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	During 1987 Tomlinson returned to the United Kingdom and served for five years in the ]'s ] ("Artists' Rifles") and in ], qualifying as a military ], and ]. He also represented Britain in the 1990 ], competing in Siberia, USSR,<ref name="Camel Trophy History"></ref> and crossed the Sahara desert by motorcycle alone. He finally joined ] in September 1991. He completed his training with ] and claims he was the best recruit on his course, being awarded the rarely given "Box 1" attribute, by his instructing officers including ]. He then served in the "SOV/OPS" department, working during the ending phases of the ] against the ], before being posted to ] in 1994 as the MI6 representative in ] during the breakup of the former ]. A solider who escorted Tomlinson to Bosnia described him as a "liability", a "sulk" and "totally unprofessional". although Tomlinson has disputed this.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Langton\|first=David\|title=MI6 rebel claims 'Austin Powers' smear campaign\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=Sunday Times\|date=11 June 2006}}</ref> His next posting was to work as an undercover agent against ], where he succeeded in penetrating the Iranian Intelligence Service, presumably ].		During 1987 Tomlinson returned to the United Kingdom and served for five years in the ]'s ] ("Artists' Rifles") and in ], qualifying as a military ], and ]. He also represented Britain in the 1990 ], competing in Siberia, USSR,<ref name="Camel Trophy History"></ref> and crossed the Sahara desert by motorcycle alone. He finally joined ] in September 1991. He completed his training with ] and claims he was the best recruit on his course, being awarded the rarely given "Box 1" attribute, by his instructing officers including ]. He then served in the "SOV/OPS" department, working during the ending phases of the ] against the ], before being posted to ] in 1994 as the MI6 representative in ] during the breakup of the former ]. A solider who escorted Tomlinson to Bosnia described him as a "liability", a "sulk" and "totally unprofessional". although Tomlinson has disputed this.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Langton\|first=David\|title=MI6 rebel claims 'Austin Powers' smear campaign\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=Sunday Times\|date=11 June 2006}}</ref> His next posting was to work as an undercover agent against ], where he succeeded in penetrating the Iranian Intelligence Service, presumably ].

	MI6 dismissed him in April 1995 as he came to the end of his ], allegedly for poor service after he became suicidally depressed following the death of his long term girlfriend from cancer.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Barnett\|first=Antony\|title=Leaks feared as sacked MI6 spy launches blog\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Observer\|date=21 May 2006}}</ref><ref name="bbc"~~> BBC</ref~~> Tomlinson's handlers at MI6 felt he was an obsessive loner who was unable to get along with colleagues.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite news\|last=Breen\|first=Stephen\|title='OBSESSIVE LONER' HURT BY DISMISSAL\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Scotsman\|date=14 May 1999}}</ref> One reason given was for "going on frolics on his own".<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The decision angered Tomlinson who felt he had been treated unfairly by his spymasters who, he claimed, had failed to take into consideration his fraught personal circumstances.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> Tomlinson disputed the reasons for and legality of his dismissal and attempted to take MI6 before an ]. However, MI6 obtained a ] Certificate from ] Sir ]. Having no further legal recourse to appeal against his dismissal, Tomlinson left the United Kingdom and pursued his arguments against MI6 publicly, by publishing articles in the international press about his treatment, and began work on a book (which later became ''The Big Breach'').<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Perhaps as a result of Tomlinson's campaign, during 1998 the Parliamentary ] recommended that MI6 should be subject to UK employment law.<ref></ref> Employees of MI6 (and GCHQ and MI5) now have the same employment rights as other British citizens, including written contracts and access to employment tribunals. However, MI6 refused to allow these procedures to be applied retrospectively to Tomlinson's case.		MI6 dismissed him in April 1995 as he came to the end of his ], allegedly for poor service after he became suicidally depressed following the death of his long term girlfriend from cancer.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Barnett\|first=Antony\|title=Leaks feared as sacked MI6 spy launches blog\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Observer\|date=21 May 2006}}</ref><ref name="bbc"/> Tomlinson's handlers at MI6 felt he was an obsessive loner who was unable to get along with colleagues.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite news\|last=Breen\|first=Stephen\|title='OBSESSIVE LONER' HURT BY DISMISSAL\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Scotsman\|date=14 May 1999}}</ref> One reason given was for "going on frolics on his own".<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The decision angered Tomlinson who felt he had been treated unfairly by his spymasters who, he claimed, had failed to take into consideration his fraught personal circumstances.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> Tomlinson disputed the reasons for and legality of his dismissal and attempted to take MI6 before an ]. However, MI6 obtained a ] Certificate from ] Sir ]. Having no further legal recourse to appeal against his dismissal, Tomlinson left the United Kingdom and pursued his arguments against MI6 publicly, by publishing articles in the international press about his treatment, and began work on a book (which later became ''The Big Breach'').<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Perhaps as a result of Tomlinson's campaign, during 1998 the Parliamentary ] recommended that MI6 should be subject to UK employment law.<ref></ref> Employees of MI6 (and GCHQ and MI5) now have the same employment rights as other British citizens, including written contracts and access to employment tribunals. However, MI6 refused to allow these procedures to be applied retrospectively to Tomlinson's case.

