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9 The question has been asked whether tho asso.iation of these two efficars with each other did net give rise te suspicion, The fact is that althcuch we have since learned ‘thet Maclean and Burgess were acquainted during the unier- graduate days at Cambridre, they gave no evidence during the course of the career in the Foreirn Service of any asscciation other than would be nermal between twe colieagues, When Burgess was appointed te the Foredgn Cffice, Maclean was in Tae hin tras wi «at +¢#h +4 Tt "4 WOOMaGe VOT AMA GL CAS Vis DUPreoss himself was appointed to Washington, Maclean was back in the United Kingdom awaiting _assignnent tc the American Deyartment of the Foreign office, It is now clear that they were in communicaticn with each other after the return cf Burress from Washington in 1951 and they may have been in such ccmmunicaticn earlier, Their ee! mee oe a ee ee a ee . 1 P6sations Were, nowever, NGver Such as wo cause TCOMATEA. fet 10, In January 1949, the security authorities received a report that certain Foreign Office infermaticn had leaked to the Soviet authcrities #some years earlicr. Tke report ancunted to little mere than a hint asd it was at the time impcssible to attribute the leak te any particular iniividual, Higny secret but widespread and mretractcd enquiries were begun by the security eauthcritics ami the field cf suspicion had been narrowed by mid~Arril 1951 tc twe or three persons. By the ‘bopinning of May, Maclean head creme to be regarded as the ‘principal suspect. Theres was, however, even at that time, no logaliy admissible evidence tc stipport a prosecubion unier . the Official Secrets acts, arrangements were mide te ensura ° that infermtion cf excepticnal secrecy and importance should not come into his hamis. In ths meantine, the security authorities arranged tc investigate his netivities ami erntacts in’ order te increase their backzroum kncwleige and if possible to obtain information which er aid be used as evidence in a rresecuticn., On May 25 the then Seerctary of State, itr, Herbert; Horrison, sancticned a proposal thot the security authcrities should question Maclean. In reaching this decision it had to be borne in sird that such questioning might produce no canfesston cr voluntary statement from Maclean sufficient to support a prosecuticn, but might serve only to alert him and tos reveal the nature and the extent of the suspicion against him, In that event he would have been free tc make arrangements to leave the country and the authoritics wowdld have dad no legal power to stcp Him. Everything therefore deyended on the inter~ view and the security authsrities were anxicus to be as fully prepared as was humanly possible. Thay wera aise anxious tnat - Maclean's house at Tatsfield, Kent, shculd be Searched and this _was an additicnal reason for delaying the proposed interview until mid-June when Mrs. Meclean whe was then pregnant was ‘axpected to be away from home. ii, It is now clear that in spite of the precautions taken” by the authorities, Maclean must have beecme aware, at some tine before his disappearanec, thit he was under investization. One explanation may be that he octserved that he wos no longer recoiv- ing certain types cf sceret popers, It is alse pessible thit he detected that he was urmler ochservaticn. Or he nay have been warned, Scarching erquirjus involving imiividual interrcegntions Wore mide into this last pessibility. Insufficient evidence was obtainable to form a definite conclusion or tc warrant presecubicn. f 12,0 ee og