In his book "Spycatcher", Peter Wright claimed that Houghton first came to MI5's attention when a Polish mole, codenamed Sniper, reported he had information about a Russian spy in the British Navy. According to Wright, Sniper did not know the name of the spy but said that it sounded like Huiton. Sniper also obtained documents that had been sent by the spy, helping MI5 to determine who had access to the documents. The information from Sniper said the spy had been sent home from Warsaw for drunkenness, pointing to Houghton.