The Big Breach - Index of

The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.com`No, no,' spluttered Timpson. `I was merely trying to say that thingscould turn out for you OK in the end.' We spoke for an hour about theoutplacement help MI6 could offer but Timpson was as barren of ideas asI was. At least he did not suggest the City. `I've never had to givecareer advice to somebody like you who obviously does not want to leave- most people whom personnel department fire are happy to go,' he said.`That's the first sensible comment I've heard from personnel,' Ireplied. `But listen, I need to get some sort of employment urgently.I've been unemployed for months, I'm heavily in debt and can't pay mymortgage next month. If you can't help me find something, eventemporarily, can the office help me out with a loan?' Dimmock hadimplied to Badger that he thought I was a potential security risk: ifthat's what he thought when I had a regular salary and an interestingjob, then surely he would help me stay in my home so I would have astable base from which to job-search?`I understand your financial difficulty,' Timpson repliedsympathetically, `but it's out of the question. Julian Dimmockspecifically told me that it was not an option to give you a loan. ButI will write up your concerns when I get back to the office. Personneldepartment have obviously made some serious errors of judgement here,'he said cautiously. `But I have to be frank, I very much doubt theywill do anything. They've taken their decision now and it would be tooembarrassing to reverse it and admit their mistakes.' All Timpson coulddo for me was to put me in touch with an external careers adviser whohad been vetted by the office.Walking back to my flat, I reflected on Timpson's advice. Joining theFrench Foreign Legion was not an option, but the second idea started togrow on me. How about writing a book? It would be totally illegal -even disclosing the colour of the carpets in MI6's headquarters wouldbe a breach of the OSA. But a cloak of secrecy effectively shielded theservice from accountability, creating a climate in which arrogantdisregard for my rights, as well as those of countless other employees,came naturally. I was coming to believe that these traits tainted MI6'sinteractions with society at large. What else could I do? If I justforgot the incident, MI6 would carry on mismanaging their people inexactly the same way as they had mismanaged me. There had been victimsbefore me and there would be victims in the future.The urge to tell my side of the story publicly welled up more firmly inthe following weeks. The news of my dispute with MI6 had diffusedthrough Whitehall, and MI6 had covertly used their influence to blackenme and justify their decision. Some friends in Vauxhall Cross hadremained in surreptitious contact and they told me that personnel wasputting about rumours that they had `done everything they could' forme. Also, after some of the broadsheets had reported the use of a PIIcertificate to block my tribunal, the internal weekly newsletterclaimed that newspapers had mis-reported the story and that they hadbeen forced to obtain the PII certificate because I was a `publicityseeker who would use the opportunity of an employment tribunal toblacken the service'. Prior to my dismissal, the idea of breaking rankswith the service and seeking publicity was anathema, but now theiractions were driving me into a corner, mentally and financially, andwriting a book was looking like my only way out.page- 150 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com