John Daniel

And so Aldrich Ames is able to pass that on to the KGB.

Which brings us to this little nugget which so surprised me.

He did another operation of Jamie's too.

He blew.

Did he?

So remember, this is Jamie Mercer, not his real name, the guy who was my mother's boss on the Russia desk at the SIS, who I knew as a kid, and who specialised in recruitment.

Yeah, that's my understanding.

I didn't see it myself.

But if Aldrich Ames, a CIA traitor, is able to blow one of his operations, it might well have been the one that earned him that Christmas card every year.

In any case, it is pretty interesting, but given all we've heard, perhaps not that surprising, that Ames seems to have had access to details of an operation that involved New Zealand's SIS.

Now, the story remains sensitive.

Kip Bennett doesn't want to talk to us about this because he says it's not his story to tell.

And while it wouldn't be news to any of the intelligence services involved, the people themselves are civilians and they wouldn't want their story out there.

This is a job where manipulation and deception and a certain amount of cynicism all go with the territory.

But it doesn't necessarily mean there's a moral equivalence between the two sides.

From Bird of Paradise Productions and RNZ, this is The Agency.

I'm John Daniel.

You expect the opposition to be acting against you.

But if your own people do it, the blow is that much harder.

Not just because they've had access to your secrets, but also because it spreads fear and mistrust.