The Irishman who sprang a Russian spy from jail – and got very little thanks for it

George Blake was said to have been responsible for the deaths of 42 British agents – but Sean Bourke helped him escape to Moscow where he lived out the rest of his days.

Escape plan: Sean Bourke died penniless and in the throes of alcoholism in his native Limerick. He met George Blake when they shared a prison cell in Wormwood Scrubs

David Blake Knox

The recent death of the notorious Soviet spy George Blake has reminded me of a documentary film I made many years ago with Sean Bourke, the Irish man who was responsible for springing Blake from prison.

Bourke had been befriended by Blake when they shared a cell in Wormwood Scrubs. Blake had been a high-ranking officer in MI6 and the information that he passed on to his Soviet handlers had resulted in the deaths of many British agents in Eastern Europe.