A CONTROVERSIAL book by a former MI5 spy which was banned by the UK Government has vanished from a Clydebank library.

Peter Wright’s Spycatcher memoir, published in 1987, was outlawed under the Official Secrets Act as it contained highly sensitive information about the operations of a senior spook.

A loophole in legislation, however, allowed the book to be stocked as long as it was free of charge.

The disputed autobiography made its way to the Dumbarton Road venue’s book collection but has been missing for nearly 10 years.

West Dunbartonshire librarian Alison Crawford said: “The only copy appearing on our catalogue seems to have been in Clydebank library but it was marked as lost in 2013, so we haven’t had the book in one of our libraries since then.

“A member of staff does remember a copy of the book being in Dumbarton library around 1988, but nobody knows what happened to it from that point.”

The book expert has hailed the story as “fascinating” and checked with the local history and reference librarian for further details.

She added: “She couldn’t find anything in the local history collection about the book itself or about a donation of a copy of the book.”

The book was eventually cleared for legitimate publication in the UK after it was acknowledged that its publication overseas meant it contained no secrets.

Mr Wright died in 1995, having made millions from sales of the book.