Kim Philby: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal

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This is the account of Kim Philby that MI6 didn't want you to read.

Kim Philby, the so-called Third Man in the Cambridge spy ring, was one of the Cold War's most infamous traitors. He was a Soviet spy at the heart of British intelligence, joining Britain's secret service, MI6, during the war, rising to become head of the section tasked with rooting out Russian spies and then head of liaison with the CIA. Philby betrayed hundreds of British and US agents to the Russians and compromised numerous operations inside the Soviet Union. Protected by friends within MI6 who could not believe the service's rising star was a traitor, he was eventually dismissed in 1951, but continued to work for the service surreptitiously until his defection in 1963. His admission of guilt caused profound embarrassment to the British government of the day and its intelligence service, from which neither fully recovered. Tim Milne, Philby's close friend since childhood and recruited by him into MI6 to be his deputy, has left us a memoir that provides the final and most authoritative word on the enduring and fascinating story of Kim Philby the legendary Soviet master spy.

Reviews

"The demons which drove the proudly English Kim Philby to betray his country, its people and especially his MI6 colleagues have never before been so intimately examined and explained. A fascinating look into the mind of a tragic figure by his oldest and closest friend." Chapman Pincher, author of Their Trade is Treachery and Dangerous To Know "A fascinating, very personal account of Philby's treachery from his SIS colleague, teenage travelling companion and schoolboy friend who was left utterly betrayed. This is a unique insight from an insider." Nigel West, author of The Crown Jewels and Operation Garbo "[Milne] explains one of the most enduring mysteries surrounding the notorious Soviet spy." The Guardian "Elegant and rich in detail, it provides intriguing glimpses of the man who would become the 20th century's most notorious British spy and traitor." Mail on Sunday "An often intimate portrait of the Third Man, candid in its assessments." The Telegraph "There are some good anecdotes here - the cricketing recollections are Milne's - and some interesting suggestions that Philby wasn't such a big boozer as he's usually cracked up to be. Was this a pretence too Yet what stands out above all is just how little bitterness Milne felt. Philby, he wrote, 'enriched my world for many years', and Milne clearly didn't want anything, not even treachery, to soil the memory of that: 'I do not feel bitterness towards him, only sadness.'" John Preston, The Daily Mail "Milne's account of Philby is full of delightful trivia, but there is personal insight too." Edward Wilson, The Independent

Author Bio

Ian Innes 'Tim' Milne CMG OBE, nephew of A. A. Milne, was born in Brentford in 1912. He won a King's Scholarship to Westminster School and then read Classics at Christ Church, Oxford. In 1934, he became a copywriter with the advertising agency S. H. Benson, working on a number of accounts, including Guinness, Kodak, Bovril and Colman's mustard. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1940 and in October 1941 recruited into MI6 by his childhood friend Kim Philby. Milne continued to work in MI6 until 1968, serving in Iran, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Hong Kong. After leaving MI6, he became a senior clerk in the House of Commons. He retired in 1978 and subsequently wrote these memoirs but, due to an MI6 ban on the book, he never saw them published. Milne died in 2010.