Son of ennobled newspaper magnate Samuel ("Sambo") Westerby, who died leaving little wealth,[3][4] Westerby, a former cricketer and international sports journalist, is an "occasional" asset of British intelligence ("the Circus"). He was initially recruited by George Smiley, for whom he holds great respect. In Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he is approached by Smiley regarding information concerning the betrayal of Jim Prideaux on an assignment in Czechoslovakia. In The Honourable Schoolboy, Westerby is recalled from his semi-retirement in Italy and despatched to Hong Kong, in an effort to flush out a deep-cover Soviet spy in China.
^John Le Carre and the Cold War, Toby Manning, Bloomsbury, 2018, p. 141
^Corridors of Deceit: The World of John le Carré, Peter Wolfe, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987, p. 225
^Understanding John Le Carré, John L. Cobbs, p. 130
^“No-Men in this No-Man’s Land”: British State, Nation and Political Enemy in John le Carre’s 1960s and 1970s Cold-War Novels, Toby Manning, 2015, p. 185