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‘a oa Meee i"a@ bit puzzled” by the reply. “If Lord . “Rpading maintains that it is strictly acer. 1age to Say that Mr Maclean performed ‘Jis - ofic‘al duties satisfactorily up to the ddte of his disappearance—we know now that . Was: Under grave suspicion and s being watched as a suspected Spy apart from his other record—~the public, which does not’ understand these niceties,: is bound to ask whether there may not be other officials who are ilely oat their official duties in a similarly satisfactory manner. ; — } . » DLerd. Reading said that when {fn his original statement. he said Maclean had discharged his official duties satisfactorily that. it referred, in the context, to his appointment as head of the Americay . Department and the duties he hed been called upon to carry out, “In tact, a very experienced under-secretary who er vised the department was watching him with special closeness towards the end of the time before his disappearance, just to see Whether there was anything which indi- cated that Mr Maclean was not performing his duties satisfactorily at that mome and he came to the conclusion that the as nothing to which exeeption could ken. Lord Jowitt. Leader of the Oppositign ers: If it was known at the time thit. fis man was under suspicion at the dale oI his’ disappearance. would it not have - -been better to say sa Untesg public interest demanded that it should be kept quiet 7 .. Lord Reading: I knew at he time I 3 made the answer—of course I did, there is ne question of the department holding - anything back from me at any time-—that Mr Maclean had been under investigation. - Tt. was not relevant to the question asked. I wag satisfed at the time. while investi- gations were still proceeding, that it was not in the public Interest to disclose more than I actually disclosed. I-am still -satished that is the case. .. ; Lard Vansittart asked if it was now realised that “some of us who have given qur lives io this great service are pro- ‘foundly sad at heart that it has been ; sullied by the retention of a_notorigus drunk after his exploits in Cairo were known, and how hotly I repudiate the . aspersions .that in some quarters have been thrown on the service as a whold” ? Lord Astor asked if there would be an - oweun, pportunity of debating the White Paper, - Lord Reading said if the House wanted . debate the vernient was perfectly pppfenared to have one. | ee a F a a .