On May 12, 1999, British officials issued a "D-notice" gagging order to prevent the press from reporting the contents of a list that they said former MI6 officer Richard Tomlinson had posted on the Internet. Tomlinson's Swiss Internet service provider, worldcom.ch, cooperated with the British, as did geocities.com in the U.S., and both sites were closed. Every major newspaper in the world hyped the story. Now Internet surfers were getting interested, and thousands of people were looking for The List.

Enough people already had it so that it was impossible to stuff the cyber genie back into the bottle. Lyndon LaRouche's site posted it for a time, and a site in Denmark is still up as this is written.

The hype was amazing. British foreign secretary Robin Cook called the list "potentially dangerous to the people who have worked in the service." Conservative spook-booster and writer Nigel West (aka Rupert Allason) said that "this is hugely damaging to us, on a scale of Philip Agee." One Foreign Office spokesman worried about Osama bin Laden getting the list, and others said that Britain now faces the difficult task of recruiting and training new agents and restoring confidence in MI6.

"We're aware of the reports that the list is on other web sites, and we're considering what action we need to take, if we can take any action at all," another Foreign Office spokesman said. Scotland Yard was on the case. Unnamed "government officials" were worried that the list had been posted for some 24 hours before it was taken down, enabling enemies of the British secret service to harvest the information for possible retaliation against agents named on the list.

Rear Adm. David Pulvertaft, chief of the committee that browbeats British media on national security issues, said "I don't want to overdramatize, but peoples' lives were put at risk. The Internet poses a unique difficulty. It offers an opportunity to the blackmailer or the person with grievances. Government has to get a grip on it, but I don't have a panacea. I wish I did."

In the U.S., at least, newspapers lapped up these quotations, and never asked whether something else might be going on. Let's take a closer look at this dangerous list of 116 names:

