Spring, 1945. The war is nearly over, but Vera Atkins isn’t celebrating; haunted by the names of seven women—British agents who vanished behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied France.
Atkins served in the Special Operations Executive, a secret branch of British intelligence tasked with sending civilians, many of them women, on sabotage and resistance missions. These agents had no official military status and, if captured, were denied the protections of a prisoner of war.
Armed with little more than their last known locations, Atkins begins a meticulous investigation across Europe. What came of her mission? Find out in this week’s podcast selection, ‘Seven Female Spies’.
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Five Bulgarian nationals, on trial since last year, were sentenced in London earlier this month for conspiring to spy for Russia. The group, arrested in 2023, ran a covert surveillance operation across the UK and Europe between 2020 and 2023 and has now received a combined sentence of more than 45 years in prison.
According to prosecutors, they gathered sensitive information and monitored individuals deemed of interest to Russian intelligence, including critics of the Kremlin and Ukrainian nationals. Three of the members had a cache of forged passports and identity documents. Their arrest followed a significant investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, working closely with MI5. During raids on homes and guesthouses, officers uncovered encrypted devices, surveillance equipment, and detailed planning documents.
Articles
Secrets Of Room 900
How do you hide a spy operation inside the British War Office?
During World War II, MI6 wasn’t the only agency running covert operations. Just a few floors away from SIS headquarters at 54 Broadway, an ultra-secret outfit known as MI9 operated out of a hidden room. Its designation: Room 900.
While MI6 handled espionage, MI9 specialized in escapes. Their mission? Help Allied POWs break out of German camps—and get back to Britain. Working with a vast network across Europe, they created false documents and trained airmen in escape tactics before deployment.
The work of MI9 stayed classified for decades, even as Room 900’s post-war successor—known simply as ‘AIRS’—continued discreet operations from the same corridor. Their methods may have changed, but the mission endured: exfiltrate Allied personnel from behind enemy lines.
Discover more about MI9 and Room 900 in this SPYSCAPE article.
New mission location activated. Come test your skills.
After you complete your debrief you will receive 10 short missions to play on the streets of Covent Garden — time to put what you've learned into action.
In London's West End, a new theatrical caper is turning covert operations into full-blown farce. The Comedy About Spies—now playing at the Noël Coward Theatre—follows a bungling CIA agent and his KGB counterpart as they race to recover top-secret British weapons plans.
With a production by the creators of The Play That Goes Wrong, expect trapdoors, missed cues, and double agents who can't double-check a map. Set against the backdrop of British spy lore, it's a Cold War spoof reported to have all the trimmings: blending slapstick chaos and shadowy intrigue.
Would you know if your coworker was spying for a foreign power?
In 2019, the UK government stripped a dual British-Russian national—known publicly only as C2—of his citizenship, accusing him of working with Russian military intelligence. The Home Office claimed he posed a threat to national security.
The accused spy first arrived in the UK from Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. He was granted British citizenship in 2007 and held high-level vetting for roles with MI6, GCHQ, and the Home Office, and remains in the UK as his case continues to unfold.
Yet C2 denies the allegations. He states that his interactions with Russian officials during his time in Afghanistan were part of his professional responsibilities. But much of the evidence presented against him was classified. And Shirin Marker, his solicitor, could only attend the public hearings. The case went to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which handles national security matters, and Government-appointed Special Advocates dealt with the remainder in closed sessions.
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