Prime, Geoffrey Arthur

(1938– )

   A major penetration of the British signals intelligence establishment, Prime volunteered to the KGB in 1968 while serving in Berlin. Prime was a tragic misfit who lived a triple life as a sexual deviant, a British signals intelligence officer, and a KGB agent. He volunteered to work for the Soviet Union for ideological reasons, and he was paid relatively little for the information he provided Soviet intelligence. Prime was uncovered in 1983 during an investigation of his sexual assault on young women. Though he had broken with Soviet intelligence, he had kept clandestine communications gear. He also had the names of 2,287 young women he had targeted. He was sentenced to 38 years imprisonment: 35 years for espionage and three years for his sexual activities.