DOB=Date of birth

• Dudley Charles Ankerson     1978 Buenos Aires, 1985 Mexico, 1993 Madrid. DOB 1948; Dr.
• Raymond Benedict Barthol Asquith     1983 Moscow, 1992 Kiev. DOB 1952; Viscount.
• Kerry Charles Bagshaw     1982 Geneva, 1988 Moscow. DOB 1943; OBE.
• Ian Clive Barnard     1994 Geneva. DOB 1965.
• Richard Martin Donne Barrett     1983 Ankara, 1988 New York, 1997 Amman. DOB 1949.
• James Lloyd Baxendale     1994 Cairo (MECAS), 1997 Amman. DOB 1967.
• Jonathan Beales
• Peter John William Black     1974 MECAS, 1977 Kuwait, 1980 Amman, 1987 Dhaka. DOB 1946.
• Jamie Blount
• Rupert Bowen     1990 Windhoek, 1992 Tirana.
• Andrew Jonathan Corrie Boyd     1981 Accra, 1988 Mexico City, 1996 Islamabad. DOB 1950.
• Andrew James Brear     1994 Santiago. DOB 1960.
• Christopher Mark Breeze     1988 Nicosia, 1994 New Delhi. DOB 1963.
• Alastair Breeze
• Richard Philip Bridge     1986 Warsaw, 1988 Moscow. DOB 1959.
• Stuart Armitage Brooks     1972 Rio, 1975 Lisbon, 1979 Moscow, 1987 Stockholm, 1993 Moscow. DOB 1948; OBE.
• Christopher Parker Burrows     1982 East Berlin, 1987 Bonn, 1993 Athens. DOB 1958.
• George Benedict Joseph P Busby     1989 Bonn, 1992 Belgrade. DOB 1960; OBE.
• Geoff Chittenden
• Robert John Paul Church     1976 Bankok, 1981 Berlin, 1986 Nairobi, 1989 Bangkok, 1997 Nairobi. DOB 1947.
• Timothy Clayden     1991 Warsaw, 1995 Lagos. DOB 1960; Wanker.
• Martin Hugh Clements     1986 Tehran, 1990 Vienna. DOB 1961.
• John Donovan Nelson Clibborn     1966 Nicosia, 1972 Bonn, 1972 Brussels, 1988 Washington. DOB 1941; CMG.
• Peter Salmon Collecot     1980 Khartoum, 1982 Canberra, 1993 Jakarta. DOB 1950.
• Andrew David Cordery     1975 Nairobi, 1977 New York, 1984 Lusaka, 1988 Berlin, 1995 Oslo. DOB 1947.
• Sherard Louis Cowper-Coles     1980 Cairo, 1987 Washington. DOB 1955; CMG, LVO.
• Keith Craig     DOB 1961.
• John Martin Jamie Darke     1988 Cairo, 1996 Dubai. DOB 1953.
• Michael Hayward Davenport     1989 Warsaw, 1996 Moscow. DOB 1961.
• Peter Brian Davies     1983 Rome, 1988 Peking, 1996 Jakarta. DOB 1954,
• Richard Billing Dearlove     1968 Nairobi, 1973 Prague, 1980 Paris, 1987 Geneva, 1991 Washington. DOB 1945; OBE.
• John Deerlove
• Keith Derek Evetts     1975 Warsaw, 1977 Maputo, 1983 New York, 1986 Kingston, 1988 Lisbon. DOB 1948; OBE.
• Michael Edward Joseph Feliks     1993 Peking. DOB 1964; Dr.
• Robert Dominic Russell Fenn     1985 Hague, 1988 Lagos, 1992 New York. DOB 1962.
• Nicholas Bernard Frank Fishwick     1988 Lagos, 1994 Istanbul. DOB 1958; Dr.
• Richard George Hopper Fletcher     1968 Athens, 1969 Nicosia, 1973 Bucharest, 1985 Athens. DOB 1944; CMG.
• Richard Andrew Foulsham     1984 Brunei, 1986 Lagos, 1995 Rome. DOB 1950.
• Rosalind Mary Elizabeth Fowler     1990 Hong Kong. DOB 1965.
• Michael Roger Fox     1993 Geneva. DOB 1958.
• Richard Ogilby Leslie Fraser-Darling     1973 Helsinki, 1984 Washington. DOB 1949.
• Robert Andrew Fulton     1969 Saigon, 1973 Rome, 1978 Berlin, 1984 Oslo, 1989 New York. DOB 1944.
• Kevin Andrew Garvey     1981 Bangkok, 1985 Hanoi, 1992 Phnom Penh. DOB 1960.
• John Henry Cary Gerson     1969 Hong Kong, 1971 Singapore, 1974 Peking, 1987 Hong Kong. DOB 1945.
• Andrew Patrick Somerset Gibbs     1979 Rio, 1984 Moscow, 1987 Pretoria. DOB 1951; OBE.
• Sean Goodman
• Anita Goodman
• Jacqueline Goodman
• Keith Rutherford Gosling     1975 Singapore, 1978 Vienna, 1986 Manila, 1993 Tel Aviv. DOB 1944; OBE.
• Roger Patrick Hamilton     1978 Jakarta, 1982 Tokyo, 1984 Hong Kong, 1989 Copenhagen. DOB 1948.
• Roger John Hargreaves     1973 Hong Kong, 1976 Sanaa, 1985 Hong Kong, 1996 Wellington. DOB 1950.
• Samuel Andrew Roland Hatfield     1995 Lagos. DOB 1963.
• Steven John Hill     1988 Vienna, 1996 New York. DOB 1962.
• Katherine Sarah-Julia Horner     1985 Moscow, 1997 Moscow. DOB 1952.
• Thomas Rober Benedict Hurd     1995 Warsaw. DOB 1964.
• Robert Mitchell Forest Kelly     1974 Nairobi, 1980 Turkey, 1981 Ankara, 1995 Ottowa. DOB 1946.
• Theodore Maurice Kenwrick-Pierc     1974 Brussels, 1982 Nicosia, 1988 Hague, 1994 Athens. DOB 1948.
