Chapman Stuck

Chapman Pincher, chronicler and exposer of the deviousness of the last century, has died at the age of 100. A journalist, historian and novelist focusing on the shadowy world of espionage, Pincher learned how to live the good life, which he used to insinuate himself with royalty, spies, military men and politicians to access the UK’s deepest secrets. Pincher chronicled details of the atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima before the American press, and exposed Klaus Fuchs, one of the bomb’s architects, as the man who had leaked the atomic bomb details to the Soviet Union. He was the Edward Snowden of his day, reporting that the UK was reading the cables and telegrams of its citizens. Pincher may best be known for exposing suspicions that Roger Hollis, the former head of MI5, had been a Soviet agent, suspicions that included extensive investigations within the intelligence community after dozens of British intelligence operations had been foiled during his tenure as Director General. And wouldn’t having M turn traitor have been a better plot than most of the James Bond films between Connery and Brosnan? Pincher also pursued suspicions that former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, in addition to being the Taxman of Beatles fame, was also a Soviet agent. He was not above letting his name be used for the government’s interests, printing a false story to confuse Japanese protesters who intended to shut down an atomic test, and allowing Lord Mountbatten to dictate an article while on a grouse hunt.