◆ SpookStack

+ 1 By CHAPMAN PINCHER WHEN Guy Bur. ¥¥ gess and Donald Maclean, the Foreign Ollice traitors, staged _their first public appearance in Mos- cow in 1956 I was -hurriedly summoned - lo see a senior official. of M.1.3, the counter- espionage organisa- tion. He told me the security authoritles were extremely perturbed because they _ feared that the two former diplomats were about to name other Forelgn Office Taen who, though they _ Tight be innocent, would he branded as Communists and homosexuals. Would 1, the M.15 man asked, Point out this danger in the Dally Express and so Teduce the credibility of anything Burgess and Maclean might say before they sald it? I agreed to help and asked the official if he had any hard evidence that elther of them had been successful) &ples. He told me there was no doubt about Maclean. but after the most searching inquiries there was no evidence whatever to incriminate Burgess. . SCARE Six years later when it - Was rumoured that Burgess and Maclean might touch down at Prestwick <Alrport en route to Communist Cuba, the police appiled for - Warrants for their arrest on - Official Secrets charges. Again I was called In by .the M.I.5 man, who admitted that the purpose of the move Was to scare the traltors off because any arrest and trial Wogld be most embarrassing, He confirmed that he stitl hag no evidence that Burgess had been any sort of Russian agent. All he could have been charged with was aiding ed ee {iount Clipping in Space Below) i eerie we ee se Maclean to escape, and it was : doubtful whether this would a me A ee a succeed in court. I disclose these facts now, when Burgess 1s dead, because of the publication today of a book*® which presents Burgess..Maclean, and Harold “Kim” Philby—the “ Third Man "—as Three Musketeers | of Soviet Intelligence. The authors assume that all three agreed to dedicate thelr lives to Soviet esplonage when they were Students and laid deliberate mA plans to penetrate the British Secret Intelligence Service. These ‘assumptions, on which the book is bullt, are not credible and are in con- flict with the way the Sovie esplonage Works. - AGENTS No doubt the three youths, who were sold on Commun- ism, Were marked down as Potential agents by Soviet talent scouts who operate in every university. talent scouts would 4b British Communists — pos- sibly even dons — reporting. ta party H.Q. in London which passes on the reports to the Soviet Embassy where . ‘they are carefully docketed. {: But at that early stage the | - Russians would be careful to keep out of the picture, [ leaving the task of super- vision, which may last years, to British Communists. The |’ Boviet spymaster, who *"* Philby.” Deutsch, 30s. is L- al PAGE TWO, COL. THREE) BY LETIER id \a¥] - PER FUiA REQUEST la ¥ These he | i y f : ‘ ' 4 uw : Title: (UIndleate page, name of newspaper, city and siete.) i r Sa / f/f pew 2/19/60 Editions Editor: [Adrian Philby Character: Erp -Fe or Classification: 6977 Submitting Office: Lond. (CJ Being Investigated 7 aT eeearetees NOT RECORDED™ 46 WAK 4 -1968 a4