Secret weapon that helped him get away with murder

JACK HEWIT — known as ‘Mop’ — was for 14 years Burgess’s manservant, dogsbody and on- off lover. A dancer, he was in the chorus line of the musical show No, No, Nanette when they first met.

Hewit was from a working-class background, which appealed to Burgess’s socialist pretensions.

This predilection was confirmed by his Soviet handler, who wrote: ‘Burgess found lovers in every social category but he had a strong preference for lorry drivers and other working men, whom he habitually paid for sex.

‘He liked their company and would cross-examine them mercilessly about how they were coping in the difficult circumstances of the Depression.’

Or as Hewit put it about his own treatment by Burgess: ‘He wore me like a badge.’

Eventually he moved into Burgess’s flat and cooked and cleaned for

him, as well as providing other services. But having a regular partner at home did not curtail Burgess’s sexual exploits.

Hewit said: ‘He was the most promiscuous person who ever lived. He used to say anyone will do, from 17 to 75.’

Burgess had no inhibitions when it came to sex. He liked it squalid, and was gross and even brutal in his treatment of his lovers. Yet he usually managed to retain their affection and friendship long after the affair was over.

One element to his success in bed, apparently, was his ‘equipment’, which was acknowledged by those who saw it to be ‘gargantuan’ and ‘a whopper, my dear’.

It had to be seen to be believed, according to one of his boyfriends: ‘ It was the secret weapon of his charm. Anyone so endowed could get away with murder, and he did.’