◆ SpookStack

TORIES of espionage . have always intrigued me. The slinky and allur- ing female spy ; the suave diplomat whom nobody would suspect; the apparently innocent dealer in antiques ; a dash of murder . and ro- mance, with the culprits ultimately unm asked —most of us are famillar with those exciting com- plications. “But the Burgess-Maciean affair leaves me completely baffed. “ Truth,” indeed, “is strahger than fiction.” The most exasperating feathre of the affair 1s the evasive attitude of the Foreign Office, and now, when it pleases the superior people sn that exclusive de- partment to come off their perch, the casual nature of their disclosures, Fantastic SHOULD have I thought that Public disquiet about security arrangements in the Foreign Office would have induced the Foreign Secretary to make a con- sidered ‘statement at once, Not so; it was left to a very junior Minister, Lord John Hope, to make a public explanation of this most. mysterious affair, . AND WHAT A FAN: TASTIG EXPLANATION Ty WAS. Iq ls now admitted tHat both those unsavoury chardc- ters] were under suspicign while engaged in the sdr- vice, Then, why were thdy permitted to continue in former Minister of Defence 7 { and Secretary for War ‘demands an inquiry- into ur Secret service their nefari- ous opera- tions -. though, so we are in- formed, “chey were not allowed access to ‘Top Sec- tet’ documents ?” Worse stili, when this pre- cious pair of rascals realised that the axe was about to fall they vanished right under our security men’s hoses. Both the~Foreign Office © and Lord John Hope must surely underrate the intelli- gence of the British public if they expect us to believe that & high-ranking official in that department, even when Slip-u under suspicion, could not find ways and means of ex- amining secret documents. icertalnly refuse to believe it. I have seen enough of Government departments to~ know that restricted and “Top Secret” papers ,are in constant transit betwebn offi~ ciais and Ministers. I must confess Secretary for Wa at as and ot importan c ¢, and the perusal of Minister of Defence I was never made-acquainted with the operations of the Sectet Service. Nor, to my knop- ledge, was any other Minister, The Prime Minister alone accepts full responsibility for MLS, The position of the Foreign Secretary is uncer- tain; no doubt in due course we shall be enilght- ened on this score. Apart Irom an occasional talk with the head of M.I.5 on some matter minor telegrams con taining information on diplomatic affairs and military intelli- gence, I was kept completely in the dark, I don't complain about this: it is far better to re- strict secret information to a few. BUT HOW MANY] OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE STAFF ARE IN HE KNOW 7 [ale