• Alex Kershaw     1997 Geneva. DOB 1967.
• Nicholas John Andrew Langman     1986 Montevideo, 1988 New York, 1994 Paris. DOB 1960.
• Edmund John Scott Latter     1994 Istanbul. DOB 1968.
• Jeremy John Legge     1987 Lusaka, 1994 Vienna. DOB 1961.
• Gareth Geoffrey Lungley     DOB 1971.
• Christine Anne MacQueen     1984 Brasilia, 1989 New York, 1990 Paris. DOB 1959.
• Norman James MacSween     1972 Nairobi, 1977 Tehran, 1983 Bonn, 1991 Stockholm, 1995 Moscow. DOB 1948.
• Iain Arthur Gray Matthewson     1981 New York, 1985 Warsaw, 1993 Prague. DOB 1952.
• Ian Forbes McCredie     1976 Lusaka, 1979 Tehran, 1983 Copenhagen, 1992 New York. DOB 1950; OBE.
• Patrick Joseph McGuinness     1988 Sanaa, 1994 Abu Dhabi, 1996 Cairo. DOB 1963; OBE.
• Justin James McKenzie Smit     1996 Moscow. DOB 1969.
• William John Clovis Meath-Baker     1988 Kabul, 1989 Prague, 1997 Istanbul. DOB 1959.
• Andrew Jonathan Mitchell     1993 Bonn. DOB 1967.
• Anthony Leopold Colyer Monckton     1990 Geneva, 1996 Zagreb. DOB 1960.
• Richard Peter Moore     1990 Ankara, 1991 Istanbul, 1995 Islamabad. DOB 1963.
• Mark Scott Thomas Morgan     1984 Geneva, 1988 Aden, 1994 Valletta. DOB 1958; MBE.
• Stuart Richard Morley     1989 San Jose, 1990 Bridgetown, 1996 Hague. DOB 1959.
• Clive Dare Newell     1979 Tehran, 1982 Kabul, 1986 Addis, 1990 Bosnia, 1994 Ankara. DOB 1953.
• Peter James Norris     1985 Lagos, 1990 Guatemala. DOB 1955, Dr.
• Peter David Orwin     1977 Athens, 1984 Brasilia, 1989 Tel Aviv, 1996 Hague. DOB 1944; OBE, MC.
• Christopher Robert Geoffrey Pagett     1978 Havana, 1979 Lusaka, 1988 Maputo, 1997 New York. DOB 1952; OBE.
• Colin Douglas Partridge     1980 Delhi, 1987 Hanoi, 1994 Hong Kong. DOB 1955.
• Martin Eric Penton-Voak     1995 Moscow. DOB 1965.
• Geoffrey Colin Perry     1981 Hong Kong, 1992 Geneva. DOB 1951.
• Alan Petty
• Richard William Potter     1985 Riyadh, 1988 Nicosia. DOB 1960.
• Mark Precious     Buenos Aires 1986. DOB 1960.
• John Andrew Raine     1988 Kuwait, 1994 Damascus, 1997 Riyadh. DOB 1962.
• Michael Charles Ramscar     1977 Lagos, 1979 Brasilia, 1986 Madrid, 1989 San Jose, 1997 Madrid. DOB 1948.
• Timothy Simeon Rawlinson     1991 Lagos, 1996 Stockholm. DOB 1962.
• Richard Robert Reeve     1973 Singapore, 1977 Hong Kong, 1983 Hong Kong. DOB 1948.
• Michael John Regan     1986 Kabul, 1989 Dubai, 1995 Bangkok. DOB 1955.
• Peter Marius Julian Prows Reilly     1996 Khartoum. DOB 1971.
• John Ridd
• Janet Elizabeth Rogan     1991 Peking, 1998 Sarajevo; dob 1962.
• John McLeod Scarlett     1973 Nairobi, 1976 Moscow, 1984 Paris, 1991 Moscow. DOB 1948; OBE.
• Deborah Jane Soothill     1996 Peking. DOB 1969.
• Richard David Spearman     1992 Istanbul, 1997 Paris. DOB 1960.
• David Spedding
• Guy David St. John Kelso Spindler     1987 Moscow, 1997 Pretoria. DOB 1962.
• Andrew Jeremy Stafford     1977 Stockholm, 1979 Accra, 1984 Prague, 1991 Brussels. DOB 1953.
• Christopher David Steele     1990 Moscow. DOB 1964.
• Geoffrey Tantum
• Anthony Jonathan Terry     1970 Nairobi, 1973 Havana, 1979 Belgrade, 1986 Santiago, 1997 Geneva. DOB 1946.
• Richard Paul Reynier Thompson     1991 Stockholm, 1996 Geneva. DOB 1960.
• Michael Thomson
• Daniel Vernon Thornton     1995 Brussels. DOB 1969.
• Stuart Graham Turvill     1995 Islamabad. DOB 1971.
• John Venning
• Richard Vlaistow     1995 Havana.
• James Spencer Kennedy Watson     1991 Kuwait, 1997 Damascus. DOB 1964.
• Andrew Whiteside     1995 Budapest. DOB 1968.
• Mark Williams     1995 Tehran.
• Kenneth Mark Williams     1976 Kuala Lumpur, 1979 Bridgetown, 1988 Harare, 1994 Delhi. DOB 1944.
• Simon Jules Wilson     1991 Athens, 1993 Zagreb. DOB 1966; OBE.
• Julian Paul Geoffrey Wiseman     1978 Geneva, 1984 Dhaka, 1990 Islamabad. DOB 1944.
• David John Woods     1978 Vienna, 1981 Bucharest, 1992 Harare, 1997 Pretoria. DOB 1951.
• Ian Alexander Woods     1977 New York, 1984 Berlin, 1986 Bonn, 1995 Warsaw. DOB 1951.
• Alexander William Younger     1995 Vienna. DOB 1963.

