Dean Godson
Michael Oatley, who has died aged 90, was one of the best-known MI6 field operators of the post-war era; his public reputation derives overwhelmingly from his role in the most high-profile of the intelligence services’ backchannels to the Provisional IRA, from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Oatley was by no means the first such backchannel – the activities of Sir Alfred (“Andy”) Cope, who talked clandestinely to Michael Collins in 1920-21 at David Lloyd George’s behest, were controversial at the time. But Oatley was the most durable practitioner of this kind of covert para-diplomacy.
This meant ending the violence – but to achieve this, Oatley was prepared to pay a very high price
Oatley also held a string of significant Cold War appointments at MI6’s old headquarters in Century House, including as Controller Middle East, Controller Counter Terrorism and finally Controller Europe, following significant postings in Africa during and after decolonisation, among them Harare in the early years of Robert Mugabe’s rule.
