Ben Macintyre on ‘The Spy and the Traitor’ at the Warwick Arts Centre

Having grown up being fascinated by Bond films and wanting desperately to become a spy, I knew I had to hear Ben Macintyre talking about his new real-life spy thriller at the Warwick Arts Centre.

Ben Macintyre is a British historian and Associate Editor of The Times. He is an acclaimed author, and his latest novel The Spy and the Traitor is a Sunday Times Bestseller.

Macintyre began his show with an image of the man whose life he has become so enthralled by. This is Oleg Gordievsky, the former KGB colonel and spy for British Intelligence. Ben’s book The Spy and the Traitor explores the life, capture, and secrets of Gordievsky, whose life appears to come straight out of a spy novel.

He discussed how Gordievsky provided the greatest haul of information for British Intelligence the agency had ever seen

“A strange life” is how Ben described Oleg’s experiences, in a story that has become a “captive of history”. This then is his motive behind telling the story of a man forgotten from histories of the Cold War but who is also essential.

Pure admiration about a man who helped bring about the end of the Cold War is clear in how Macintyre talked about Gordievsky, referring to his “astonishing bravery.”

Having spent 140 hours recording Oleg’s memoirs, Macintyre is in a good position to tell his story. He spoke of Gordievsky’s extraordinary power of recollection- describing down to the exact number of seconds it took for him to be rushed in a car and taken over the Finnish border, offering a brilliant insight into the life of a double agent. He discussed how Gordievsky provided the greatest haul of information for British Intelligence the agency had ever seen. It inevitably made the world safer as the world powers backed off.

Macintyre spoke without notes, telling the story in astonishing detail and with humour

Macintyre performed a deep analysis of Oleg’s character, alluding to early signs of his independence and loneliness as a long-distance runner. He also showed remarkable historical awareness, discussing the Khrushchev Thaw in relation to Oleg’s early questioning of the Soviet regime.

The hours spent researching Oleg and his contemporaries show Macintyre’s commitment and passion to tell Gordievsky’s incredible story. Macintyre spoke without notes, telling the story in astonishing detail and with humour. He is extremely observant and considered the reasons for Oleg’s behaviour, looking deep into his psyche.

In the background as he told his story, Macintyre showed surveillance photographs taken of Oleg by the KGB. This highlights the level of trust Oleg had for Ben Macintyre, giving him access to these extraordinary photos that showed the methods of KGB surveillance first-hand.

Macintyre ended his discussion by alluding to the importance of this story today

Oleg’s story is unbelievable. Macintyre described it as something out of a John le Carré novel. One particularly incredible part of his story is the escape plan devised by the British Intelligence to get Oleg out of Moscow at any moment. Operation Pimlico ran for seven years and involved British spies in Moscow picking up on Gordievsky holding a Safeways bag outside a bakery around seven pm every night.

Macintyre humoured that “spies read a lot of their own literature”. This perhaps is why Gordievsky’s story is so unbelievable. When discussing the practical aspects of writing the book, he stated that MI6 never authorised its publishing or writing, but it soon became clear that they were allowing discussions with agents, potentially breaking the Official Secrets Act.

Macintyre ended his discussion by alluding to the importance of this story today. He argued that the modern Russian intelligence service is the descendant of the KGB and that people like Oleg helped prevent the escalation of the Cold War. It was a privilege to hear Macintyre discussing his new novel and to learn more about double agents and their role in ending the Cold War. His passion and personal investment in the subject will hopefully translate into his new book, which I cannot wait to read.