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roms OM wages tiog had also been heard by other members of the newspaper's: Dut things look different today,: Who now can ‘doubt’ t ts . When Mrs. Maclean wrote the following day to say that Mrs. Maclean was a Communist, and that she was a * ‘tofthe best of my recollection’ she had spoken to no one of munist during the time that elapsed between the flight of er the Daily Telegraph, the newspaper reiterated the fact that both husband and Burgess and the departure of herself and Ker: its own switchboard and the GPO confirmed that the call had children behind the Iron Curtain? Journalists who bad zeasond been made. On August 3 the Observer published letters from to suspect that at the time and who acted on their’ suspicion? Lady Maclean and Lady Violet Bonham Carter Praising it for in the best traditions of a free and unfettered Press cannot no! its attitude, and on October 22 Mrs. Melinda Maclean told the . be condemned for lack of good taste. In her cunning campaign, Swiss authorities that she would like 10 make Geneva her which fooled many people, Mrs. Maclean must have had t permanent.home, What happened .thereafter is common objectives: to rejoin her husband and to discredit this country knowledge." 741-7" . . “ 4s much as possible. As Miss Rebecca West pointed out in, There can be no doubt in the minds of all except those deter- three brilliant articles in the Daily Express last week, the mode’ nined to maintain unsupported attitudes that reporters of both * of departure of both Maclean and his wife was such-as to he Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express did in fact conduct create the maximum interest and publicity and to- make the ‘ Aephone interviews with Mrs, Maclean. Naturally we do not British security service and the Foreign Office look as incom; icise Lady Violet and’ Mr, David Astor for choosing to _ tent as possible, (This aim Mr. and Mrs. Maclean realised orky} | fieve Mrs, Maclean's ‘word rather than that of a reporter. . too well.) Mrs. Maclean needed some excuse to get to Switzere 9g | that time Mrs. Maclean had the sympathy of most peopte; land. What better excuse than that she was being hounded o1 ; | ead Sa | + seemed pathetic and honest: the great majority of liberal by the unscrupulous and hard-hearted gutter press? Her li nion tended to be on her side and on the side of Lady Violet _ naturally ensured that the press should be interested in her: \- what seemed to be a courageous attempt to uphold the — she thus provided herself with an excuse to leave the count: ics of the press. We should be the last to Suggest that Lady and at the same time ensured that the greater part of liberal: Met's advocacy in a good cause would be in any way deter- opinion would be on her side, She successfully duped Lady ¢ * ted by the social position of the People she was secking to Violet Bonham Carter, Mr. David Astor and others. Where the : % but it.is unlikely that she would have taken up this press is free it is inevitable that some sections of it should a ‘ticular case if Maclean had been in a different social Posi- ‘over-zealous in their methods. The fact that there was so much . for the reason that she might not have known about it. - greater fuss over the alleged mistreatment of Mrs. Maclean :f course she is not to be blamed for her efforts. On the would seem to tell in favour of Ms. Fairlie. But that is a matter} : rary; when it is remembered that Maclean's father had “ of opinion, and bere Mr. Fairlie can fight his own battles, What | \° an old Liberal colleague of her father’s, and that’ she: we ate concerned to do now is to point out that Lady olor} ‘If served on the board which selected Maclean for the, Bonham Carter and Mr. David Astor were misled by Mrs.Z ga Office, then it’ is perfectly understandable that, she. Maclean; and that in denying the authenticity of the inter jews 3 d have believed the false words of Mrs. Macican. ° , : they were wrong. Would they not now do better to admit it?s - x wt shee on tea ae n-ne * rr