Remember the story Queen's Electric Teapot 'Bugged'?
It happened in The Queen's Scottish Castle, Balmoral.
If not, take a moment to review.
A Scottish newspaper, The Press and Journal, is now reporting... Russian ex-secret agent rejects Balmoral samovar bugging claims. Unfortunately, reporter, Ryan Crighton's fact-checker must have taken the day off. (It was New Year's Day).
Let's review the story...
"A former Russian agent (Mikhail Lyubimov) has rejected claims that the Royal Family’s north-east residence was the target for Soviet spies." This reflects the official Russian position. Lyubimov, now a novelist with a Kim Philby book under his belt, backed Russian official position during the last British/Russian spy row, as well.
"...(Lyubimov) dismissed the reports, saying that the alleged bugging method was ineffective and useless." No surprise here, but no logic either.
“'Buckingham Palace and the Queen were never objects of great interest to us...'" No verisimilitude here, either. Russian surveillance, dating back to 1832, is famous. Everything is a possible target. Getting a bug into the Queen's Castle - even an "ineffective and useless" one - would be a major brag for the KGB.
"...a souvenir which had been given to the US in the 1960s contained a bugging device, however." Funny, one would think a Cold War secret agent would be more familiar with his agency's biggest hit. The Thing, as it was called, was "given to the US" in 1946 and discovered in 1952.
John La Carre, another ex-secret agent turned spy novelist, summed up his opinion of Lyubimov's last documentary novel this way: "Mikhail Lyubimov isn't just an ex-KGB officer. He's a ... mischievous novelist and a skillful self-publicist. My hunch is, we're dealing with one of his little fantasies..." Who knows if Mr. La Carre's hunch is correct, but...
"Madam, how like you this play?"
Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 222–230
If you have read this far, you will really want to see this!