	It is of note that MI6 have never succeeded in obtaining another PII certificate since the Tomlinson case, even though they have been subjected to more rigorous court scrutiny (for example the Inquest into the death of the Princess of Wales) than would have been involved with an employment tribunal.		It is of note that MI6 have never succeeded in obtaining another PII certificate since the Tomlinson case, even though they have been subjected to more rigorous court scrutiny (for example the Inquest into the death of the Princess of Wales) than would have been involved with an employment tribunal.

Revision as of 23:04, 22 October 2012

For other people named Richard Tomlinson, see Richard Tomlinson (disambiguation).

Richard John Charles Tomlinson (born 13 January 1963) is a New Zealand-born former MI6 officer. After what he perceived to be an unfair dismissal from the Secret Intelligence Service, he attempted to get an employment tribunal. MI6 argued that this would breach security.

Tomlinson was imprisoned for six months in 1997 for violating the Official Secrets Act 1989 by giving the synopsis of a proposed book detailing his career in the Service to an Australian publisher. After his release, he lived in exile. The book, named The Big Breach, was published in Moscow in 2001 (and later in Edinburgh), and was subsequently serialised by The Sunday Times. In 2009 MI6 agreed to let him return to Britain, unfroze royalties from his book and dropped the threat of charges. It also apologised for its unfair treatment of him.

Tomlinson's mistreatment resulted in the unionisation of the staff at MI6, and they are now allowed employment tribunals.

Early life

Tomlinson was born in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand to David and Jane Tomlinson. David was from a Lancashire farming family, who met Jane whilst studying agriculture at Newcastle University. Tomlinson moved to Armathwaite in Cumbria, England in 1968. Tomlinson is the middle child of three brothers, one of whom is a vicar. He won a scholarship for the independent Barnard Castle School in County Durham, where he was a contemporary of Rory Underwood and Rob Andrew, who went on to become England rugby internationals. He excelled at mathematics and physics, and then won a scholarship to Cambridge University. His fellow student, now historian Andrew Roberts, remembers Tomlinson as:

a bright and charming undergraduate, popular with the boys for his drinking and sporting prowess, and with the girls for his dark good looks. If there was something exaggerated about his tales about himself - a slight Walter Mitty complex - it hardly mattered in the relaxed and tolerant environment of university life. Neither did his obvious and driving ambition seem particularly untoward.

He was first approached by MI6 during 1984 after graduating from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, with a starred First Class honours degree in aeronautical engineering. He also completed flying training with Cambridge University Air Squadron and won a Half Blue for Modern Pentathlon. After graduation he sat his exams to join the Royal Navy as a Fleet Air Arm Officer, however a mild case of childhood asthma meant that he failed the medical. As a result, he applied for and won a Kennedy Scholarship to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then won a prize from the Rotary Foundation, allowing him to study in the country of his choice for a year. He enrolled in a political science course at the University of Buenos Aires, where he became a fluent Spanish speaker. He continued to pursue his aeronautical interests and qualified as a glider pilot with the Fuerza Aérea Argentina.

