order against her after alleged connections to the SVR, Russia’s intelligence service, reports the Guardian. Katia Zatuliveter is a 25 year old Chechnyan survivor and is the latest in a long line of young Russian women that Hancock has taken in as a political aide over the years.
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Zatuliveter has been defended by Hancock but he is himself under suspicion for his alleged behavior with the women and alleged interest in Russia and its defense matters, especially when one considers that he represents a coastal region which has a naval base. “I am somewhat amazed to see that even today he insists that Zatuliveter is not a spy, said Matyas Eörsi a European Council politician who is trying to draw attention to Hancock. “If I were Hancock, I would rather show how shocked I am and ask MI5 to investigate everything in all possible details … But to claim that she was not a spy?”
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The British press has been speculating about Hancock’s own involvement in Russian intelligence but are unable to prove anything due to the apparent loss of his passport when it fell into the sea. Is this more a case of James Bond: From Russia With Love or Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery?