Anthony Blunt. Though not the most active spy in the Cambridge ring, Anthony Blunt (1907¡¦983) aided Soviet agents' recruitment efforts at Cambridge. Blunt supplied the names of possible moles, and regularly attended communist political meetings in search of young recruits.

Blunt received degrees in history and art history from Cambridge. At the outbreak of World War II, Blunt went to work for British Intelligence. Blunt lacked the high-level security clearances possessed by other Cambridge spy ring members, however he was successful in smuggling photographs of documents regarding British troop locations and counterintelligence reports to his KGB contact, Yuri Modin. Blunt also provided information to Soviet military intelligence regarding British code breaking efforts against the Germans. After the war, he cultivated a reputation as a leading national academic. Socially, he often refused to comment on national and international political matters, leading colleagues to believe he had grown disillusioned and possessed little interest in the subject.

Though Blunt did conduct espionage for the Soviets after World War II, a majority of his operations was conducted during wartime. He was the first member of the Cambridge spy ring to retire from service, returning to his career as an art historian and museum curator, and the only member to remain in Britain.

In 1964, an American, Michael Straight, who had attended Cambridge with Blunt told FBI and MI-5 agents that Blunt had tried to recruit him to spy for the Soviet Union. After being exposed as a member of the Cambridge spy ring, Blunt provided MI-5 and MI-6 with some information regarding his past operations and associates, most of whom had by 1964 died or defected to Russia and were out of reach of British prosecutors. In exchange, Blunt was not tried for his offenses. He continued his career in art history, managing the Courtauld Collection until his retirement. His career as a spy for the Soviet Union was exposed to the public by the government officials under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979. He was stripped of his knighthood and academic honors. By the time of his exposure, the public was already well acquainted with the stories of agents Maclean, Burgess, and Philby. Blunt was then presumed to be the final member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring.