Nicholas Elliott | |
|---|---|
 Elliott in the 1940s | |
| Born | (1916-11-15)15 November 1916 |
| Died | 13 April 1994(1994-04-13) (aged 77) London |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Holberton |
| Espionage activity | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
John Nicholas Rede Elliott (15 November 1916 – 13 April 1994) was anMI6 intelligence officer. His MI6 career was notable for his involvement with theLionel Crabb affair in the 1950s and the flight of double agentKim Philby toMoscow in 1963.
Elliott was born inLondon, the son ofClaude Aurelius Elliott, adon atCambridge and Headmaster atEton, where Nicholas was sent afterDurnford School, aprep school on theIsle of Purbeck inDorset.[1]
After leavingTrinity College, Cambridge, Elliott was offered a post in 1938 as Honorary Attache atThe Hague by SirNevile Bland. His career in secret intelligence came by chance. SirHugh Sinclair, Head of MI6, happened to visit The Hague, took to Elliott and offered him a job.[1]
In 1943, he married Elizabeth Holberton, with whom he had one son and a daughter, Claudia, later a sub-editor atThe Observer.[2]
Elliott was Honoraryattaché at the British Embassy in The Hague from 1938 to 1940. During theSecond World War he served as an acting lieutenant in theIntelligence Corps. Stationed inIstanbul, he was instrumental in the recruitment ofErich Vermehren, who provided the British with detailed confidential information on the workings of German intelligence.[3] After the war he became head of station for the Secret Intelligence Service at the British Embassy inBern in 1945 and then head of station inVienna in 1953. He returned to London in 1956 and then served as head of station inBeirut from 1960 to 1962.[1] While in Beirut he engineered the removal ofGeorge Blake to London where Blake was tried for the betrayal of British agents to theKGB.[4]
Elliott's intelligence career was marked by two extraordinary events: the death of Royal Navy CommanderLionel Crabb in 1956, and the flight of Britishdouble agentKim Philby toMoscow in 1963. Elliott and MI6 suffered criticism in both cases that he felt deeply to the end of his life.[1] He was awarded theUSLegion of Merit for his services to theOffice of Strategic Services.[5]
In 1956, duringNikita Khrushchev's visit to Britain, the SovietSverdlov-class cruiserOrdzhonikidze visitedPortsmouth Harbour. The Royal Navy was interested in theanti-submarine warfare equipment carried under the cruiser's stern. Elliott arranged for Crabb, an experienced ex-navalfrogman, to investigate. He made one run under the ship, came back for an extra pound weight for his next attempt and failed to return from the second dive. Elliott speculated in his autobiography that Crabb suffered equipment failure. Subsequent criticism of Crabb, whom Elliott believed to be a brave and honourable officer and who had undertaken operations of the same kind before, was resented by Elliott. The Soviets, who had reported a diver in trouble near the stern, did not complain but also denied responsibility for Crabb's death. The matter leaked,Prime MinisterAnthony Eden protested that he had not been informed, and adverse publicity ensued. Elliott claimed to have been told the operation had been cleared by theForeign Office.[1]
InWith My Little Eye, Elliott gives an account of his last contacts withKim Philby, in 1963.[1] Philby, with whom Elliott had worked in Beirut, had been a friend, and Elliott felt his betrayal bitterly. He volunteered to confront Philby to obtain a written confession of his espionage. Though Philby did confess to Elliott, he delayed signing a confession and fled to Moscow, where he was granted Soviet citizenship. Public criticism of MI6, which had failed to guard against his escape, was significant. Elliott, however, felt he could not have prevented Philby's flight.[1]
The British espionage television series,A Spy Among Friends, based on the book byBen Macintyre depicts Elliott's role in Philby's career. Elliott is played byDamian Lewis.[6]
According to Ben Macintyre, it is possible that Philby was allowed to flee to Moscow to avoid an embarrassing trial and records suspicions that a typical BritishEstablishment old boy network had intervened for the mutual convenience of MI6 and Philby.[7][8]
In retirement Elliott was a director atLonrho from 1963 to 1969 and then an executive director there from 1969 to 1973.[1]
Elliott died in London on 13 April 1994, aged 77.[1]
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