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MSN November 1! "##$
Real-life Bonds and the tools of their trade
%ith the release of &asino 'o(ale! the latest installment of the )ames *ond series! attention
inevitabl( turns once more to the shadow( world of espiona+e. ,o coincide with the release of the
film! emplo(ees of M-$ have spoken for the first time about the life of a secret a+ent! and while
the( concede that the or+ani.ation has a sp( chief and a +ad+et chief ver( much like *ond/s 0!
the( are 1uick to point out that the role of a real sp( is nothin+ like the life portra(ed in the )ames
*ond films.
*ut of course! the( would sa( that.
2or an(one raised on a diet of ##3! it/s difficult not to ima+ine the existence of a covert world
where unknown heroes strive to protect the securit( of our nation. %e/re all happ( to accept that
certain aspects of the *ond character are in4ected into the films to deliver an exa++erated sense
of +lamour and dan+er. 5fter all! a sp( who draws attention to himself b( hurtlin+ around in top of
the ran+e cars and furiousl( womani.in+ an(thin+ that moves would not last lon+ in the field.
6istorical revisionists and colourful writers are keen to identif( a host of famous fi+ures from
histor( as potential spies of their da(! from &hristopher Marlowe to 6arr( 6oudini. 6owever! more
concrete evidence of espiona+e activit( will occasionall( seep into ever(da( life. 7erhaps the
most famous example is that of 8eor+i Markov! the *ul+arian dissident. %aitin+ for a bus on
%aterloo *rid+e in 193! Markov felt a sharp prick in his le+. 5mid the 4ostlin+ commuter crowd
was an assassin from the *ul+arian secret services with a speciall( adapted umbrella which
in4ected a pellet of deadl( ricin into Markov. %ithin three da(s he was dead.
More recentl(! 'ussia accused *ritain of runnin+ a )ames *ond:st(le sp(in+ operation in Moscow
usin+ a receiver hidden in a fake rock to +ather secret information. 'ussia alle+ed that it had
cau+ht red:handed a number of *ritish operatives usin+ a hi:tech version of the ;dead letter drop;
of sp( novel fame! a dumm( rock b( the roadside that could receive information electronicall( and
beam it to a hand:held computer on demand.
,he example of the fake rock would seem to su++est that in man( cases! the old sp(in+
techni1ues are the best and the( are simpl( +iven a modern twist. *elow (ou<ll find a +aller( of
tried and trusted sp( +ad+ets and we can onl( surmise what appearance their modern
e1uivalents ma( take. 8iven a chan+e in attitudes to smokin+ however! it/s probabl( a fair bet that
most new +ad+ets aren<t concealed in ci+arette cases.