15. Kim Philby resumed his spying for the Soviets while in Beirut
From his base in Beirut, Kim Philby traveled extensively in the Middle East in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Covered by his work as a journalist, he resumed contacts with MI6 agents and transferred information gained to the Soviets. In 1961 a Major in the KGB defected to the United States from Finland. The former senior officer in the KGB’s First Directorate, Anatoliy Golitsyn, knew of the spies in both the British and American intelligence services, as well as in various legations and embassies around the world. After the Americans questioned him they turned him over to MI6 for further interrogation. Despite MacMillan’s pronouncement of Philby’s innocence, several agents in both American and British intelligence still harbored suspicions about him. Golitsyn confirmed them as correct.
MI6 sent an operative known by Philby to Beirut, assigned with the task of obtaining a complete confession of his espionage activities. The agent, Nicholas Elliott, confronted Philby in Beirut in late 1962, armed with the information provided by Golitsyn. Finally presented with the evidence of his long service to the Soviets, Philby confessed to a career of betraying his country. He refused to sign a written statement, asking for more time. Elliott agreed to meet with him in Beirut in January 1963, where a statement would be prepared and signed by both men. On January 23, Philby was expected to attend a dinner party in the company of his wife at the home of the British First Secretary in Beirut. Though his wife arrived, Philby failed to meet her as planned.