British MPs want purge in British intelligence

November 12, 1982

Politicians are demanding a shake-up of Britain's discredited counterintelligence network following the jailing of a Soviet superspy unmasked because he molested young girls.

The trial of Geoffrey Prime, who spent 14 years passing sensitive British secrets to the Kremlin, was barely over when the pent-up political storm broke around Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. As Prime began a 35-year sentence for espionage and sexually molesting schoolgirls, Members of Parliament were clamoring for a purge of Britain's counterspy defenses.