Soviet double agent on hunger strike in London

A former Soviet spy and double agent for Britain's foreign intelligence service wants England to grant him a civil service pension and defector status for his years of service during the Cold War period.

Victor Makarov, who escaped to London after his release from a Soviet prison camp in 1992, has been on a 56-day hunger strike to convince the public and government officials of his dire straits.

He claims British bureaucrats have turned their backs on his calls for financial assistance and medical aid needed to deal with the trauma and depression he's suffered.

Makarov, 50, who's camped himself on the pavement near Downing Street, says the British government has failed to deliver on its promises to him.

In 2001, Makarov won a 65,000-pound suit against the British government, which went towards the purchase of a house. Not sufficient, said Makarov, given that his skills as an intelligence officer haven't generated many employment offers.

Makarov's case has won some sympathizers, including David Kahn, a leading historian of cryptology.

"I believe the government of the United Kingdom ... took the information that Victor Makarov had, wrung him dry and left him to hang out in the cold," says Kahn.

Less sympathetic is KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky, who has little patience for Makarov's complaints.

"The British state is not a fat cow. You can't come to this country and demand money saying, I'm a KGB defector. Give me money every month. It's impossible," says Gordievsky, who defected to England in 1985.

Should his demands not be met, Makarov will not feel bitter or regret his escape from Russia.

"[England's] a beautiful country. I love its people. Who are the people who are treating me badly? It's a handful of bureaucrats from the establishment. And they are already ashamed," says Makarov.

Makarov, who joined the KGB in the 1970s, was an expert code-breaker who eventually rose to the rank of senior lieutenant.

He began spying for the MI6 at the urging of his English teacher, and continued until a friend turned him in.

Makarov spent five years at a Soviet gulag near the Arctic Circle before his release in 1992. Within a week of his release, Makarov was making arrangements with British agents to escape to London.