Summary
How did notorious traitor Kim Philby manage to infiltrate MI6 and send its most sensitive secrets to the Soviets? Now, for the first time, we can hear his account in a once secret tape the BBC has unearthed. It is a story of documents smuggled, Cold War operations betrayed, and Philby’s ability to evade detection by simply denying everything. BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera reveals the full story.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Thanks for downloading this podcast from the BBC. |
| 0:03.0 | It's not actually an addition of analysis, |
| 0:05.6 | but a program we thought analysis listeners might like to hear. |
| 0:08.8 | BBC security correspondent Gordon Carrera |
| 0:12.0 | reveals how a newly discovered tape sheds fresh light |
| 0:15.1 | on one of the most famous and controversial spy stories of the Cold War. The East German Secret Service. |
| 0:24.0 | Lebergennenene |
| 0:29.0 | 1981. 1981 in the headquarters of the Stasi, the East German Secret Service. |
| 0:34.0 | The speaker, Marcus Volfe, chief spymaster. |
| 0:38.0 | He introduces a very special guest. |
| 0:41.0 | Inersen Kim Philby- Be Grusensuken. |
| 0:48.6 | The man they were about to hear from was Comrade Kim Philby. |
| 0:57.0 | Marcus Volv reminds the audience of East German intelligence officers |
| 1:01.0 | that this was a man who spent 30 years at the heart of what he calls the enemy camp, |
| 1:06.4 | reaching the upper echelons of the British Intelligence Service MI6, whilst all the time working for the Sovieters for the sake. |
| 1:26.4 | Philby walks up to the lectern past a podium of stony-faced men in grey suits. |
| 1:31.2 | Behind him are huge portraits of the communist great and good. |
| 1:35.5 | Philby fled to the Soviet Union in 1963 and he was here to give a unique account of his life and |
| 1:41.3 | career to the eager audience of communist spies. |
| 1:45.0 | Dear comrades, I must thank Comrade General Wolf very deeply for the kind words that he said about me in introducing |
| 1:56.8 | me to you. |
| 1:57.8 | I must also thank you personally all for your very noisy and for warm reception. In Britain Philby is remembered as a traitor, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.