Cold War Spy Secrets Revealed: SIS And MI6 Raided Czech Embassy In Wellington

Monday, 8 June 2020, 8:03 am
Press Release: RNZ

A new five-part RNZ podcast series, The Service, launched today, reveals that New Zealand’s security intelligence agency, the SIS, carried out multiple clandestine raids, breaking into foreign embassies in Wellington in the latter part of the 1980s, in breach of the Vienna convention.

The story has been brought to light by Wellington writer and documentary maker John Daniell, whose mother and step-father both worked for the SIS.

Nearly 40 years on, in Episode 1 of The Service, John and RNZ investigative journalist, Guyon Espiner, try to discover the truth behind a story John’s step-dad told him before he died; a story of a joint SIS/MI6 raid on the Czechoslovakian embassy in Wellington to steal secret codes.

Only a handful of people knew about the operation, which has been one of New Zealand’s most closely-guarded security secrets of the Cold War.

The Service is presented and produced by RNZ investigative reporter Guyon Espiner and writer and documentary maker John Daniell.

Episode 1 of The Service is released Monday 8 th June: rnz.co.nz/theservice.

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