‘German James Bond’ spared prison sentence

An intelligence agent known as “the German James Bond” was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence yesterday for tax evasion.

Werner Mauss, known as “007” and “Institution M” in his native Germany for negotiating the release of hostages in the Middle East and Colombia, was also ordered to donate €200,000 (£178,000) to charity. Mr Mauss, 77, claimed he was working for unnamed intelligence agencies against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).