He then joined a management consultancy company named LEK.

Military and MI6 service

During 1987 Tomlinson returned to the United Kingdom and served for five years in the Territorial Army's 21 SAS ("Artists' Rifles") and in 23 SAS, qualifying as a military parachutist, and radio operator. He also represented Britain in the 1990 Camel Trophy, competing in Siberia, USSR, and crossed the Sahara desert by motorcycle alone. He finally joined MI6 in September 1991. He completed his training with MI6 and claims he was the best recruit on his course, being awarded the rarely given "Box 1" attribute, by his instructing officers including Nicholas Langman. He then served in the "SOV/OPS" department, working during the ending phases of the Cold War against the Soviet Union, before being posted to Sarajevo in 1994 as the MI6 representative in Bosnia during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. A solider who escorted Tomlinson to Bosnia described him as a "liability", a "sulk" and "totally unprofessional". although Tomlinson has disputed this. His next posting was to work as an undercover agent against Iran, where he succeeded in penetrating the Iranian Intelligence Service, presumably SAVAMA.

MI6 dismissed him in April 1995 as he came to the end of his probationary period, allegedly for poor service after he became suicidally depressed following the death of his long term girlfriend from cancer. Tomlinson's handlers at MI6 felt he was an obsessive loner who was unable to get along with colleagues. One reason given was for "going on frolics on his own". The decision angered Tomlinson who felt he had been treated unfairly by his spymasters who, he claimed, had failed to take into consideration his fraught personal circumstances. Tomlinson disputed the reasons for and legality of his dismissal and attempted to take MI6 before an employment tribunal. However, MI6 obtained a Public Interest Immunity Certificate from Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Having no further legal recourse to appeal against his dismissal, Tomlinson left the United Kingdom and pursued his arguments against MI6 publicly, by publishing articles in the international press about his treatment, and began work on a book (which later became The Big Breach). Perhaps as a result of Tomlinson's campaign, during 1998 the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee recommended that MI6 should be subject to UK employment law. Employees of MI6 (and GCHQ and MI5) now have the same employment rights as other British citizens, including written contracts and access to employment tribunals. However, MI6 refused to allow these procedures to be applied retrospectively to Tomlinson's case.

It is of note that MI6 have never succeeded in obtaining another PII certificate since the Tomlinson case, even though they have been subjected to more rigorous court scrutiny (for example the Inquest into the death of the Princess of Wales) than would have been involved with an employment tribunal.

The Big Breach

George Temple, aide-de-camp to the head of MI6, was enlisted to attempt to lure Tomlinson back on side, offering him a £15,000 loan and a marketing job with Jackie Stewart's Formula One racing team, in return for a promise of silence. Tomlinson stuck with the job for only a few months before heading to Australia.

On returning to the United Kingdom during 1997, Tomlinson was arrested on suspicion of breaking the Official Secrets Act 1989. He was accused of giving a four-page synopsis of his proposed book to an Australian publisher—though MI6 have never claimed that he revealed any secret information. Tomlinson was remanded in custody at HMP Belmarsh as a Category A prisoner—- a category normally reserved for dangerous offenders. When it was announced that the trial would be held in a High Court, meaning that Tomlinson would be held on remand for as much as two years, longer than any likely sentence, he pleaded guilty to violating the Official Secrets Act 1989. At the sentencing hearing, John Scarlett, the chief prosecution witness, claimed that Tomlinson "had gravely damaged national security" and "had put agents' lives at risk". Tomlinson was not allowed to call any defence witnesses. Tomlinson received a twelve month custodial sentence. He served six months in HMP Belmarsh before being released early for good behaviour on 1 May 1998. Since 1998, foreign police services, including those of Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France and Monaco have all arrested and detained him at the request of MI6, but he has not been charged subsequently with an offence.

