John Herbert King
Encyclopedia
John Herbert King, alias 'MAG', was a British
Foreign Office cypher clerk who provided Foreign Office communications to the Soviet Union
between 1935 and 1937. He was sentenced to 10 years' in prison as a spy in October 1939.
King was recruited by the Foreign Office as a temporary clerk in 1934 and sent to the British Delegation at the League of Nations
in Geneva
. There his financial problems made him vulnerable to an approach by Henri Pieck
, a Dutch
citizen who was working for Soviet intelligence. Pieck recruited him as a spy, pretending the information he gave was only to be used for commercial advantage by a Dutch bank. King returned to London
in early 1935. Pieck continued to run the case by visits to London until 1936, when the job of running King was transferred to Theodore Maly
. King continued to pass copies of Foreign Office telegraphic traffic to Maly until June 1937, when Maly was recalled to Moscow. In September 1939 the Soviet defector Walter Krivitsky
exposed King's name as a spy for the Soviet Union to the British Embassy in Washington
. Coincidentally a business associate of Pieck's in London reported suspicious activities by him and described a man like King who had given information to Pieck. King was subsequently interrogated, resulting in a confession.
Although the official British archives only implicate King with passing information to the Soviets from 1935 to 1937, information passed on by King is elsewhere credited with giving Joseph Stalin
valuable insight into British diplomatic activities aimed at containing Adolf Hitler
as late as 1939. At times this information was passed on by the Soviets to the German Embassy in London, with the aim of increasing the tension between Britain and Germany. Sometimes as little as 5 hours elapsed between a telegram being received at the Foreign Office and a summary of its contents being transmitted to Berlin
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Foreign Office cypher clerk who provided Foreign Office communications to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
between 1935 and 1937. He was sentenced to 10 years' in prison as a spy in October 1939.
King was recruited by the Foreign Office as a temporary clerk in 1934 and sent to the British Delegation at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. There his financial problems made him vulnerable to an approach by Henri Pieck
Henri Pieck
Henri Christiaan Pieck was a Dutch architect, painter and graphic artist.Pieck married twice. On 12 July 1922, he married Geziena van Gelder, with whom he had one son. This union was dissolved on 14 May 1928. His second wife, Bernharda Hugona Johanna van Lier, whom he married on 25 May 1928 in St...
, a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
citizen who was working for Soviet intelligence. Pieck recruited him as a spy, pretending the information he gave was only to be used for commercial advantage by a Dutch bank. King returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in early 1935. Pieck continued to run the case by visits to London until 1936, when the job of running King was transferred to Theodore Maly
Theodore Maly
Theodore Maly was an undercover Soviet intelligence officer who recruited and controlled spies in the 1930s. He lived illegally in the countries where he worked and was one of Russia’s most effective illegal recruiters and controllers...
. King continued to pass copies of Foreign Office telegraphic traffic to Maly until June 1937, when Maly was recalled to Moscow. In September 1939 the Soviet defector Walter Krivitsky
Walter Krivitsky
Walter Germanovich Krivitsky was a Soviet intelligence officer who revealed plans of signing Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact before defecting weeks before the outbreak of World War II....
exposed King's name as a spy for the Soviet Union to the British Embassy in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Coincidentally a business associate of Pieck's in London reported suspicious activities by him and described a man like King who had given information to Pieck. King was subsequently interrogated, resulting in a confession.
Although the official British archives only implicate King with passing information to the Soviets from 1935 to 1937, information passed on by King is elsewhere credited with giving Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
valuable insight into British diplomatic activities aimed at containing Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
as late as 1939. At times this information was passed on by the Soviets to the German Embassy in London, with the aim of increasing the tension between Britain and Germany. Sometimes as little as 5 hours elapsed between a telegram being received at the Foreign Office and a summary of its contents being transmitted to Berlin