“It’s no surprise to me” – says historian on revelation that Oxford academic was Czechoslovak spy

Dr Jirina Stone, a Czech émigré who became an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford was a secret informer for the Czechoslovak communist intelligence service, according to a story recently published in the Daily Mail by its investigations team. It is not the first time that a prominent individual in the West has been hit by such a revelation. According to Dr Jan Koura from the Cold War Research Group at Charles University, who specialises in Czech intelligence activity during the communist era, it is not likely to be the last.