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—_—o ie Rae pitt Pgs PS ’ aia a Rae nd No interest * Everything was in order. A | Foreign Office spokesman said : “ We have no particular interest in Mrs. Philby. She is an tnno- cent . British citizen and has done nothing wrong.” “Once she had obtained a British passport it was 6 big step forward in Mrs. Philby's struggle to blot out the strain snd tension of the past three ra. ‘The passport entitles ner to gettle \n Eire without having the ther of reporting to the police as an alien. ‘An officer of the Dublin police id: “Mrs. Philby is a British citizen and therefore free to settle here and come and go without question. “Anyone travelling on an American passport has to register as an alien after being mothe country three months. have to notify the authori- ties of any change of address, “People travelling on a British passport do not have to Tegister.” ~ was ihree years ago that Ft Harold Philby, one-time Foreign MRS. ELEANOR PHILBY ”.:Htred of restricted life Office diplomat and British Inielligence agent, disappeared from his home in Beirut where he had been working as a corre apondent for The Observer news r. few months later he turned | up in Moscow and the Russians nounced that he had bees eRranted political asylum. AL thi British at ume | spokesman —_pin- Sere th oi :Iby as the mysterious Ptnlee man who had Upped .OM rencgade British diplomats Guy Burgess and Donald laclean that they were about to arrested and enabied them io ; escape to Russia in 195}. Burgese died In Méscow in 1963 Mrs Philby followed her hus- band. ta Moscow. and settled there until her night to-Dublin about four months ago.- why did she decide to leave her husband? Nobody knows for aure. But the impression in both Whitehall and Washington ta that she became fed up with i must have been a restricted e. Her London solicitor told me yesterday. “I cannot comment on Mrs. Philby’s personal life. She does not want to tal abuut Uhe past. She now has to think of the future, “Mrs. Philby is an extremely intelligent and cultured woman. She has a great Interest In.the arts, It was I who suggested that she settle in Dublin. It is @ grand centre for the theatre, literature and painting, Inheritance “Tam sure she wil! be able to lead a very full and interesting life there.) She is, of course, a woman of good independent means.” Mrs. Philby became financially independent When an Tememoered her in his will. A close friend of the Philbys who had lived in the same block of flats In Beirut told me : “I remember one morning in 1960 we were having. early morning coffee together. “They were opening _ thetr mail and Harold "Philby announced that an uncle had left his wife an inheritance of $100,000 (nearly £35,000). “He joked about it saying : “You can see how clever I was to marry @ wealthy woman.’ ”. Fairly happy * The friend —added :~ “Y'm absolutely baffled as to why Mrs. Philby left him, ‘They seemed to be such @ happy pair together in those days.” . ened “in But whatever hap. Rusia, Me Philby has :so far S. told nobody. Rich, wealthy farmer who employed her stepson ‘Tom Philby, met_ her ‘when ahe travelled to England just before Christmas to attend her step- son's 2ist birthday party. “ghe seemed fairly happy at the party.” said Mr, Rich, “ But she did not say one word about her husband or q did pot ask. Mr. George Leicestershire soe Tt at oom pai Tt