A set of papers belonging to the UK’s most famous codebreaker failed to sell at auction, despite a last-minute bid by technology giant Google to save them from foreign hands.

Reprints of documents belonging to Alan Turing, who worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, went on sale at Christie’s in London yesterday, with an asking price of up to half a million pounds.

The sale was eagerly followed by supporters of Turing’s work, led by IT journalist Gareth Halfacree, who launched a campaign to stop the papers from being sold to a foreign collector amid fears that they might be moved out of the country if they were not bought by a British buyer.

Technology firm Google added its support to the campaign earlier today, donating $100,000 (£62,700) to Halfacree’s effort to buy the papers for permanent display in a Bletchley Park museum.

But the papers failed to find a buyer when they went under the hammer at 2pm, falling short of the auction house’s asking price of between £300,000 and £500,000.

BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said the final bid for the lot was £240,000.

Christie’s confirmed that Turing’s papers did not sell, saying that the collection would either be returned to the seller or sold at an after-sale.

“It depends on the agreement between Christie’s and the seller,” a spokesman for the auction house added.

Google’s involvement in the sale came after Sue Black, a computer scientist at University College London and a campaigner for Bletchley Park, asked for the firm’s support.

Google said in a statement: “Dr Turing is a hero to many of us at Google for his pioneering work on algorithms and the development of computer science.

“He’s also an important figure for many across the world who face homophobic attacks and bullying.”

Turing was prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952 after he was discovered having a sexual relationship with a man.

The scientist, credited as a pioneer of the modern computer, committed suicide two years later by biting into an apple which may have been laced with cyanide.

Dr Black and Mr Halfacree raised just over £83,000 for the sale, receiving donations from members of the public through an online campaign site.

Dr Black said: “These papers belong at Bletchley Park, home of the codebreakers, where these two codebreakers worked side by side, helping to save millions of lives during World War II.”

Mr Halfacree said he was waiting to hear from Christie’s what would happen with the lot, but confirmed that all the money raised would go to Bletchley Park Trust, whether the papers were sold or not.

Turing gave the papers to friend and fellow codebreaker professor Max Newman, along with a set of 15 offprints, before his death in 1954.

This was the first time his material had been auctioned in 35 years, and Christie’s said the collection was “unparalleled” and “unlikely to be repeated”.

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