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The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.comBut I was not finished. Ànd I suggest you do it properly, becauseyou've dismissed me illegally and I intend to take MI6 to an employmenttribunal.'Dimmock looked really appalled. After a moment for the implications tosink in, he replied, `We really hope you won't do that. It would causea lot of bad publicity for us. In any case, what would be the point?Even if you won, we wouldn't give you your job back. Nobody can tellthe Chief of MI6 what to do.'This last sentence of Dimmock's was perceptive, though he didn'trealise it himself. It was this belief, which he held in common withmany other senior officers in MI6, that was the reason behind thepatently unfair dismissal and the cause of the long disagreementbetween me and MI6 that was to follow. Dimmock genuinely believed thatMI6 was above the laws of the land. There were mechanisms such as thesubmissions process that conferred token accountability to the ForeignSecretary and the Prime Minister, but to the likes of Dimmock, thesewere just minor bureaucratic formalities that needed to be completed inorder to carry out important operations. Democratic oversight did notapply to something as trivial as employment law. In his eyes, MI6 hadno obligation to give any warning that my job was in jeopardy, or toprovide any reasons justifying my dismissal. He expected me to take thesacking on the chin, not complain, not demand any explanation, andmeekly accept their offer of help with a stiff upper lip. `We'll getyou a job in the City,' blustered Dimmock feebly as I stood up angrily.`Keep your feeble ambitions to yourself,' I shouted, storming out.Dimmock picked the wrong person to impose his arbitrary authority on.There was no way that I would let MI6 get away with such a casual abuseof power and I resolved then and there to fight them to the end. It wasnot just because I liked my job and had no interest in working in theCity. It was also a matter of principle. I knew that if I did not fightthem, they would do the same thing to somebody else, then somebodyelse.A few days later, personnel department allowed me back into the officefor an hour to make a final appeal to the Chief himself, DavidSpedding. Dimmock assured me that it would be an impartial appeal andthat Spedding had not been briefed about the background to my case. Butit was clear from the first words of the meeting that this was a lie.Spedding was already fully briefed, the decision was firmly cut anddried, and I had no chance at all of getting it overturned. Speddingdismissed me with a wave of the hand, adding, Ì understand personneldepartment have already found you some interesting possibilities in theCity.'My perfunctory firing was a classic example of the type of behindclosed-doorsMI6 decision that happens regularly in the service due tothe ultimate lack of accountability of the Chief. As Dimmock hadpompously pointed out, the Chief answers to nobody. He never has tojustify a decision, no matter how crass or stupid, to a parliamentaryselect committee or to the Foreign Secretary or Prime Minister, and sohas no incentive to scrutinise recommendations that are passed up tohim. His non-existent upwards accountability means he needs only tocultivate the support of power-brokers below him. It is expedient topage- 143 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com
The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.comaccept recommendations where they are politically easy, such as thedismissal of a junior officer, so that he has a stronger power base formore difficult internal decisions. Just as in a dictatorship, thisshoddy decision-making cascades down the power structure, and explainshow the decision to dismiss me had been taken. Poison Dwarf decided hewanted me out, wrote a recommendation to Fowlecrooke, who signed it offand passed it up the chain to Dimmock. He in turn signed it off withoutbothering to form his own opinion by interviewing me and passed thedecision up to the highest levels of the service. Like many ex-militarypeople, Dimmock did not know the difference between `leadership' and`rigidity' and by the time he actually met me for himself, he dared notreverse his decision.I left Spedding's office frustrated and angry, realising that this lastchance was just a sham. I waited in the corridor outside his office forthe guards who were supposed to escort me out of the building, butafter a few minutes I realised they had forgotten. My first instinctwas to do my duty and make my way directly home. But rebellion wasbrewing inside me. `Bastards,' I thought. They hadn't even let me clearout my desk and say goodbye to Badger. `Sod 'em, I'll go and see himwhatever.' Brazenly walking through the centre of the building toBadger's office was too risky - somebody might collar me. It was nearly11 a.m., so Badger would be having his morning `breath of fresh air' onthe fire escape. Down on the ground floor by the gym, I dodged into thefire-escape stairwells and made my way through the clammy connectingtunnel to the PTCP fire-escape.Badger was there having a cigarette and, unusually, was alone. `Hey,how are you doing?' he greeted me enthusiastically. Ì'm really sorryabout what they did to you. As soon as I heard, I rushed up topersonnel to persuade Dimmock he was making a mistake, but he wouldn'tlisten,' Badger explained angrily. `They've ruined BELLHOP,' Badgercontinued. `Without you, we've no choice but to abandon it. And we justhad a big breakthrough. Kiddie phoned Fahd yesterday. He wanted you togo to Vienna to meet him.' Badger threw down his cigarette stub withannoyance. Ànd Dimmock said something very strange to me,' he added,`he said that they were very worried about having a potential AldridgeAmes in the service.'`What?' I asked incredulously. `What the hell has Ames got to do withme?'Ì really don't know,' replied Badger sympathetically `he wouldn'telaborate.'We spoke for a few more minutes, but I was struggling to hold backtears so I bade goodbye to Badger and checked out of the office for thelast time.Ames was a CIA officer who had recently been arrested in America andsentenced to life imprisonment for systematically betraying secrets toRussian intelligence over many years in return for millions of dollars.To this day I don't know whether Dimmock's comment was supposed toimply that I was some form of potential security risk, but it was adeeply unpleasant and unprofessional comment to make, and for which hehad absolutely no justification.page- 144 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com
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