◆ SpookStack

‘OPINIO PY SERIAL -THE END? Four years, five months, and 13 days. That is} ‘the Jength of time since Burgess and Maclean sipped aboard a@ cross- Channel steamer and vanished. Today at last comes the chance of hear- _ Ang the full official story. . Of course there are still > ome who pretend that the , mystery is of little account, hardly worth today’s debate in Parliament. Yet at this, moment British represen- ytatives are in Washington trying to persuade the Americans to change the! minds and lend Brita: their proving - ground —7-“t@st the British H-bomb. Would this permission) ve been refused but for i: the weakness in British security shown up by the missing diplomats ? The Astor line-up EVEN the Times, a news- paper which long con- fined itself to reporting the official replies to questions, suddenly recognises that’ the truth about the miss-) - Ing diplomats must be told. It now writes of “ official prevarication,” describes the White-paper as “shame- fully belated,” and declares , that “The House Is entitled 4 to be resentful.” The Observer too, despite ardent obstruction of the ally Express’s inquiriqs, low demands a “severd” ikvestigation into MJ id a full disclosure of Foreign_Office’s mistakes. _ | ai as | decision taken a few hours The Times is owned py jonel the Hon. J. J. Astpr. he Observer is edited fby is nephew David Astor. So it appears that the Astor! family is for once solidly behind the Dally Express. Answers, please wt are the questions to which M-P.s should seek answers today? They’ are these. How did Burgess ever come to be appointed? Were not his Communist leanings well known? Was an adverse security report on him overridden ? Why were Maclean and he retained despite their candalous personal ehaviour ? How many officlals wqre id of the decision {to interrogate: Maclean — @ before he fled? | than two years to trace ‘Jeaks of information to ‘Maclean? And who gave him the tip-off when he had been traced ? Blame the delay “L#, there be no shirking any of these questions—nor of many more arising from them. The blame in any case! does not belong to the: Government. The fight! occurred before the Tories came to office. If Ministers feel that they are on the spot, if is their own fault. They) sHould not have withyeld tile facts all this time. | ceed re faults corrected HE purpose of e inquest. must be {to Iscover what went wrdng, and whether it has been put right. Sir Anthony Eden has' been prompt in arranging this debate. He has wisely decided not to make it an ifsue of confidence. These are hopeful omgns at the matter can nowybe, nally cleared up. | | Why did it take more|