On completion of his three months probationary licence on 31 August 1998, Tomlinson left the United Kingdom to live in exile. He set about completing The Big Breach, which was published during 2001 in Russia. After the Court of Appeal of England and Wales subsequently ruled in his favour it was made available in the UK. However, immediately after publication, the British Government obtained a High Court Order to confiscate proceeds from the book and any newspaper serialisation rights, on the grounds that the government owned the copyright to anything written by Tomlinson. Finally, during September 2008, MI6 ended all legal objection to the publication of The Big Breach, released the proceeds from the publication to Tomlinson, and admitted that their previous legal actions against him were disproportionate. However, they still refused to reinstate Tomlinson to MI6, or compensate Tomlinson for the loss of his career and pension. Tomlinson can now travel freely to the UK. The book can now be downloaded free in electronic form (see "External links").

Critical reception

David Judd, reviewing the book for the Sunday Telegraph said:

There is ... something unconvincing and formulaic about his references to girlfriends, especially to one who allegedly died. Did she exist? And when he describes his operational work for MI6, there are curious lacunae and additions. Leaving aside exotica such as his story of MI6 involvement in the death of the Princess of Wales, his accounts of derring-do in Moscow and Bosnia read as if they were either borrowed from colleagues, or are inventions.

Christopher Andrew wrote for The Times:

At the one point at which Tomlinson's account of his training at Fort Monckton can be checked, he turns out to be unreliable. He recalls a visit to the IONEC course by Oleg Gordievsky, who, as a British agent inside Soviet intelligence from 1974 to 1985, provided what Tomlinson accurately describes as "a treasure trove of information from the heart of the KGB". Tomlinson claims, however, that Gordievsky was recruited while working as an undercover KGB officer in London in 1974. In fact, he was recruited in Copenhagen; he did not arrive in London until 1982.

Other alleged breaches and assertions

List of MI6 agents

In 1999, a list of 116 alleged MI6 agents was published on one of Lyndon LaRouche's websites. Its names included Andrew Fulton, who had recently retired. It has been alleged that Tomlinson was the source of the list, but he has always denied this. Tomlinson wrote, "If MI6 had set out to produce a list that caused me the maximum incrimination, but caused them the minimum damage, they could not have done a better job."

Tomlinson published a list of nine names on his own website on Geocities. The site was subsequently terminated by the host due to a complaint by a third party. He carried a link to a copy of the LaRouche list on his website, with comments on the inaccuracy of individual entries, intending to show that he was not its author.

Diana, Princess of Wales

Tomlinson was apprehended by French Authorities during July 2006 after a European Arrest Warrant, requested by the United Kingdom, was issued. The warrant claimed Tomlinson was involved with the publication of two lists containing the names of MI6 officers during 2005. The police seized computers, personal papers and other items from his home in Cannes, and from his place of employment, resulting in the loss of this employment. He was subsequently cleared entirely of any involvements with the lists, though was never compensated for the damage to his career caused by the allegations. It was reported in some quarters that this arrest was linked to the inquiries into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. During this period Tomlinson maintained several weblogs publicising his treatment.

During 2008, Tomlinson was a witness for the inquest into the deaths of the Princess of Wales and Dodi al Fayed. He had suggested that Britain's Secret Intelligence Service was monitoring Diana before her death and that her driver on the night she died, Henri Paul, may have been an MI6 informant, and that her death resembled plans he saw during 1992 for the assassination of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, using a bright light to cause a traffic accident.

At the Coroner's Inquest into the death of the Princess, on 13 February 2008, speaking by video-link from France, Tomlinson conceded that, after the interval of 16 or 17 years, he "could not remember specifically" whether the document he had seen during 1992 had in fact proposed the use of a strobe light to cause a traffic accident as a means of assassinating Milosevic, although use of lights for this purpose had been covered in his MI6 training. On being told that no MI6 file on Henri Paul had been found, Tomlinson said that it "would be absurd after 17 years to say I can positively disagree with it, but...I do not think the fact that they did not manage to find a file rules out anything either". He said he believed MI6 had an informant at the Paris Ritz but he could not be certain, and had never claimed, that this person was necessarily Henri Paul.

