Spying for the Russians was like joining the Army, boasted British traitor Kim Philby
- Kim Philby attempted to justify his decision to spy by comparing it to the army
- Intelligence files reveal how student was recruited as one of Cambridge spies
- File is dated 1963 which is the year Philby, a former MI6 officer, fled to Russia
Britain’s most treacherous spy Kim Philby once wrote that deciding to work for Russia was like ‘joining the army’
Britain’s most treacherous spy once wrote that deciding to work for Russia was like ‘joining the army’, according to the intelligence files.
Kim Philby attempted to justify his decision to spy for the enemy by comparing it to carrying out duties as a soldier.
The files reveal how the then university student was recruited as one of the Cambridge spies in the 1930s.
In a file marked ‘Philby’s notes’, the ‘self-confessed Russian intelligence agent’ tells of his recruitment. Philby writes: ‘None of the OGPU [Soviet secret police] officials with whom I had dealings ever attempted to win my total acceptance of the party line.
‘All they required was rigid adherence to instructions on the technical level. In short, I joined the OGPU as one joined the army.’
The file is dated 1963, the year that Philby, a former MI6 officer, fled to Russia. He was the most damaging of the Cambridge spy ring, and is thought responsible for hundreds of deaths.