An article about the death of double agent George Blake referred to the 1991 trial at the Old Bailey of Michael Randle, who was charged with helping Blake in his escape from prison. However, the piece incorrectly said that Randle’s wife, Anne, faced trial alongside him; in fact, Randle was tried with his friend Pat Pottle. Both men were acquitted. We apologise for the error (“A traitor to Britain, a hero to Russia? Soviet spy George Blake dies in exile”, 27 December, page 14). The same piece said that Blake betrayed dozens of agents who were subsequently “captured, tortured and murdered”; we should have been clearer that he may have exposed the names of a far greater number – Blake himself said it was hundreds – and the precise fate of the dozens feared arrested or killed has not been substantiated.
Other recently amended articles include:
The chateau’s shut: will a yurt do? Staycations keep millions at home
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