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Cambridge Five Spy Ring — Part 14
Page 82
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om
rd -
The only representatiye of any newspaper in the world invited to the disclosur
meeting was Richard
ughes, The Sunday. Times representative in Mosco
- The others present wer Reuter’s Moscow correspondent and two Soviet corre-
‘spondents.
In their statement, they said that they had been ‘in Russia since leaving Bri in
and were living in Moscow, Maclean with his wife and children—who vanished frbm
Switzerland in1953. Neither would say whether he was |
7
- working for the Soviet Foreign Ministry.
+
Burgess the Dominant Partner
By RICHARD’ HUGHES,
Representative of The Sunday Times in Moscow
PINONIGUIT if Room
00 ant af the
“LT souare’ in noom
AVA UL
Be 10
Square and the Kremlin, I met and talked with Dona d
Maclean and Guy Burgess, the missing British diplomats.
They handed me a copy of [a
sthtement which they said they
wished to make to the Press In mat
The only other persons present
re the representatives of Reuters,
of the Communist Party news-
paper “Pravda” and the offictal
‘Soviet news agency Tass.
The interview lasted about five
minutes. Burgess and Maclean said
that they had been in the Soviet Union
ever since they left Britain and that
they lived in Moscow. Maclean added
that his American’ wife Melinda and
his two -thildren, who disappeared”
from Switzerland in 1953, were with
I arrived jate and reluctant at Room
101, which is om the first floor of the
hotel, | had been summoned by a strange
voice speakigg poor English when I was-
packing ta rgturn to London on Monday.
‘I had t that it was merely an
invitation t& have a farewell drink with
the hotel manager.
“entered the room, where northal
television is shown to guests, and fou
five men seated around a white-cloth
table surrounded by late Victorian bric-§-
/brac, golden clocks and antimac: .
under an ornate chandelier.
e-
ee
tr. man
MOSCOW, Saturday.
st averianiving Réd
tel National, OUVELIOUALI Iv
I looked around mystified. A tall
th a bive suit and red bow tie stood >.
“ft am Donald Maclean,” he said. |
“1 am Guy Burgess,”, ssid a sho’ |
an in a blue suit and blue-and-w
striped tie.
“Gentlemen,” I sald, “this is the
end of the long trail”
They laughed and sat down to face me
and Sydney Weiland, the Reuter repre-
sentative, and two Russians representing
Tass and “ Pravda.” ©
MACT RAN
MA AERALY L(bi4
TO SIT
There was some ¢butious sparring and
forced laughter ATound the ble, while,
Burgess, ‘whg/seemed to me to we
e spokesman for
couple, oped havcisome leather brief- ,
an Hroduced “exactly i gmeticu: |
ned co
fous 1,000 words
Burgess and
A) and carefully
ree-page document
ed * Statement by G.!
_Q} Maclean,”
n response to our questions,
* who was. affable and smiling, insis¢ed
thkt they could say nothing ana wispea
weet nothing that was not included in
_ the text ¢ of the’ statement.
Burgess,
insisfed
ogee TE OT
ole Fem ON ay gt a ON
i,
ee
/
To obvious questions about the dhitaren,
aclean replied that everything was ex-
lained In the statement. To questiéns
bout whether they were empioyedjin . -
‘oscow as advisers to the Soviet Fore
ffige Burgess, who, I cannot emphasise
too strongly, was the relaxed spokes fey
fae hath the slelarpete eon lia. 2
CALEA GED ULL, replied Taaiy .
“You won't find me by sitting outside
the Forelgn Office.” He added: “ The fact
is I don't want to have correspondents
trying to follow me around.”
Maclean seemed content to sit back, °
pur a cigarette and Hsten to Burgess
ao etie
“You Aren't Playing ~ Fair”
‘A estatement was made ‘by one
journalist present: “You aren't playing
fair with us in not giving us an oppor-
tunity to read the statement and then
ask questions before you leave."
Burgess laughed. “Now don't try to
tell me that,” he said, with a side glance
at Maclean, who joined in the laugh, “TI
have given out too many statements to
the Press in my.time not to know what
I have given you fellows. We just don't
intend to add to our statement."
i was itching to leave when it was ciear
that Burgess had no intention of adding
to the statement—-I repeat that, looking
back In retrospect as I frantically type
this message, My main impression of &
rushed, improbable meeting is. the com-
plele dominance by Burgess of the inter-
view. He was the one who carried the
stalements.. He was the one who handed
them out as soon as 1, the last arfival,
had seated myself at the table. Helwas
he one who replied to questions, Repwas
he one who quipped, fested and in¥ted
aclean, leaning back on his Weft
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