12/8 Peter Henley ~ Blog of Asad Mirjat

Peter Henley

Talking to Russian Spy MP Mike Hancock

December 5, 2010 at 7:12 PM

It was that bright pink cable knit jumper which surely that gave Mr Hancock away. No self-respecting alleged spy handler would sport such a distinctive look.

But Mike has been here before. This is a studied casual approach. Don't forget he's a defector - from Labour to the SDP and now Lib Dems. His name has been in all sort of headlines over the years, though mostly the Sunday Times lately. He knows how to dress for the Sunday Journalist's knock on the door.

It's been four months since they first told us about his aide Katia Zatuliveter, when she was detained at Heathrow, returning from a holiday to Croatia with five student friends.

The link with an MP on the Defence Select Committee was too good to resist, though Mr Hancock laughed it off as a silly season story when I talked to him about it then.

Since then she's been questioned at least four times, but the MP and aide both thought deportation was unlikely. She had actually decided to stop working for Mr Hancock before she was stopped in the summer, but he says the publicity meant the job fell through, and he kept her on.

On the Politics Show today Mike told us

"I have no evidence that she is in any way a threat to the UK. If she was a threat when they stopped her in August they could have removed her then. It there was evidence then they should have done it then, but they didn't. I'm surprised that they've allowed it to go on another four months."
"She has a perfect right to appeal and she's confident of winning the appeal."

Katia Zatuliveter started working as an Assistant to Mike Hancock in 2008, after completing a masters degree at Bradford University. She'd previously been an intern at the House of Commons and at WEU in Paris.

Miss Zatuliveter also thought she was free to return to her home in the Caucasus at any time but chose not to. Her sister is married to a UK citizen and lives here.

The security sources who spoke to the Sunday Times don't actually say that she's done any spying. It's suggested she may have been a "sleeper" - and no more proof is needed, it seems, to declare her a risk to national security.

Mr Hancock's is still a City Councillor. The leader of the council Lib Dem Gerald-Vernon Jackson says he's well trusted in the city though and unlikely to resign over stories in a paper

"There are people who have it in for some people in public life, and he is a Marmite politician. But Mike's been around for a long time. "

"If someone's been through all the screening that security services put people through to work in the House of Commons and they pass that then what more could anybody say that Mike should have done?"

The "Did you think she was a spy?" question is a stupid one .. duh! the point of spying is to avoid being seen as a spy...

So the better question surely is "Why did Mike Hancock continue to employ her after she was first questioned by the police?"

With politicians it all comes down to judgement. Mike may have nothing to hide (I refer you back to that jumper) but he has more than a few questions to answer.

Talking to MP Mike Hancock about Russian spies

December 5, 2010 at 7:12 PM

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It is that bright pink cable knit jumper which surely gives Mr Hancock away. No self-respecting alleged employer of a spy would sport such a distinctive look. But Mike has been here before.

This is a studied casual approach. Don't forget he's a defector - from Labour to the SDP and now Lib Dems. His name has been in all sort of headlines over the years. He knows how to dress for the Sunday journalist's knock on the door.

It's been four months since the Sunday Times first told us about his research asisstant Katia Zatuliveter, when she was detained at Heathrow, returning from a holiday to Croatia with five student friends.

The link with an MP on the Defence Select Committee was too good to resist, though Mr Hancock laughed it off as a silly season story when I talked to him about it then.

On the Politics Show today Mike told us

"I have no evidence that she is in any way a threat to the UK. If she was a threat when they stopped her in August they could have removed her then. It there was evidence then they should have done it then, but they didn't. I'm surprised that they've allowed it to go on another four months."
"She has a perfect right to appeal and she's confident of winning the appeal."

Katia Zatuliveter

Miss Zatuliveter also thought she was free to return to her home in the Caucasus at any time but chose not to. Her sister is married to a UK citizen and lives here..

Mr Hancock is still a City Councillor. The leader of the council Lib Dem Gerald-Vernon Jackson says he's trusted in the city and unlikely to resign over stories in a paper.

"There are people who have it in for some people in public life, and he is a Marmite politician. But Mike's been around for a long time. "
"If someone's been through all the screening that security services put people through to work in the House of Commons and they pass that then what more could anybody say that Mike should have done?"

The "Did you think she was a spy?" question is a stupid one .. duh! the point of spying is to avoid being seen as a spy...

So the better question surely is "Why did Mike Hancock continue to employ her after she was first questioned by the police?"

With politicians it all comes down to judgement. Mike may have nothing to hide (I refer you back to that jumper) but he has more than a few questions to answer.