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at all hours to work up a speed. They said you have to work up more speed than I had – about sixty.’
    Having covered the matter of the radio transmitter, they then moved on to Owens’ curious approach to the British Union of Fascists and, once again, Owens had an answer ready for the inspector.
    ‘You mentioned the BUF?’
    ‘I was rather interested in joining the BUF, which I did.’
    ‘Did you join the BUF at the request of Hamburg?’ asked Hinchley-Cooke.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Well, did they tell you why?’
    ‘They were always interested to know things in England as regards the fascist organisation and it was possible to get a lot of information regarding the Communists because they have men in Communist organisations.’
    Owens next went on to claim that the Germans employed a special method of bringing small documents across borders. Hinchley-Cooke asked if this was ‘the old capsule?’ but Owens said that this was not how the Germans did it, and neither did they write with invisible ink or use rice paper which could be swallowed. The German method involved writing ordinary ink on material that was similar to cigarette paper which went hard when folded up and could be put in the mouth. It was quite possible to talk with it in the mouth and could be swallowed if anyone became suspicious. Owens was also questioned about the use of cameras, and he explained that he had not been given one, as it was too easy to get caught using one. He claimed that the only time he did use one, he was sent to a reserve aerodrome which was little more than a field. An aircraft had crashed in the field recently so he photographed that. He had been told that there was another agent who would do any photography required.
    Owens tried to raise the stakes: ‘… you understand that I am trying to work with you people and that my life is not worth two hoots if there is any slip made?’ He proceeded to explain how the code worked and the meeting concluded with what was in effect an acceptance on the part of Hinchley-Cooke that Owens would carry on in the way he had been working with the Germans.
    ‘Just carry on in the way you intended to,’ instructed Hinchley-Cooke.
    ‘It might be possible to get information regarding this transmitter.’
    ‘Well, you might be able to collect your transmitter?’
    ‘Well, that is a bit dangerous. There is a terrific lot of stuff coming in. If you let me carry on, I shall bring this vital information regarding the towns to be bombed. I am just wondering whether I had better leave at the beginning of the week.’
    Here the interview ended, no doubt leaving MI5 perplexed about Owens’ disclosures. He had admitted collecting information about RAF airfields, and was holding out the prospect of gaining access to a German wireless transmitter and some secret codes. By any standards, these were tempting prizes, but could the Welshman be relied upon? The other concern, perhaps the most significant of all, was the political dimension. With Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain convinced he had reached a settlement with Adolf Hitler, the government believed ‘peace in our time’ had been achieved. But if Owens’ account was accurate, the Germans were on the brink of some majoroffensive involving an airborne attack on specific towns and selected RAF airfields. If his version was true, the implications were momentous indeed.
    Only a few days later, Owens was again in contact with the police, this time with news of a leak. A Commander Kennedy, who worked for a camera company in London, had approached the Security Service with information about a German who was due to come over on technical work from Dusseldorf . Owens told the police the information given to the Security Service by Kennedy was now known in Germany, and moreover he said that the Germans were also in possession of a report on recent naval manoeuvres, and knew about a new method of artillery attack known as the ‘Skip Method’, where one