A Briton reported to be a secret agent was found murdered in a flat close to the central London headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service.
The body of the man in his 30s, yet to be formally identified, was found in a holdall in the tub in the bathroom of the flat in Pimlico, close to the Vauxhall Bridge across the Thames, reports said Wednesday.
London’s metropolitan police did not confirm reports that the victim was a GCHQ (signals intelligence) employee temporarily seconded to MI6.
MI6 and GCHQ did not respond to queries and the foreign office too refused to confirm if the man had worked for the intelligence agencies.
“This is a police matter. It’s a long-standing policy of the government not to confirm or deny any individual working for the intelligence agencies,” a foreign office spokesperson said.
A post-mortem is being done on Wednesday to determine the cause of death.
The police said it was “investigating a suspicious death following the discovery of the body of a man in a central London flat. At around 1640 hours on Monday 23 August, officers attended the flat, on the top floor of a property in Alderney Street, Westminster, after receiving reports that the occupant had not been seen for some time. Officers gained entry and found the body of the man, believed to be in his 30s. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
There is speculation about a possible Al Qaeda link, but there is no confirmation of this.