Post MI6

In 2001 he left Rimini in Italy, where he had been working as a waiter, for the south of France near Cannes where he worked as a yacht broker for BCR Yachts.

Personal life

Tomlinson's parents live in Carlisle, and one of his brothers lives in Australia.

Tomlinson is described as "tall, handsome and lean".

References

The Sunday Times (London) 31 May 2009 Edition 1 MI6 woos home renegade ex-spy, p7
^ Richard Tomlinson, The Big Breach: From Top Secret to Maximum Security. Foreword by Nick Fielding. Mainstream Publishing 2001 ISBN 1-903813-01-8
^ Hennessey, Stewart (17 February 2001). "THE SPY LEFT OUT IN THE COLD". The Scotsman. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Roberts, Andrew (28 January 2001). "The man with the golden tongue". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
Camel Trophy Owners Club - Camel Trophy 1990 - Siberia USSR
Langton, David (11 June 2006). "MI6 rebel claims 'Austin Powers' smear campaign". Sunday Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Barnett, Antony (21 May 2006). "Leaks feared as sacked MI6 spy launches blog". The Observer. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Breen, Stephen (14 May 1999). "'OBSESSIVE LONER' HURT BY DISMISSAL". The Scotsman. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Intelligence and Security Committee - Annual Report 1998-99
Leigh, David (2 October 2002). "The spy who loved me". The Guardian. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Tomlinson Synopsis
'MI6 tempts rebel ex-spy back home', The Sunday Times, 31 May 2009
Judd, David (25 February 2001). "Spy who loved himself". Sunday Telegraph. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Andrew, Christopher (11 February 2001). "Russia's revenge". The Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Former spy in line for top Scottish Tory job - Telegraph
copy
website
Hearing transcripts: 13 February 2008 - Morning session
Fielding, Nick (28 May 2006). "Renegade spy posts MI6's pictures on net". The Sunday Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Mackay, Neil (4 June 2000). "Hard life as public enemy number one". The Sunday Herald. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-making-of-a-traitor-1093352.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Revision as of 23:03, 22 October 2012 editAnomieBOT (talk \| contribs)Bots6,561,057 edits Rescuing orphaned refs ("bbc" from rev 519279407)← Previous edit		Revision as of 23:04, 22 October 2012 edit undoFarrtj (talk \| contribs)Extended confirmed users27,684 edits Reflinks: Converting bare referencesNext edit →
Line 17:		Line 17:
	During 1987 Tomlinson returned to the United Kingdom and served for five years in the ]'s ] ("Artists' Rifles") and in ], qualifying as a military ], and ]. He also represented Britain in the 1990 ], competing in Siberia, USSR,<ref name="Camel Trophy History"></ref> and crossed the Sahara desert by motorcycle alone. He finally joined ] in September 1991. He completed his training with ] and claims he was the best recruit on his course, being awarded the rarely given "Box 1" attribute, by his instructing officers including ]. He then served in the "SOV/OPS" department, working during the ending phases of the ] against the ], before being posted to ] in 1994 as the MI6 representative in ] during the breakup of the former ]. A solider who escorted Tomlinson to Bosnia described him as a "liability", a "sulk" and "totally unprofessional". although Tomlinson has disputed this.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Langton\|first=David\|title=MI6 rebel claims 'Austin Powers' smear campaign\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=Sunday Times\|date=11 June 2006}}</ref> His next posting was to work as an undercover agent against ], where he succeeded in penetrating the Iranian Intelligence Service, presumably ].		During 1987 Tomlinson returned to the United Kingdom and served for five years in the ]'s ] ("Artists' Rifles") and in ], qualifying as a military ], and ]. He also represented Britain in the 1990 ], competing in Siberia, USSR,<ref name="Camel Trophy History"></ref> and crossed the Sahara desert by motorcycle alone. He finally joined ] in September 1991. He completed his training with ] and claims he was the best recruit on his course, being awarded the rarely given "Box 1" attribute, by his instructing officers including ]. He then served in the "SOV/OPS" department, working during the ending phases of the ] against the ], before being posted to ] in 1994 as the MI6 representative in ] during the breakup of the former ]. A solider who escorted Tomlinson to Bosnia described him as a "liability", a "sulk" and "totally unprofessional". although Tomlinson has disputed this.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Langton\|first=David\|title=MI6 rebel claims 'Austin Powers' smear campaign\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=Sunday Times\|date=11 June 2006}}</ref> His next posting was to work as an undercover agent against ], where he succeeded in penetrating the Iranian Intelligence Service, presumably ].

