Enigma suspect pleads guilty

The Enigma machine was one of only three left

A former antiques dealer has pleaded guilty to handling a stolen World War II Enigma encoding machine.

Dennis Yates, 58, of No Man's Lane, Sandiacre, Nottinghamshire, admitted handling the £100,000 machine between 31 March 2000 and 19 November 2000.

The Second World War memorabilia dealer was due to stand trial at Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday, but changed his plea.

A separate charge, of blackmailing Christine Large, the director of Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, where the Abwehr Enigma G312 machine was kept, was ordered to lie on file.

The encoding machine was stolen from a display cabinet at Bletchley Park - codenamed Station X - on 1 April last year during an open day at the former top secret site.

Following months of ransom demands, the machine, one of only three left in the world, was returned to BBC Two's Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman.