◆ SpookStack

ath \ material for “ Burgess and Maclean,” @ recent book by Anthony Purdy and Douglas Sutherland. According to this story, Philby said ~ that shortly before the B. and M. dis- appearance he had received a report from the Foreign Office stating that Maclean was one of three officials under suspicion of having leaked in- for 6 Russia, Philby admitted that he had discussed it privately with Burgess (who had by then moved in as a lodger in Philby’s Washington house), There was no obvious reason, Phitby claimed, why he should not have mentioned it to Burgess since he was 4 trusted colleague, also engaged ° on security work and, as the White Paper made olear, not under suspicion at the time. Though Philby was then regarded as "having had no underhand motive, he was asked to resign. A different version was given yester- day by Douglas Stuam, B.B.C, Wash- ington correspondent. He said Philoy had told him in 1958 that it was he who had narrowed down the suspects to Maclean, British security officials wanted to arrest Maclean at once. Philby and his Embassy seniors wanted to Jet Maclean alone in order to discover others in the spy ring. They compromised—Maclean was (o be shadowed and secret papers withdrawn from him. Philby told tart that he was furious since this ethod would only alert Maclean. ‘Business offer' Philby’s reconstruction of what took place in London was that Burgess went to see Maclean, k nothing of the latter's spying activities, and Maclean * used Burgess to arrange his getaway. | After three days’ interrogation (Philby claimed) those who had thought him either guilty or innocent of the tip-off were unchanged in their opinions, and he resigned because “my usefulness was at an end.” For Philby, with a promising career abruptly cut off, there now began a lean period of three or four years. It is aiso an obscure passage in his fife. j He came briefly into The Observer's orbit in the summer of 1952 when, after he had approached the paper at the suggestion of Malcolm Mug- geridge, he was given accreditation in Madrid. Afler sending two news pieces to The Observer Foreign News! Service (both sent out to subscribers i with a confidential covering note to | i editors reminding them who Philby was) Philby resigned, saying that he was accepting an “attractive business olfer.” St is not known what this was. Around 1953 he got as far as an inter- view (ia the Reform Ctub) for the foreign editorship of tbe Spectator, but did not get the job. His means of livelihood are obscure for the next wo _yeass or so, but with a wifes