A man whose body was found in a bag at the home of a missing MI6 worker in central London may have been murdered two weeks ago, police believe.
The discovery was made in a top-floor flat at Alderney Street, Pimlico, on Monday afternoon.
Police broke into the property after his work colleagues said he had not been seen "for some time".
A government spokesman said it could not confirm or deny whether individuals worked for the intelligence agencies.
Officers discovered a mobile phone and several mobile phone SIM cards laid out at the flat.
Police have not yet been able to to identify the body but said the murdered man was white and aged in his 30s.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the man had yet to be formally identified and a post-mortem examination would take place later to determine the cause and time of death.
He said investigators were following up "several lines of inquiry" but declined to confirm the victim's occupation.
Eileen Booth, 73, who lives opposite, said detectives told her the murder may have taken place two weeks ago.
She said: "A few years ago, I would definitely have known who it was that had been killed. But nobody knows each other these days."
Rob Mills, 35, who lives two doors away, said the discovery was "shocking".
"I'm told the man lived at the top-floor flat but we haven't ever seen him," Mr Mills said.
"It's not like you'd tell your neighbours if you were a spy."
'Bankers and politicians'
Another resident said the neighbourhood was a "very mixed area of bankers and politicians".
A spokesman for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which is handling press inquiries for MI6, said: "This is a police matter.
"It is long-standing Her Majesty's Government policy not to confirm or deny any individual working for the intelligence agencies."
The headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) is just a few hundred yards from the flat in Vauxhall Cross.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11084086...
Can we napalm it? Pretty please?
