Meanwhile, Marina had arrived at the MI5 headquarters by the Thames, where she was met in the entrance lobby by a female officer who introduced herself as Patricia and said she would be taking care of her for a few days.
“We have some comfortable digs for you just around the corner,” she said, picking up Marina’s bags and setting off along the road and then turning right into a modern apartment block. They took the lift to the eighth floor and found number 83, which turned out to be a quite luxurious two-bedroomed apartment with a view out across the river and the lights of London at night.
Patricia was about the same age as Marina and dressed in casual jeans and jacket. She was warm and friendly as she took Marina into one of the bedrooms and showed her all the facilities of the flat, including a kitchen with a well-stocked refrigerator and freezer.
“This is where I stay when work keeps me here late at night. I will be in the other bedroom tonight, and we each have our own bathrooms, so we should be okay,” she explained. “As it’s quite late, why don’t you get what you need to eat from the fridge, and we’ll call it a night. We can have a chat over breakfast at about 8.30? Sleep well.”
Marina made a cheese sandwich, sat on her bed and collected her thoughts. She felt her whole being had suddenly been taken over by the police, the press and the events of the last 48 hours. But at least she was safe and comfortable for the night, and maybe she would discover more in the morning. She prepared herself a hot drink, went quickly to bed and slept soundly.
17.
ALDANOV IN COURT
The news story remained in the headlines over the weekend. The reports were mostly speculation about Russian spying activities, with Marina as the “mystery woman”. A few more “facts” had been obtained from neighbours and co-workers in the Dockyard. However, Marina’s whereabouts remained unknown until early on the Sunday morning, when there was another tip-off. Mike Morrissey was reading the results of his handiwork in the Sunday papers when his police CID contact who rang him again.
“You’re probably still working on the Russian officer story,” he said. “Well, when I came in this morning, I heard that we sent two cars off on Friday evening to drive to MI5 in London, and one of them was supposed to be picking up the woman in the case, Marina Peters. That’s all I know at the moment, but I’ll let you know if I hear any more.”
An appreciative Mike was quickly in action and he drove to the Southsea flat again, and on getting no response from Marina’s number, he tried the neighbour he had spoken to a couple of days earlier. “Yes, she popped in last night to say she would be away for a few days,” he was told by Mrs. Watkins. “She had a suitcase, and when I looked out, I am sure I saw a police car outside.”
That was all that Mike needed by way of confirmation, and he was able to prepare a new story for the Monday papers to say that Marina Peters was now being questioned by MI5 in London about her rendezvous with the Russian Lieutenant. The news editors in London tried to check this news, but no further statements were forthcoming from Scotland Yard, the Home Office or the Foreign Office during the day. This did not stop further speculation as the new story evolved into a major security inquiry. In Monday’s papers, it was illustrated with front-page pictures and there was TV coverage of the three Russian frigates leaving Portsmouth Harbour – but without Lieutenant Aldanov on board. It was speculated by the press that he and Marina would shortly appear in court on charges relating to the information exchanged between them in their online conversations..
Meanwhile, MI5 officers continued to question Aldanov through Sunday, with an attaché from the Russian embassy present, and by the end of the day, he was charged with a breach of national security by attempting to obtain confidential information from a civilian working for the Royal Navy. He appeared briefly at the Westminster Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning and was remanded to a high-security prison pending trial.
After the hearing, there was another statement from the Foreign Office:
“Further to the statement issued on Friday, investigations carried out by the security services have confirmed that Nikolai Aldanov, who was detained in Portsmouth last week, is an experienced agent employed by the Russian secret service known as the GRU. After questioning by MI5, he appeared in court in London today charged with offences relating to national security, and he was remanded in custody to stand trial on a date to be arranged. The Russian embassy is being kept fully informed. The British woman who was detained at the same time is helping MI5 with their enquiries but has not been charged at this stage.”
Meanwhile, Tom Spencer and his investigative team at MI5, together with an MI6 representative, met again early on Monday morning. They began by reconsidering their view of Marina’s involvement with Aldanov by discussing a new, detailed analysis of the 100-plus page transcript of their online exchanges. Also, they now had to consider the possible role of her father. They now knew that he had maintained his contacts with other Russian emigres in London and that he was obviously known to the Russian embassy, who had been trying to make contact with him since the story appeared about his daughter. They recognised that following his return from Portsmouth on Friday evening, it was likely that Russian agents had, in fact, already made contact, and it was quickly decided to place him under surveillance. But they would not yet try to formally interview him as part of the current operation.
The meeting went on for more than an hour and ranged over various possibilities. Were either Victor Peters or Marina already operating as Russian informants? It was agreed that a joint evidence-gathering operation should begin at once. They also began to speculate whether there was now an opportunity for either of the Peters to become MI5 informants – or even double agents? Or if they were not willing to risk their British citizenship in that way, did their Russian contacts provide a basis to develop their value as MI6 operatives? It was also noted that among Marina’s exchanges with Aldanov, she had said she was eager to visit her ancestral roots in Russia. How could this be exploited?
As these creative ideas were explored, Spencer was pensive for a few moments and then said, “How do you think Moscow sees this? Their guy goes fishing and comes up with an online date with an English girl who just happens to be working inside the Royal Navy comms office – and also just happens to have Russian ancestry. Was that a lucky coincidence? They probably got their London station to investigate the woman and discovered that her family was already in their records, or at least her father was. I wonder why? Did they know she was working in a sensitive section of the British navy in Portsmouth? They certainly went to all the trouble of getting their man on an operational navy ship as a Lieutenant which could be routed via Portsmouth to drop him off and meet his contact. There’s obviously much more in this than we know at the moment. For example, they knew that all the exchanges between the couple were on an open website, so they must have guessed that we knew all about his arrival and would probably follow him. Let’s all go away and think about all this some more….”
He then paused and, as an aside, added, “You know, this Marina is a rather interesting lady – smart, intelligent and with a Russian interest. She could be a useful asset to us.”
In conclusion, Spencer emphasised to the meeting that they must also not lose sight of their primary objective – now that they held Aldanov, they needed to build a strong case against him and secure a conviction, based on Marina Peters’ testimony. Members of the team were given their assignments, and the next stage was for MI5 interrogators to further question Marina as a potential key witness, but at the same time to weigh up these further questions and longer-term possibilities.