Ep. 4 | Guy Burgess, British Diplomat and Soviet Spy

The revelation that spies working for the Soviet Union, recruited at Cambridge University in the 1930s, had deeply penetrated the British intelligence and diplomatic systems causes shockwaves throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s as more and more either defected or were exposed. The fascinating figure of Guy Burgess was at the heart of the scandal, and his secret flight to Moscow in 1951 stunned the world, shaking confidence in Britain in its Cold War ally, the USA. Andrew wrote a much acclaimed biography of Burgess and this week he talks Phil through his remarkable story, and that of the other key spies. And they discuss whether Burgess was the most important of them all. They’re joined by one of Britain’s greatest ever writers on intelligence, Nigel West. Nigel met with Anthony Blunt, one of the most important Cambridge spies, and gained access to previously secret Soviet files. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stalins-Englishman-Lives-Guy-Burgess/dp/1473627362 www.nigelwest.com Andrew Lownie.twitter.com/andrewlownie Phil Craig.twitter.com/philmcraig You can now get in touch with the [email protected] (Place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading please) This show is Part of the PodcastWorld.org network. Recorded in Kentish Town, London. Production byTheo X,Kerem Isik,David Kurzer. Available on YouTube, Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Soundcloud, Amazon Music, Googleplay, Acast and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.