Sir Peter Smithers, the man who inspired the James Bond books and who has died at the age of 92, was not only a spy but a politician, a barrister, a diplomat who headed the Council of Europe – and one of the 20th century’s great gardeners.

His wartime exploits in naval intelligence alongside Commander Ian Fleming, later author of the Bond titles, helped provide the model for 007. Smithers organised the last-minute escape of British refugees as the Nazis advanced through France; he captured German spies landing in England and later, as a tall, charming, upper-crust naval attaché, he spread disinformation in the diplomatic set in wartime Washington.