Guy Burgess (1911–1963) was a British diplomat andSoviet agent, a member of theCambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of theCold War. His defection in 1951 to the Soviet Union, with his fellow-spyDonald Maclean, led to a serious breach inAnglo-American intelligence co-operation, and caused long-lasting demoralisation in Britain's foreign and diplomatic services. Born into a wealthy middle-class family, Burgess was educated atEton College andTrinity College, Cambridge, where he embraced left-wing politics and joined the BritishCommunist Party. He was recruited by Soviet intelligence in 1935, on the recommendation of the futuredouble-agentKim Philby. After working for theBBC as a producer, Burgess joined theForeign Office in 1944 and served in several sensitive posts, including a spell as secretary toHector McNeil, the deputy toErnest Bevin, theForeign Secretary. In the critical postwar period Burgess had access to information on all aspects of Britain's foreign policy, and may have passed thousands of documents to his Soviet controllers. He fled to Moscow in May 1951 and never left the Soviet Union. (Full article...)