The Cambridge Five

Recruitment

All five were Cambridge graduates and were recruited by Soviet intelligence in the 1930s.¹

1951 and 1963: Burgess, Maclean, Philby

In 1951 Burgess and Maclean disappeared. This drew suspicion onto Philby, who was then interrogated in London.¹

In January 1963 in Beirut, an MI6 officer confronted Philby. He made a partial confession covering the years 1932–1940 (files KV 2/4723, KV 2/4727, KV 2/4737).¹

According to media and secondary accounts · not confirmed by official sourcesLater in 1963 Philby fled from Beirut to the Soviet Union. He settled in Moscow, rose to the rank of colonel in the KGB and died there on 11 May 1988.²

1964: Cairncross and Blunt

On 16 February 1964, during an interview in Ohio, Cairncross admitted that he had been recruited by Soviet intelligence in 1936 (file KV 2/4691).¹

On 23 April 1964, in the flat above the Courtauld Institute, the MI5 officer Arthur Martin interviewed Anthony Blunt. Blunt, who had been granted immunity in return for a confession, admitted to espionage (file KV 2/4705).^1,3

In 1940 Blunt was recruited by MI5, and from 1945 to 1972 he was Surveyor of the King's, and then the Queen's, Pictures. According to file KV 2/4721, the Queen was informed of his case in 1973. It was made public by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in a written answer in the House of Commons on 15 November 1979; Blunt was stripped of his knighthood and died in 1983.^1,3,4