Sixteen of the above names were previously published, almost all of them in 1989. As soon as they were published, they were indexed in NameBase, which has been widely available since 1986 and updated continuously since then. Diplomatic lists (published by governments) were used to compile much of the information, in 1989 as well as 1999.

ASQUITH, RAYMOND B.B.
  Britain 1985-1989, USSR 1985
    Geheim Magazine (Germany) 1987-#5 (39)
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
BARRETT, RICHARD MARTIN DONNE
  Britain 1975-1989, Turkey 1983-1985
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
BOWEN, RUPERT
  Ireland 1970-1979, Britain 1970-1979
    Lobster Magazine (Britain) 1985-#9 (15)
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
BREEZE, ALASTAIR JON
  Britain 1958-1989, Indonesia 1960-1962, Iran 1967-1971, Pakistan 1972-1976, Nigeria 1976-1979
    Intelligence Newsletter (Paris) 1990-01-17 (3)
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
CHITTENDEN, GEOFFREY MARTIN
  Britain 1969-1989, India 1971-1975, Czechoslovakia 1976-1978, Hong Kong 1981-1985
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
CORDERY, ANDREW
  Britain 1990, Germany 1990
    Top Secret (Germany) 1990-F (21)
DEARLOVE, RICHARD BILLING
  Britain 1966-1999, Kenya 1968-1971, Czechoslovakia 1973-1976, France 1980-1984
    Intelligence (Paris) 1999-03-08 (8)
    Intelligence (Paris) 1999-03-22 (8)
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
GERSON, JOHN HENRY CARY
  Britain 1968-1991, Hong Kong 1969-1991, Singapore 1971-1973, China 1974-1978, Ireland 1978-1979
    Intelligence Newsletter (Paris) 1991-09-11 (8)
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
GIBBS, ANDREW PATRICK SOMERSET
  Britain 1977-1989, Brazil 1979-1981, USSR 1984-1985, South Africa 1987-1989
    Geheim Magazine (Germany) 1987-#5 (40)
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
LANGMAN, NICHOLAS
  Britain 1983-1989, Uruguay 1986
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
REEVE, RICHARD ROBERT
  Britain 1971-1989, Singapore 1973-1975, Hong Kong 1975-1987
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
REGAN, MICHAEL JOHN
  Britain 1983-1989, Afghanistan 1986-1989
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
SCARLETT, JOHN MCLEOD
  Britain 1971-1994, Kenya 1973-1976, France 1984-1987, USSR 1991-1994
    Intelligence Newsletter (Paris) 1994-04-21 (8)
SPEDDING, DAVID ROWLAND
  Britain 1967-1999, Lebanon 1969-1972, Chile 1972-1974, United Arab Em 1978-1981, Ireland 1981-1983, Jordan 1983-1987
    Assn. National Security Alumni. Unclassified 1996-F (16)
    Intelligence (Paris) 1996-08-26 (14)
    Intelligence (Paris) 1997-12-01 (9)
    Intelligence (Paris) 1999-03-08 (8 22)
    Intelligence Newsletter (Paris) 1994-03-10 (8)
    Intelligence Newsletter (Paris) 1994-03-24 (6)
    Lobster Magazine (Britain) 1988-#16 (14)
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
TANTUM, GEOFFREY ALAN
  Britain 1959-1989, Kuwait 1970-1972, Yemen 1972-1973, Jordan 1977-1980, Italy 1985-1989
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989
WOODS, IAN ALEXANDER
  Britain 1976-1989, Germany 1984-1989
    Lobster. A Who's Who of the British Secret State. 1989

Of these 16 names, 8 are of special interest. Seven of these were exposed in 1989, and another in 1990, but what's interesting is that these 8 were given -- and accepted -- additional foreign assignments subsequent to their initial exposure. They weren't worried at all. No one particularly cared, and they knew it!

ASQUITH, RAYMOND B.B.
  Kiev 1992
BARRETT, RICHARD MARTIN DONNE
  Amman 1997
BOWEN, RUPERT
  Windhoek 1990, Tirana 1992
CORDERY, ANDREW
  Oslo 1995
DEARLOVE, RICHARD BILLING
  Washington 1991
LANGMAN, NICHOLAS
  Paris 1994
REGAN, MICHAEL JOHN
  Bangkok 1995
WOODS, IAN ALEXANDER
  Warsaw 1995

QUESTION: If exposure in the media is so dangerous, such that those exposed feel that they are under increased risk, why did these eight continue to accept foreign assignments after they were exposed ten years ago?

ANSWER: This MI6 hoopla is not about protecting spies at all. It's about protecting unaccountability in high places. Fewer secrets mean more accountability to the citizens of the world, and this is what worries British officials as they consider new measures to regulate the Internet.

And that's the real scoop -- technology vs. government secrecy. First it was the photocopying machine. Then databases on personal computers and desktop publishing. And now the Internet. Perhaps democracy has a chance after all.

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