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jsteRs To ~ STRENGTHEN? From Our Politi ‘The conference of Privy Councillors, Set up at the time of the House of Com- mons debate on Burgess and Maclean last November, to examine security pro- dures in the public service, have found at there is nothing organically wrong of unsound in the Government's security alraogements. . . . They make, however, certain recom- mendations designed to strengthen the system, and the Prime Minister told the House of Commons yesterday that the ‘Government have decided to give effect to all the proposals, The conference recommend that no additional powers should be sought to detain suspects or prevent them from Jeaving the country. A statement of the findings of the con- ference was published yesterday as a White Paper. This summarizes the con- tents of the re in s0 far as it can Pro tly be made public, and it therefore” ‘uifils an undertaking given dy the Prime Minister last November that if there were “ steps which could be made public as a result of the conference, there would be & report to Parliament. Some of the proposals deal with what may be called the relation between security Tisks and defects of character and conduct. The conference recognize that to-day great nce must be paid to character defects, | ‘as Factors tending 10 make a man unreliable xpose him to blackmail or influence by ign agents. ‘They say there # ke ; ‘LONDON, ENGLAND *qHE TIMES" VEITE “WARNING ON + ;. CHARACTER DEFECTS: “ey party . say there is a duty © ide if thies Or Fuments 10 inform themselves of scriod—~Giescesssaciation with arly members, te State security rai Jiving with a wife or busband who is a Coy respondent ae pies otra addict 10 - fat ‘may servously:afect & ‘mao's relia Hed _COMMUNIST FAITH’. NORMAL LOYALTIES © . -. “OVERRIDDEN”; ; ‘The White Paper continues: “ There satural reluctance to make adverse reports: - on colleagues and nothing could be worse than to encourage tale-bearing of malicious ' gossip. Nevertbeless, it is important to impress not only on heads of iments _ ‘but on supervisory officers generally that it * is their duty to know their staff and that they { must not fail to report anything which affects security. . . * "This covers both evidence which suggests Communist associations or sympathies aod also serious defects or failings which might, jeopardize the security of the section of the’ public service in their charge. The Govern- . Sent accept his recommendation, although e recognize at the measures necessary j eee fect to it will require very careful | consideration. . : ference recommended that it 4 recognized that the fact that a blic servant is Communist not only }__ Bar his cosployment on secret duties but : may also in some ents have an un- favourgble effect on his - prospects ,of fda- jon.) - ot Ane TaN oh he risk preseated BY tions a oo Tee a etard vo whom there ir no evidence of Communist mem conference are of the opinion that, in these difficult and often borderline cases, t to continue tihing the ance in favour of {| ~~ er than individual Us, Tecommend that eo individual . No? Wen ve Ue. munist or a Communist sympathizer may} Yor that reason alone, bave to be movi t 8: from secret work, and thet the same princi - sbould_be appli ther cases of a like Bibb Eroivrke mre Low meerenieere sees -