The spy left out in the cold

Victor Makarov fell in love with Britain

"We are taught, if you give a promise you must be able to fulfil it, otherwise, make no promises."

Former Russian spy Victor Makarov understands too well the consequences of unfulfilled promises.

He risked his life for Britain, a country he had never visited but had fallen in love with, by passing secrets at the height of the Cold War.

But ten years after he finally made it to London, his fight to enjoy the benefits of life as a regular British citizen have been denied.

Victor Makarov in his KGB days

As an idealistic 20-year-old, Victor joined the KGB where he rubbed shoulders with Vladimir Putin, now Russian president and translated messages from Western embassies intercepted by the Soviets.

"Diplomatic correspondence is the holiest of holies," he told Inside Out.

"We often knew the opinion of the ambassador, the foreign minister, even the Heads Of State. All the Western foreign policy was on our tables."

But he became increasingly disillusioned with the Soviet Union and used to flick through an old AA road atlas, dreaming of defecting to Britain.

By the mid 1980s he was passing secrets to Britain, risking execution if caught.

But he in turn was betrayed by a friend, arrested and spent five back-breaking years in a Russian prison camp.

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

David Kahn, author

When he was released in 1992, one of the last ten political prisoners held in the Soviet Union, he contacted the British authorities.

He met an MI6 agent in Latvia who provided him with a passport and said he would be given the chance to live as a normal British citizen.

Ten years later he is still waiting.

He arrived in London, worshipped at a church in Stoke Newington, but has had to live in bedsits and cope with deteriorating health.

Defector status

Last year he took legal action against the Government and now has enough money to live modestly in the north.

But he has never been granted full defector status, nor has he been allowed a pension.

New York author David Kahn leading authority on codebreaking, said he believed and trusted Victor Makarov and rather liked him.

He said: "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."

Inside Out is on BBC One at 1930 BST on Monday.