'Spy-in-the-bag' Gareth Williams died accidentally, police probe finds

A British spy whose naked body was found locked in a sports bag inside a bathtub three years ago most likely killed himself by accident, police said yesterday.

A fresh review of the mysterious "spy in the bag" case has concluded that 31-year-old Gareth Williams, a codebreaker for the MI6 foreign intelligence agency, was not murdered but had climbed into the bag himself.

The police findings contradict those of a coroner who concluded at an inquest last year that another person was probably involved in Williams' death.

"My personal view at the end of the investigation is that what happened was an accident," Martin Hewitt, deputy assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said. "I am convinced that Gareth's death was in no way related to his work."

He admitted that several "odd" factors remained - notably the fact that no DNA was found on the padlock and there were no handprints on the bathtub.

The decomposed body of the talented mathematician was found locked in a red holdall inside the bath of his flat in London's upmarket Pimlico district in August 2010.

Hewitt refused to speculate if the spy's death was linked to his alleged interest in escapology and bondage.