George Blake, who spied for the Soviet Union, won a human rights claim against the British government yesterday, 40 years after he escaped from prison in London and fled to Moscow.

Britain was ordered by judges in Strasbourg to pay the 84-year-old Mr. Blake $6,345 in damages and $2,538 in costs for breaching his right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time. It took the European Court of Human Rights five years and eight months to decide his case.

Mr. Blake, a double agent, had complained that legal action brought by the attorney general in the English courts in to stop him profiting from his autobiography had taken more than nine years to resolve. The law lords ruled against Mr. Blake in July 2000, and his publisher later donated $170,461 in outstanding royalties on his autobiography to Save the Children. That ruling is unaffected by yesterday’s decision.

Mr. Blake, born in the Netherlands, was a member of the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, between 1944 and 1961. Around 1951, he also became an agent for the Soviet Union and disclosed secret information to the Soviet authorities. He was arrested in 1960. The following year he pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawfully communicating information contrary to the Official Secrets Act.

Sentenced to 42 years’ imprisonment, he served five years before escaping from Wormwood Scrubs prison in London with the aid of sympathizers. He fled to Russia, where he has remained.

In 1989, Mr. Blake wrote his autobiography, “No Other Choice.” Substantial parts were based on information he acquired as an MI6 officer. Legal action to stop him profiting from his breach of confidence was launched in May 1991.

Yesterday, seven judges ruled that the government had not pursued the royalties case against Mr. Blake with the diligence required by the Human Rights Convention.