Leo Heaps

Hugh Hambleton, Spy: Thirty Years with the KGB Leo Heaps

A gripping true story of espionage and betrayal through the height of the Cold War. Perfect for readers of Ben MacIntyre, Andrew Lownie and David E. Hoffman. Professor, friend, Soviet spy; who was the real Hugh Hambleton? He was a well-respected economist who had studied and worked at some of the most prestigious universities in the world, as well as NATO and the Canadian International Development Agency. Yet, in December 1982, he was charged by a British court of spying for the KGB and sentenced to ten years in jail. Over the course of thirty years Hambleton had deceived his friends and colleagues as he passed photographs of thousands of classified items to the Soviet Union. The sheer volume, variety and sensitivity of much of the material he sent would give experienced Soviet intelligence officers a comprehensive picture of NATO, the West and all its weaknesses and strengths for years to come. Why had Hambleton done this? And how had he been recruited by the KGB to betray his country? As a childhood friend, Leo Heaps knew Hugh Hambleton long before he became entangled in espionage. Drawing from court transcripts, interviews with key players, and exclusive discussions with Hugh Hambleton in prison, Leo Heaps uncovers the double-life of his former friend, from his first contact with Soviet agents to his trial and incarceration. Hugh Hambleton, Spy is a remarkable book that exposes the story of how a lonely economist became one of the most wanted spies of the Cold War, pursued by Mossad, MI5 and the CIA.