◆ SpookStack

{ By W. N. EWER | If was on May 25, 1951, that Mi. Herb ert Morrisor then Foreign Secretary, sanctioned a proposal tha pected spy. — By midnight, both Maclean and Guy Burgess, his fellow-spy, had fled t country.. So someone who knew about a top-secret operq- tion must have given them the tip. Who was it? This is the most dramatic revelation in the White | Paper which was published last night and called « Report concerning the disappearance of two former Foreign Office officials. " | : WHO _ JIS THIRD MAN? It looks almost certain that the two had tearned’ wilhin hours of the plan to question Maclean, ut‘the White Paper declares: “ Searching inquiries Involving individual interrogations were made into this possibility. Insufficient evidence was obtainable to for! @ definite conclusion or to warrant prosecution,” That careful phrase suggests that the authorities ha a pretty shrewd idea who the Third Man was, but coul] not bring it home to him. 7 Was he the same Third Man who had been suspected, along with Maclean and Burgess, ofpassing secret in- formation to the Soviet Intelligence! Service? By mid-April 1951, says the White Paper, after pro- tracted inquiries into a report.of leakages, the fleld of suspicion had been narrowed to two or three persons. Burgess. and Maciean were two. But-who was the third? Was he the man who warned Maclean to make a quick. get-away before he could be questioned? - HE WORKED ON COOLLY ‘The get-away was quick Indeed. They may of course have | already Coe or have had warning, that they were ~ under suspifion, Macleans the White Paper notes, may have spotted that he was under observation while he was in London... Or Be y have noticed that he was ro longer getting top-s tb pabers to read. ‘So they may have had their plans laid. . aclean must have at once warned Burgess, wha was Teafe from the OMce, probably by phone. . Burgess book: thefr passages on the ss Falaise, hired a car to take them to | Southampton, and waited, ae tie en Sb sane Donald Maclean should be questioned as a sus- “WHITE PAPER... It is now clear that in spite of the precautions taken by the authorities Maclean must have be- come aware, at some time before his disappearance, that he was under investi- gation. One explanation may be that he observed’ that he was no longer receiving certain types of secret papers. It is also possible that he detected that he was under obser- -vation, Or he may have been warned. Searching _Anquiries involving indi-- vidual interrogations were made into this last possl~ bility. Insufficient evidence’ was obtainable to form a definite conclusion or to warrant prosecution, ULL REPORT START: ON PAGE TWO.