1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: All right, What motivates somebody to completely turn on their 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: country to the point that they're willing to infiltrate deep 3 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: inside the government and share top secret info with an 4 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: enemy nation. What about a guy who has it all money, prestige, privilege. 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: He was one of the most dangerous double agents in 6 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: British history. Imagine a James Bond villain, and he got 7 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: away with it. I'm Patty Steele. Kim Philby charming everybody 8 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: in the room while stabbing them in the back. That's 9 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: next on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. Okay, 10 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: it's the middle of the Cold War, their serious tension 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: between the East and the West. In the heart of 12 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: British Intelligence is an agency known for its very British, 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 1: stiff upper lip demeanor and reliance on the old boys network. 14 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: Kim Philby is at the center of that network, but 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: unbeknownst to his longtime associatests, he's one of the most 16 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: dangerous double agents in his life. He's to blame for 17 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: massive security spills leading to the torture and death of 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: numerous British intelligence agents. But where did it all start, 19 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: How and why did Philby become such a master manipulator 20 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: that he was able to feed top secret info to 21 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union, tipping the Cold War scales in their 22 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: favor for decades without being caught. First and foremost, Kim 23 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,199 Speaker 1: Philby was a charmer. On top of that, he grew 24 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: up as the ultimate insider. His family were aristocratic intellectuals. 25 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: He was born Harold Adrian Russell Philby in nineteen twelve 26 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: in India, where his father, Saint John Philby, worked for 27 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: the British government as a specialist in the Arab world. 28 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: His dad had a reputation as an eccentric and a 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: bit of a rebel against the British establishment. That may 30 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: be where Kim began questioning British rule. He went to 31 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: an elite boarding school as a kid, and then on 32 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: to Cambridge University in the early nineteen thirties. It looked 33 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: like he was destined for a life of privilege and 34 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: prestige and easy life, but Cambridge was a breeding ground 35 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: for radical thought and the Great Depression further radicalized young 36 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: intellectuals there. Kim was studying history but became intrigued with Marxism. 37 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: He and his friends socialized with powerful people in the 38 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: British Communist Party, and those people introduced him to a 39 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: man who would change his life. Arnold Deutsch, a recruiter 40 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: for Soviet intelligence. He saw in Kim a chance to 41 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,239 Speaker 1: infiltrate the British upper class long term. Kim, who was 42 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: ambitious and idealistic, was all in Who's nineteen thirty four, 43 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: He was just twenty two years old, and he pledged 44 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: his allegiance to the Soviet Union. Patience was key. Kim 45 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: now is told to keep his Communist beliefs under wraps 46 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: and to blend fully into British society. For years, he 47 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: completely avoids sharing his leftist beliefs and instead shows himself 48 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: to be the perfect image of a loyal, upper class Englishman. 49 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: By the late nineteen thirties, he becomes a journalist covering 50 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: the Spanish Civil War and at the same time gathering 51 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: intelligence for the Soviets. He becomes a valuable asset to them. 52 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty he joins MI six, Britain's foreign intelligence service. 53 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: His charm, connections and credentials made him a rising star. 54 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: By nineteen forty four, he's running British counter intelligence in Iberia, 55 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: where he continues to pass secrets to Moscow, but he 56 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: did more than leak info, he sabotaged British efforts against 57 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: the Soviets. One of his most devastating betrayals came during 58 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: World War II, when he exposed Allied plans to infiltrate 59 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 1: German occupied Eastern Europe. Six and the CIA were training 60 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: anti Communist resistance fighters who were going to parachute into 61 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: the Balkan mountains, but thanks to Philby, the Soviets were 62 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: waiting for them, and most were captured or killed as 63 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: soon as they landed. He was also involved in a 64 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: British project that could decode Soviet encrypted messages. He warned 65 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: the Soviets, who tightened their security. None of it mattered. 66 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: Philbey's colleagues totally trusted him. Again. He was charming, self 67 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: deprecating and seemingly completely loyal, but of course he wasn't. 68 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: The more secrets he stole, the more deeply he had 69 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: embedded himself into MI six, becoming one of Britain's most 70 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: trusted spies. And there were others. They were part of 71 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: the infamous and very successful Cambridge five aspiring that included 72 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: four Cambridge classmates of kims By the early nineteen fifties, 73 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: though the group started to crumble as suspicions arose. Two 74 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: of the Cambridge Five were being investigated and eventually defected 75 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: to Moscow, but Kim managed to charm his way out 76 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: of trouble with no real evidence against him. He was 77 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,359 Speaker 1: cleared of suspicion in nineteen fifty five and held a 78 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 1: press conference denying everything, but it didn't last. By the 79 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: early nineteen sixties, British authorities began to investigate Kim after 80 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: a Soviet spy defected and fingered him. So how did 81 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: he avoid arrest? By this time he was working in 82 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: Beirut Lebanon, and authorities from six came to speak with him. 83 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: They were preparing to bring him back to London for questioning, 84 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: but he simply vanished into the night. Eventually he moved 85 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: to Moscow. How did he get away? Was it class 86 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: privilege or as some believe, maybe the Brits let him 87 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: escape rather than drag him into court and have to 88 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,239 Speaker 1: explain how they let him get away with so much 89 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,840 Speaker 1: for so long. But why did they miss it? It 90 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,679 Speaker 1: was totally a scene out of early James Bond. Six 91 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: wasn't just a spy agency, it was an elite gentleman's club. 92 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: Recruitment often came through personal connections, not aptitude or background checks. 