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Pe a Se ~ % - - . F erm Hy . or ee -, AL ee ce haters Cay ane etal a ne - aa me a -2' rs en Pe Se ae +. ta! ea 4 tia —~".* , = renee tne a fi i’ a “ t ~~ aan ee : : a coe -* <e od WE ae 20 ee ld al ioe “4+ pe coe ye! + RS ee eee Eye BR PI Webs bee een we ® , ae ee we bese ce a rd E ot! o { : a pees ce BR Pee tm - pmere a ane RST er ee hall at gif skit. -4 — moe at 8 Loe oe eae a a a oe ee Sern ‘f. ted FG FT we - a iin hoi a oF Be. oe ee ol mee nah te : thee os a teat aenot aay ill pneeenarenn es sgt 1579" Former Foreign Office’- % NOVEMBER 1958” Offictals Disappearance fLrevr.-Cotonet Lirron] +: bs. have come to the conclusion ‘that if Burgess and Macican had not left the country all that would have happened would have been that Burgess would have been asked to resign on pain of dismissat and would probably have re-’ signed in that way. Maclean might still have been carrying on in some capacily in the Foreign Office because. up to the time of his disappearance, there was still ho evidence against him to justify pro- ceedings under the Official Secrets Act. - ; ‘When these two men disappeared, the’ first statement on the subject was made’ on Ith June, 1951, in this House, # Bugeested on that occasion that it Jooked as if perhaps their immediate dismissal might be justified’ I was told that # would be premature to come to # ¢on- clusion about it one way or the other, The House seemed to accept that, and as the White Paper reveals, one year afterwards these (wo men were suspended almost a weck after they had dis- appeared. It took a week for somebody to make up his mind that they ought to be suspended. After they had been suspended they were still kept on the Foreign Office list because a decision to terminate their appointments was sot taken until Ist June. 1952, with effect as from tsi Sune, 195), 4.0: iy That struck me ai the time as very. odd and I asked a Question about the: delay of one year and when it was finally Secided to dispense definitely and per: Manently with the services of these mea. This és the reply I received from the right hon. Gentleman who is now Minis-: : ter of State at the Foreign Office;- | “"*4t 3s because the search of them was con-: ' tinuing, Indeed, the search js still continuing. ng been absent without leave for a year, my nght bon. Friend has considered that” as a disciplinary measure their appointments should be terminated and thal they should be’ dismissed the: Service."—{OrricaL Rerosy, 2nd duly, 1952; Vol $03,.6 417) 5 o.2.+-7 In July, 1982, a year afterwards, some- body had taken the terrible decision that the time had come when the appoint-. ments of these two men should be terminated. good 2,3 Os Kariba | “¥ merely mention that because’ it is- symptomatic of the attitude, atmosphere | Or spirit which apparently prevailed in: the Foreign Office at the time, and still oe Cane ee eae gi BO Monge. ce TSE pte eet ae 15807. prevalls.” Asa matter of fact, I wal do | flabbergasted and breathless at that reply> ©. that I was unable to ask another Question about the subject for eightcen months," ° '" On 25th January, 1954, I decided to; take the plunge again. I asked the right hon, Gentleman who is now the Minister. of Supply what was going on, and he said that investigations were continuing, : no deiailed account of their nature could’ but: ° be given without préjudicing the chance ~. of their success’ I was then told, ‘jn another blinding revelation of the ob- — vious, that if I presumed that these two men were behind the fron Curtain L should probably be right. 11 will be noted : that even then the right hon. Gentleman: was not committing himself to anything. + Anyhow, I waited another year.’ On! 31st January, 1955, I asked the Secretary: of State for Foreign AfMiairs what was! going on. - The right hon. Gentleman who. ts now the Minister of State replied that’ he bad no statement to make at that® moment —this is che iNuminating sentence / —the reason being that he would not wish: to make a statement based on inadequate’ be ey net pree information and insufficient researches: : seeing that the investigation was sill. being pursed, f177 "22:44 fino cens sede So atthe beginning of this year’ ao’ Statement could be made, research was’ still going on, the information was inade-, quate, and there was “nothing more 10° tay al the moment.” The Forcign Secre-; tary was asked about it on 27th April;: “Nothing to add.”. , One of the Joint. Under-Secretaries was asked about it 9a, 20th June; “ Nothing to add", 0. B. 5 Then we got a White Paper which vir-! tually had pothing to add to what every- body already knew, and we have today- bad ao eloquent speech, full of interesting; polinical . philosophy, - by. the Foreign - Secretary which adds nothing at all to? what anyone who has been following this. matter with his own unaided, resources* has been able to discover. i. tun June oo! "Yn those circumstances, it is not at all. surprising that the White Paper has met a: unanimity of obloquy rare in the history; of White Papers issued by any Govern-. ment since White Papers have been’ issued, ‘whatever that date might have’ been. - It has been condemned every’ where, YF will not weary the House, by detailing the jouraals from which these" TEC Od: -* - . 1 . all or rc . Pee at a ae nail Nia . _ . + ao a ce ee ent » AL eRe. ee oo oe See ‘ »