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F380 (Aev, 7-16-63) eee From Mr Anthony Nutting As one of the Tory Ministers whose evidence is quoted in the Sunday Times Insight team’s book “Philby, the Spy Wha Betrayed A Generation,” may I be permitted to correct an error of some importance. On page 240 of the book a statement is attributed to me, albeit anony- mously, that “Philby appeared to be still « member of SIS” after 1951, despite the assertions to the contrary by Mr Macmillan. and Mr Heath. What I in fact told the Insight team was that the Foreign Office suspected all along that Philby was the Third Man who tipped off Maciean that he was about to be interrogated, but that SIS out of loyalty ‘to their own employce protested his innocence. As to whether Philby had been dismissed er asked to resign, or kept on ice, 1 simply could not remember. Indeed, as my Interlocutors will recall, I emphasised that, while I knew quite a Jo¢ about the Burgess and Maclean story, I knew little about Philby, who had not been in circulation during my time as a Minister in - the Foreign Office. T have now checked the record and I am completely satisfied that Philby was asked to resizn from SIS and did so in 1951, as Was subsequently stated in Parliament by Mr Macmillan and Mr Heath. I think it is Important to get these facts straight, partly because this misunderstanding has wrongly cast doubt on the statements of responsible min- isters, and partly becanse, in an otherwise brilliart book, the authors have been ied—or mis- led—into trying ta prove too much, and in particular to prove that Philby was an active traitor for thirty years. That he had treasonable desires for this length of time is undeniable. But to suggest that he was in STS, and there- fore in a position to betray his country, for all of 30 years is untrue, does not help the reader to form a balanced juclgment and is liable to inflict unnecessary damage on the national interest. In seeking to prove their 30 years charge, the authors claim that there is “litle doubt" that Philby heeame a member of SIS as carly as 1937 when he was covering the Spanish (Mount Clipping in Space Below) DELETED Copy sent fie. z ays li P FER POA RITE Civil War as a Times corres pandent. The evidence adduced for .this is the belief of an American newspaperman and a Teport that Philby was once seen talking to two men who a German agent told a Spanish Press officer were, in his opinion, British agents! ‘ Even if the German was right about the two men,.are we to assume that they only ever spoke to their fellow agents? In fact, Philby did not join SIS until 1940, resigned in 1951 and was reinstated in 1955 as a parttime field agent after he had been “cleared" by a statement wrung from = Mr Macmillan in a Parliamentary debate for lack of concrete evidence of his treachery. Scarcely 30 years of service to the Russian KGB. Nobody can deny that the Philby story is a thoroughly bad story: but there is neither sense nor benefit to this country jn making it out to be worse than it is. Besides, there can be few who would disagree with the remark in John Le Carre's admirable introduction, shall never, I hope, create a society that is proof against his kind... Philby is the price we pay for being moderaicly free.” Indeed, it can be argued that to sacrifice our moderate free- dom would not render us proof against another Philby and that the more rigorous and repres- sive the police state the more likely are its servants to defect. Certainly this is sug- gested by the large number of senior Russian intelligence and “We ° Rewapaper, city and state.) Srowns it ~~. _ / / ae Dater 7 jt we Edition: Author: Editor: Tine: 7; Characters 2 OF, Eladsitication: > ED ~ Submitting Officer / 7