Ruling today on spy book profits

London - The House of Lords will decide today whether one of Britain's most notorious Cold War spies should be paid £90,000 for…

London - The House of Lords will decide today whether one of Britain's most notorious Cold War spies should be paid £90,000 for the publication of his autobiography.

George Blake (76) was a British secret agent from 1944 until 1961, when he was jailed for 42 years after pleading guilty to spying. He escaped from prison in London in 1966 and fled to Russia, where he has lived since then.

The House of Lords is to decide whether to overturn an earlier ruling blocking the former spy from receiving the profits from the sale of No Other Choice, which he wrote in 1990, and which covers his career with MI6.