Then there was also the issue of whether the woman concerned had divulged confidential information, and this aspect was currently being explored in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence and Scotland Yard. Spencer added that much of this information seemed to match closely with the material the two agents had assembled from the interviews conducted in Portsmouth. A small team was assigned to prepare the legal case against Nikolai Aldanov and a timetable for proceeding with a prosecution case.
“M” confirmed that he was in agreement with the plans so far. The next step was to inform the Russian Embassy, through the official diplomatic channels of the Foreign Office, that Nikolai Aldanov was now in custody in London, pending charges relating to national security and that he would probably be formally charged in the next few days. One of M’s staff left the room to pass on this instruction, and the meeting was still going on when an immediate response came from the Russian Ambassador. It declared that Aldanov had been detained illegally and demanding his immediate release and consular access to speak to him.
When the meeting was adjourned, the Home Office legal experts went into an urgent session to consider how to respond. Their meeting of minds was chaired by the head of the legal division, Henry Newbolt, and he took the group through his agenda of the issues facing them.
First, they considered the claim about detaining the Russian illegally and quickly agreed that this was a red herring which could be easily disregarded and contested if necessary. Moving on, they all agreed that they were uncomfortable with the decision to release the woman involved so early in the proceedings, particularly since the transcripts of the online conversations showed clearly that she had told Aldanov about her Russian ancestry. Had the investigators considered that she may have shared classified information in her messages? Was she really an innocent party caught up in a plan to turn her into an informant by means of a calculated romantic relationship?
Thirdly, they wanted confirmation that Miss Peters had been reminded that she had signed the Official Secrets Act and would, therefore, be careful with anyone she spoke to, particularly the press.
Finally, they returned to the decision made to release Miss Peters. Some of the legal minds were clearly uneasy about this. The chairman said that when he had asked this question earlier, he had been told that MI5 regarded Aldanov as the real target of their investigations and that Miss Peters’ most important role now would be as a witness in a future trial of the Russian spy.
Henry Newbolt closed the meeting and said he would report the legal concerns to the MI5 Director; and he would continue to provide further advice as needed. With all this in mind, he went on to a meeting with the Director to review the options. They agreed that they could not deny Aldanov the opportunity for a consular visit from an official from the Russian Embassy and an interpreter if necessary. Then he would be formally charged with offences under national security regulations and be remanded in custody while the case against him was prepared.
Meanwhile, the Director made it clear that he supported the decision regarding the release of Miss Peters because they intended to “throw the book” at the Russian agent, who was a valuable asset in the hands of MI5 and MI6. She was their key witness, and they needed her input. They also needed as much time as possible to investigate and grill the Russian.
The decision to allow consular access to Aldanov was transmitted to the Russian embassy via the Foreign Office, and within a few minutes, a reply was received asking for a location and a time for the meeting, preferably within the next two hours.
The wheels turned quickly, and just an hour later, a car arrived at the entrance to the MI5 Thameside building, and the two passengers strode inside to the security checking zone. Their credentials were checked, and they were identified as a member of the Russian diplomatic staff and an interpreter. They were expected, of course, and so an officer was waiting in the lobby area to greet them. He took them swiftly by lift to a basement room where Nikolai Aldanov was brought in, without handcuffs, for an initial unsupervised meeting. “You have 15 minutes,” they were told.
They were all too aware that their discussion would be monitored, no doubt by a Russian-speaking officer in the department, so they were cautious and circumspect, mainly confirming Aldanov’s identity and asking him to describe the circumstances of his detention and whether he had been mistreated in any way. His replies did not reveal anything new to those listening in; he insisted that he was a Russian Navy officer and wanted to resume his duties on his ship as soon as possible and asked for the Embassy’s help. Those listening noted that he did not mention his intended meeting with his contact in the Dockyard, and neither was this mentioned by the Russian interviewing him.
After the assigned 15 minutes, a senior MI5 officer re-entered the room, together with Thomas Spencer, and the Russian diplomat immediately stood up and proclaimed, “Lieutenant Aldanov is a serving officer of the Russian Navy, and we demand his immediate release and your apologies for the way he has been treated since his ship arrived in the UK. Also, it was contrary to international law for your officers to detain him and to then hold him in custody without stating the offence which he is alleged to have committed.”
Spencer replied, slowly and carefully through the interpreter, “Your questions have been noted, gentlemen, but this is a matter of national security, and we have reason to believe that Mr. Aldanov was not a serving naval officer as you stated, but is in fact an official with the GRU and that he engaged in activities which may endanger the security of this country. We intend to pursue this matter further, and he will remain in custody until we are ready to proceed with an appropriate charge. Your embassy will be informed through the usual channels, and we have nothing further to say at this time. Good afternoon, gentlemen.”
At this point, the two MI5 officers marched swiftly out of the room, and the custody officer, who had been waiting at the door, led a protesting Aldanov away to the secure holding cells nearby. The Russian diplomats tried to respond, but their protests were ignored and they were escorted from the building to their waiting car for the short drive back to the embassy in Kensington Palace Gardens.
There they reported on the meeting to their Ambassador and then prepared a full outline of the situation in a lengthy, strictly confidential message to the head of GRU in Moscow. After describing the position so far, it went on to set out the reasons why they believed that Aldanov had been careless in the execution of his mission and that, as a consequence, his cover as a serving naval officer had been blown. There was nothing further they could do at this stage other than wait to see what action the British might take. Also, in a footnote to the message, they asked why the London bureau of GRU had not been informed in advance about Aldanov’s mission to the UK.
A swift response came back on the protected and confidential message line: “What do you know about the woman involved? Is she a crucial party in this matter? Please consider ways to contact her and discover whether she will corroborate the story that this was simply the start of a romantic relationship. Also explore a way to discover more about her family connections with Russia.”
The GRU’s assistant head of station at the London Embassy, who had posed as the interpreter at the meeting at MI5 headquarters, warmed to this idea and replied to Moscow that he would work on it. He went away to discuss the options with his team and began to prepare a plan. It started with a decision to send two of his most experienced agents, a man and a woman, to Portsmouth posing as tourists to explore the situation and with the aim of making contact with Marina Peters.