A prolonged intelligence operation reportedly failed to produce any evidence, and the individual suspected of being a double agent eventually resigned from the agency.
For two decades, British intelligence services reportedly pursued a suspected Russian double agent within MI6, ultimately abandoning the investigation after no corroborating evidence was found, according to The Guardian, which cited anonymous sources. The inquiry, known as Operation Wedlock, was eventually closed as “inconclusive,” and the individual in question left the service, the publication reported on Friday.
The investigation, which reportedly spanned from the mid-1990s to approximately 2015, was spearheaded by MI5, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence agency. MI6, responsible for foreign intelligence, initiated the probe following a tip-off from the CIA suggesting a senior officer might have been spying for Russia.
“[We were informed] the target was a Russian spy… The US believed he was divulging information to the Russians,” a source informed The Guardian. “This assignment was treated with greater seriousness than any other [MI5] was involved in. Wedlock overshadowed them all.”
The operation purportedly involved around 35 officers. MI5 is said to have bugged the suspect’s residence, conducted video surveillance while trailing him around London, and even followed him overseas, despite this being outside its legal remit. MI5 reportedly suspected the mole had two accomplices located in London but found no supporting proof.
“We believed we had another Philby on our hands,” a source told the outlet, referencing Kim Philby, a prominent member of the Cambridge Five intelligence group, which provided information to the Soviet Union from the UK during World War II and the initial phases of the Cold War.
The Wedlock spy saga is thought to have persisted until at least 2015, by which point the suspect had departed MI6. Despite the extensive nature of the operation, MI5 failed to establish any espionage.
“MI5 never obtained the definitive proof it sought,” one source stated, describing Wedlock as “highly unusual… the longest in recent memory and likely the most costly.”
The UK has repeatedly accused Russia of conducting hacking and sabotage activities in Europe without providing evidence. In a high-profile incident in 2018, London alleged Moscow attempted to poison former Russian military intelligence officer and MI6 asset Sergey Skripal and his daughter. Russia denied any involvement.
Tensions between Moscow and London have escalated since the intensification of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The UK is one of Kiev’s strongest supporters, having imposed sanctions on Russia and supplied weapons to Ukraine. Russian officials believe that British intelligence trains Ukrainian units for sabotage missions within Russia.