Who Is Richard Tomlinson?

Richard Tomlinson is a former MI6 operative who was sacked by the agency in 1995. Tomlinson was very aggrieved at his sacking, which he said was unjustified, and wanted to take MI6 to an employment tribunal to appeal against it. Because of the secret nature of MI6's work, however, he was denied permission to do this.

He then entered talks with a publisher with a view to publishing a book about MI6. The British government took legal action against him and he was sentenced to one year's imprisonment. On being released after serving only six months, Tomlinson fled Britain to live abroad. He claims he has been the victim of ongoing harassment and legal persecution by the British government. Tomlinson eventually wrote a book about MI6 called The Big Breach. The book was published in Russia and originally banned in Britain. Many copies were imported from abroad, however, and when The Sunday Times took legal action in pursuance of its right to publish extracts from the book, the ban was lifted.