MI6 officer last seen eight days before his body found

The last confirmed sighting of the MI6 officer found murdered in his London home was eight days before his body was discovered, police said last night.

Gareth Williams, a GCHQ codes expert on secondment to MI6, is last known to have been alive on Sunday 15 August in London.

His family released a statement paying tribute to him as "a generous, loving son, brother, and friend". It added: "His loss has devastated us and we would ask that anyone with information to come forward."

Earlier, William Hughes, a cousin, had said the family were deeply upset at "untruths" suggesting bondage equipment had been found in the dead man's flat and that he was linked to a male escort.