Bond writer ‘framed the last witch in Britain

Witchcraft – Bond writer ‘framed the last witch in Britain’  Annotated

A HOUSEWIFE from Dundee who became the last woman to be jailed in Britain for witchcraft was framed by a team of British intelligence officers who worked with or for James Bond creator Ian Fleming, according to new research.

Robert Hartley claims fresh research into the trial documents – released to the National Archive – points to a state conspiracy to crack down on security leaks ahead of D-Day.

Helen Duncan, the woman hailed as "Britain’s last witch", was convicted in 1944 at the Old Bailey as an example to others.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Duncan, a mother of six, was a celebrated medium performing seances for the wives and widows left at home during the war.

Her technique was to go into a trance and produce ectoplasm through her mouth and nose which would form human shape and speak.

However, on 19 January, 1944, during a sitting in Portsmouth, Duncan conjured up a sailor from HMS Barham to talk to his surprised mother – who didn’t know he was dead. The sinking of HMS Barham had been kept a secret by the navy for three months for operational reasons.

Fears that Duncan could be a spy led to an investigation by MI5 and Naval Intelligence who were alarmed by her access to secret information.

Only months before D-Day, Duncan was arrested and put on trial at the Old Bailey accused of contravening the Witchcraft Act of 1735.