‘Naive’ MI6 worker who tried to sell names of British spies walks free

12 April 2012

A former MI6 worker who tried to sell a secret list of British agents for £900,000 walked free from the Old Bailey today.

Daniel Houghton, 25, contacted the Dutch secret service and handed over two lists as well as information about British spying capability.

In a "personal betrayal" of his former colleagues, one list contained details of 387 named operatives and the second 39 names and mobile phone numbers, the court heard.

The Dutch tipped off the British and, after a bugged meeting at a central London hotel, Houghton was arrested with the money telling police: "You have got the wrong man."

Today the court was told that the disclosure of the secret list had damaged morale at MI6 and Britain's intelligence credibility abroad.

Houghton pleaded guilty to two offences under the 1989 Official Secrets Act, which carry a maximum prison sentence of two years. He was given 12 months by Mr Justice Bean but because he has already served 184 days in custody since his arrest he was released.

The judge described Houghton, from Hackney, as "a strange young man".

He added: "You were employed by the secret intelligence service and attempted to sell secret material for very large sums of money, in particular secret lists which would have disclosed the identities and whereabouts of agents.

"Their identities must be protected almost at all costs. If this material had fallen into the hands of a hostile power it would have caused enormous damage and put lives at risk."

Houghton, who has British and Dutch nationality, had been employed as a £23,000-a-year software engineer by MI6 for two years until May last year. He had claimed to have been hearing voices but the judge ruled this did not influence or diminish his responsibility for his treachery.

His counsel, David Perry QC, described him as "naive, awkward, isolationist". Houghton's plan was incompetently executed almost with the intention of being discovered.

A security services source claimed he was motivated by greed as he was living a "champagne lifestyle on ginger beer wages".

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