Romeo Spy film story cut from Mail on Sunday

The article describing the forthcoming movie about John's life was published in early editions of the Mail on Sunday, but was then cut from the later editions. We are assured that there was nothing suspicious about this, but it is strange how such things have mysteriously occurred in the past, when journalists wanted to write stories about John. Some retired admiral would suddenly turn up waving a piece of paper called a D-Notice, and overnight the story was no longer of interest.

Of course, this is no consolation to John's army of relatives and friends who he told to go and buy the Mail on Sunday yesterday. What can we say to them when they arrive at John's door weeping and complaining that they can't find the article within the newspaper?

Well, as far as we can tell, the article is still available on-line and we will print it below to make doubly sure that no idiot up-the-Rear Admiral tries to make it vanish before everybody has had a chance to read it.

Romeo Spy story in the Mail Online

To the big screen with love, the story of the British 'Romeo Spy'

By Mail on Sunday Reporter
on 19th September 2009

The life story of a British KGB agent who claimed he seduced hundreds of women to gather state secrets for the Soviets is to be made into a film.

Romeo Spy - John Alexander Symonds

The movie will put the spotlight on MI5 and MI6, which wrongly dismissed John Symonds as a fantasist.

A script for Romeo Spy has been completed and Daniel Craig and Jude Law are said to be in the running to play the lead role.

A former Met Police detective, Symonds went on the run from Britain in 1972 after being accused of corruption.

While at large, he says he was targeted by the KGB and went on to spend eight years spying for them by seducing women in Western embassies.

Symonds returned to the UK in the Eighties and offered to turn informer against his Moscow bosses but intelligence services did not believe his story. The defection of a KGB archivist in 1992, however, confirmed his role.

Symonds, now 74, last night said he was never a traitor. 'Anyone who knows the facts will probably regard me as a patriot.'

Canada-based Prodigy Pictures said it hoped to start production soon.