93 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,359 Speaker 1: The assumption was if you came from the right family, 94 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: went to the right schools, and spoke with the right accent, 95 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: you were trustworthy. How embarrassing for the establishment when that 96 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: very business model is what allowed Kim Philby and his 97 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: cohorts to be double agents for so long. Philby fit 98 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: this mold perfectly. After all, he went to Westminster School 99 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: in Cambridge University, where he mingled with the sons of 100 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: Britain's ruling class. He had the manners, the charm, and 101 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 1: the confidence of someone born into privilege. His upper class 102 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: pedigree was like a shield, deflecting suspicion even when evidence 103 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: of his betrayal began to surface. In a lot of ways, 104 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: Kim was the perfect spy precisely because he didn't seem 105 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: like a spy. He was known as a hard drinking 106 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: man's man, a loyal patriot who despised communism. His charm 107 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: wasn't just disarming, it was disorienting. Even when his colleagues 108 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: at MI six began to suspect there was a mole 109 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: in the in their midst. The idea that it could 110 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: be Philby was unthinkable. On top of that, there was 111 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: a deep reluctance within Six to acknowledge such a huge 112 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: breach of trust. Admitting that one of their own, one 113 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: of the best, was working for the enemy, would have 114 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: been devastating not just a morale but to the agency's reputation. 115 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: Some even believed that Six deliberately allowed him to escape 116 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: to Moscow in nineteen sixty three to avoid the embarrassment 117 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: of a public trial. So what about his later life 118 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: in Moscow? Was it the hero's welcome he thought he'd get, 119 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: or maybe something not so glamorous. Think about it, ever, 120 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: had a friend who you found out had talked about 121 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: you behind your back, or maybe they bad mouthed a 122 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: mutual friend, You know they're doing the same thing to you, 123 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: and you never really trust them, right well, believe it 124 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: or not. That happens in the world of espionage too. 125 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: Once you're labeled a traitorous type, you don't now grow it. 126 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: When he arrived in Moscow nineteen sixty three, he was 127 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: greeted as a hero, but the reality of life in 128 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: exile was far from the romanticized vision he had imagined. 129 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 1: He was given a small apartment, a small pension, and 130 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: occasional public recognition by the Soviets. They talked about him 131 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: as one of their greatest assets, a guy who had 132 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: crippled Western intelligence and helped secure their position in the 133 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: Cold War. But in reality, Philby's life in Moscow was 134 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: lonely and unsatisfying. He'd been promised a position in the KGB, 135 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: but it turned out they didn't want him. He struggled 136 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,079 Speaker 1: with alcoholism, a problem he'd had during his time in six, 137 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: and it was tough for him to adjust a life 138 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: in a society he'd idealized from Afar. He discovered the 139 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: Soviet Union was no worker's paradise, but instead a bureaucratic, 140 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: oppressive regime, and he was just a cog in its 141 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: propaganda machine. He realized the Soviets did very little to 142 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: lift their own people above poverty and terrible living conditions. 143 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 1: Later in life, his interviews made it clear that he 144 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: missed being an mi I six insider, the social life 145 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: among London's elite, and the thrill of playing both sides. 146 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: In Moscow, he was an outsider, a guy who had 147 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: betrayed his homeland but was never fully trusted by his 148 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: adopted country, even his personal life was disappointing. Despite her shock, 149 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: his wife had followed him to Moscow, but their relationship 150 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: fell apart under the weight of his drinking and isolation 151 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: in exile. She went home and divorced him. Eventually he 152 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:35,200 Speaker 1: got married again to a Russian woman named Ruffina. She 153 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: says he was disappointed by his life in Russia and 154 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: that he attempted suicide by slashing his wrists, but was unsuccessful. 155 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: Kim published his memoirs in England in the late sixties, 156 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: but the Soviets wouldn't let him publish them there until 157 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty. He died in nineteen eighty eight. So there 158 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: are a few unanswered questions. Was Kim Philby a principled 159 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: idealist to sacrificed everything for what he believed or was 160 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: he basically a narcissist who loved the deception and betrayal 161 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: of his friends and country and had no remorse. And 162 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: there's the question about how England, a society so steeped 163 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: in privilege and tradition, could fail to see the danger 164 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 1: in its midst Why because Kim Philby was one of 165 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 1: the insiders. Hope you like the backstory with Patty Steele. 166 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: I would love it if you would subscribe or follow 167 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel 168 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: free to dm me if you have a story you'd 169 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and 170 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:53,359 Speaker 1: on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories 171 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,559 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the Elvis Duran Group, 172 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our 173 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,560 Speaker 1: writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. 174 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: Feel free to reach out to me with comments and 175 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and 176 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the 177 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't 178 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: know you needed to know.