Alex Allan, Britain's leading spymaster, found at home in a coma By Tom Peterkin and Duncan Gardham
04/07/2008Britain's most senior spymaster is in a critical condition after being rushed to a London hospital.
Alex Allan, the chairman of Whitehall's joint intelligence committee, was found unconscious at his home in west London on Monday night.
It was not clear why he had fallen ill, but doctors confirmed that he remained in a coma.
There were initial fears that he might have been poisoned, leading to comparisons with Alexander Litvinenko, the former officer of the Russian state security service who died after being poisoned by the radioactive metal polonium-210.
However, government sources said poisoning was unlikely due to Mr Allan's senior position, and police said they
did not consider his illness suspicious.
Mr Allan was appointed as head of the Government's spy network in November last year after a career as one of Britain's leading civil servants.
Known as an outgoing and colourful character who once windsurfed down the Thames wearing a bowler hat and suit, Cabinet officials regarded him as a very high-profile mandarin.
Before heading up the joint intelligence committee, Mr Allan was the mandarin behind the creation of the Ministry of Justice and had been private secretary to both John Major and Tony Blair.
A government source said he was "so high-profile that he would be a very unlikely target for attack. He is a civil servant and he doesn't have enemies. There is no reason for him to be targeted by anyone."
His job involves analysis of MI6, US and GCHQ data rather than intelligence-gathering.
During the Cold War the JIC updated ministers on Soviet military capabilities.
In 2003, under the chairmanship of John Scarlett, it briefed the Cabinet on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Shortly after his appointment to the intelligence committee, Mr Allan's wife, Katie Clemson, a well-known Australian sailor and artist, died of cancer.
Last year he was criticised for publishing personal details on his website that showed him to be far removed from the traditional image of a grey civil servant. He is a follower of American rock group The Grateful Dead and a keen windsurfer and cyclist.
Educated at Harrow, Mr Allan has degrees in maths from Cambridge and in statistics from University College, London. He joined HM Customs and Excise in 1973 and worked his way through the civil service, holding a number of senior posts.
Cloak & Dagger stuff?
