KGB’s Misinformation Campaign Against Margaret Thatcher Exposed

On 31 December 2023, the Daily Mail reported that the KGB orchestrated a misinformation campaign against then-UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, utilizing Cynthia Roberts, a former researcher for Tony Benn. Roberts, also a failed Labour candidate, was a KGB recruit. The campaign’s centerpiece was a pamphlet, falsely attributed to a made-up working-class woman named Gwendolene Stuart, who was portrayed as disillusioned by Thatcher’s policies. This fraudulent document, released ahead of the 1987 general election, depicted Thatcher as a corrupt and warmongering figure, betraying her gender and country. Codenamed Agent Hammer, Roberts fled to Prague in 1985 but returned to the UK for this propaganda effort. Although the campaign didn’t achieve its intended impact, it marked a significant effort by the KGB to influence British politics. Roberts, later unmasked as a spy, continued living in Prague post-Communism and passed away in 2020.