Terézia Javorská accused of being a former ŠtB agent

The Daily Mail has published an article alleging that Terézia Javorská, the former head of the Slovak editorial department at BBC World Service, acted as a Czechoslovak secret police (ŠtB) agent under the codename ‘Vora’. The report, which characterizes the case as the only provable instance of a communist agent working within the BBC, includes views from former subordinates who described her as a nationalist with pro-Mečiar views.

Javorská, a prominent Slovak journalist during the Cold War, emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1969 after being sentenced for leaving Czechoslovakia without permission. She worked for the BBC World Service starting in 1976 and became the head of the Slovak editorial team in 1982.

Due to a severe car accident in 2021 that resulted in serious health consequences, Javorská has been unable to respond to the allegations. The claims have been picked up by various Slovak and Czech media outlets.