	MI6 dismissed him in April 1995 as he came to the end of his ], allegedly for poor service after he became suicidally depressed following the death of his long term girlfriend from cancer.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Barnett\|first=Antony\|title=Leaks feared as sacked MI6 spy launches blog\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Observer\|date=21 May 2006}}</ref><ref name="bbc"~~> BBC</ref~~> Tomlinson's handlers at MI6 felt he was an obsessive loner who was unable to get along with colleagues.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite news\|last=Breen\|first=Stephen\|title='OBSESSIVE LONER' HURT BY DISMISSAL\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Scotsman\|date=14 May 1999}}</ref> One reason given was for "going on frolics on his own".<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The decision angered Tomlinson who felt he had been treated unfairly by his spymasters who, he claimed, had failed to take into consideration his fraught personal circumstances.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> Tomlinson disputed the reasons for and legality of his dismissal and attempted to take MI6 before an ]. However, MI6 obtained a ] Certificate from ] Sir ]. Having no further legal recourse to appeal against his dismissal, Tomlinson left the United Kingdom and pursued his arguments against MI6 publicly, by publishing articles in the international press about his treatment, and began work on a book (which later became ''The Big Breach'').<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Perhaps as a result of Tomlinson's campaign, during 1998 the Parliamentary ] recommended that MI6 should be subject to UK employment law.<ref></ref> Employees of MI6 (and GCHQ and MI5) now have the same employment rights as other British citizens, including written contracts and access to employment tribunals. However, MI6 refused to allow these procedures to be applied retrospectively to Tomlinson's case.		MI6 dismissed him in April 1995 as he came to the end of his ], allegedly for poor service after he became suicidally depressed following the death of his long term girlfriend from cancer.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Barnett\|first=Antony\|title=Leaks feared as sacked MI6 spy launches blog\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Observer\|date=21 May 2006}}</ref><ref name="bbc"/> Tomlinson's handlers at MI6 felt he was an obsessive loner who was unable to get along with colleagues.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite news\|last=Breen\|first=Stephen\|title='OBSESSIVE LONER' HURT BY DISMISSAL\|accessdate=22 October 2012\|newspaper=The Scotsman\|date=14 May 1999}}</ref> One reason given was for "going on frolics on his own".<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The decision angered Tomlinson who felt he had been treated unfairly by his spymasters who, he claimed, had failed to take into consideration his fraught personal circumstances.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> Tomlinson disputed the reasons for and legality of his dismissal and attempted to take MI6 before an ]. However, MI6 obtained a ] Certificate from ] Sir ]. Having no further legal recourse to appeal against his dismissal, Tomlinson left the United Kingdom and pursued his arguments against MI6 publicly, by publishing articles in the international press about his treatment, and began work on a book (which later became ''The Big Breach'').<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Perhaps as a result of Tomlinson's campaign, during 1998 the Parliamentary ] recommended that MI6 should be subject to UK employment law.<ref></ref> Employees of MI6 (and GCHQ and MI5) now have the same employment rights as other British citizens, including written contracts and access to employment tribunals. However, MI6 refused to allow these procedures to be applied retrospectively to Tomlinson's case.

	It is of note that MI6 have never succeeded in obtaining another PII certificate since the Tomlinson case, even though they have been subjected to more rigorous court scrutiny (for example the Inquest into the death of the Princess of Wales) than would have been involved with an employment tribunal.		It is of note that MI6 have never succeeded in obtaining another PII certificate since the Tomlinson case, even though they have been subjected to more rigorous court scrutiny (for example the Inquest into the death of the Princess of Wales) than would have been involved with an employment tribunal.

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