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Philby’s cover was almost blown when Istanbul-based Soviet official, Konstantin Volkov, tried to defect. Volkov had a list of KGB agents in the UK – including Philby – and was offering it to MI6 in return for £50,000 and a new identity in Britain. Philby told the KGB the entire Spy Ring was at risk. Elliott was due to handle the defection, but Philby persuaded MI6 to send him instead, delaying his departure to allow the Russians time to act. By the time Philby arrived, Volkov and his wife had disappeared. In fact they had been kidnapped, drugged, flown to Moscow and were being tortured in the basement of the Lubyanka. They were summarily executed.

A close call

1944

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CIA Chief James Angleton failed to see through Philby, this charming, funny man

1972

After WW2 the intelligence landscape shifted dramatically. Now Britain had a new enemy in their former uneasy ally, the Soviet Union. This ‘Cold War’ would be fought not on battlefields, but by MI6, the KGB and the CIA. Of course, with the Spy Ring well-established, Russia was ahead from the start. For Philby, the growth of the CIA was a worry. With the threat of nuclear annihilation, rooting out double agents was top priority. However, his charm again served him well, with CIA Chief James Angleton. “Part British-educated, an anglophile, he was ripe for the picking,” says Macintyre. Philby had another friend in high places, oblivious to the truth.

1945

But domestic right-wing movements were also growing. In 1932 Sir Oswald Mosely had founded the British Union Of Fascists, finding some supporters among the disenfranchised working classes and sections of the press. This politically incendiary atmosphere was reflected in the debates that raged in the bars and common rooms of Cambridge University. It was a time when many young people found themselves picking sides. And Philby and Elliott had radically different visions of the world they wanted to make.

A new war

When Philby's pal Donald Maclean was uncovered, Philby was in real trouble

After a breakthrough in which 3000 KGB messages were decrypted the CIA discovered there had been a mole, codenamed 'Homer', in the British Embassy in Washington. The spy? Philby’s old university pal Donald Maclean. It was a crunch moment. “The trail from Maclean to Philby is pretty short,” says Ben Macintyre. “Either he keeps quiet and sacrifices Maclean: a gamble, because it's likely Maclean will blurt. Or he gets him out.” Philby asked Guy Burgess to help get Maclean to Russia: “Swear you won’t go with him,” he said. “If you do it will be the end of me.” Both fled to Moscow. Philby received a telegram from MI6. He had some explaining to do.

Crunch time

1951

THE END

Despite Philby's pleas, Burgess hopped on the Falaise pleasure cruiser to Moscow with Maclean

For Philby, Burgess’s defection was a disaster. He could plausibly say he hadn’t talked to Maclean in years, but Burgess was a friend. He had stayed with him in Washington and dined at James Angleton's house. Philby was grilled by Dick White, a genial MI5 officer who became convinced of his guilt. But the evidence was wholly circumstantial. Elliott leapt to his defence. 'He was thrown straight into a formal inquiry... even his request to smoke was refused' read one angry memo. Without proof, MI5 couldn’t arrest him. Plus the prospect of their dirty laundry being inspected by the press was far from appealing. Instead Philby was forced to resign.

Found out?

1945

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