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fee TE a ee * isat rome {Glen of “7 NOVEMBER 1985 Oficicts~ Birr I think that in the Civil’ Service generally, and to some extent in Socal overnment-—whether it is more so in the ‘oreign Office I do not know—there is -a tendancy generally to help colleagues Sout of trouble. In some cases that is ‘right but in some cases the colleagues ‘ought to be feft in trouble and ought to be fired. But do not Jet the House think ‘from this that there is any legitimate ‘charge against the Civil Service that they would seck to protect a man who had ibeen guilty of espionage against his * country. o*snwaieen ereate saens H The next question I ask myself is this: was Maclean—and therefore Burgess— § tipped off, as the saying is? Or was it *the cut in confidential papers which warned him? I am inclined to think that he was tipped off by somebody. If so, I wish we could find the somebody. 1 am inclined to think that these men were tipped off. Certainly it was a remarkable coincidence that ] should have given that order on 25th May and were missing on the night of 25th May. I have received a letter from a tespected friend of mine whose judgment of men and affairs I respect. He asks me not to give his name, although it is available to the Foreign Office if they want it and if it is any use to them. He does not want to be pursued with pub- licity in this matter because it is not very nice. This is what he says: _ “I was very interested to read your remarks about Maclean and Burgess the otber day because I know them both and actually Junched with jean the day before he disappeared. ‘The point I wanted to mention to you was that on that day J am sure that he had no. intention of leaving England in the way he did. He spoke to me so normally of his private affairs, his wife's confinement ‘and his plans for the immediate future that I am convinced he was not then intending to teave the country. This makes me feet that subsequent to meeting me on 24th May be received some warning pat be was under eusPicion acd immediately ft the country with Burgess i may be, therefore, that someone in ft Forcign mes that you had authorised a LOT AE EIEN et CEN } © Of course, it was not only the Foreiga j Office who knew, for the Security Service knew as well, J read that letter for what it is worth as the impression of a man who Iunched with Maclean that day be- 1 fore his departure. Tam inclined to think _ that Maclean was tipped off by somebody | who knew what was going to happen. - nen . We are much obliged to the Foreign Secretary for telling us about Philby. There are definite statements that the family are missing and no doubt if it ., should become of significance the right hon. Gentleman will be good enough to inform the House. ue . T come to my conclusions. 1 think that any wild of extreme criticism of the Foreign Service would be unfair and would be wrong. I have met a large Bumber of the members of the Service, ~~ as have other hon. Members without experience of Ministerial office, in other countries. It is clear that the Secretary ~ of State must be the master of the Departe | tent, irrespective of what his political - opinions may be, but the latest reforms were made as recently as war-time. 5 There have, of course, been roughly three stages in the history of the Briti Foreign Service. There was the old days, when aristocratic gentlemen became ambassadors without acy pay at all. Then there was the later period when competi- tive recruitment had developed is but not to its present standard. hea there were the reforms initiated by the Present Prime Minister and, as has been said, Jargely carried out by Mr. Ernest VID. og 6 LO ARO Fe oe The second stage of Foreign Office people have survived and their ideas are not quite the same as those of the poste war, reformed recruitment. These are . survivals but time will solve fhat prob. lem, and it is passing. They are largely university men—all of them 7 suppose in the higher reaches. That is true of the home Civil Service as well. Whether it Piiganed that there should be such a i ‘oportion of university peo; ° pot fiob, Whether the products of primary and secondary education could get through I do not know. Many people’ “~ who are now getting to the universities started theit education in primary schools, They pet through by certificates and com- petitive examinations—which did not hap . peo in the early days—and enter . lic -. service. - Recruitment” to ‘the ‘oreign Service, so far as } know, is sub-, stantially the same in principle as recruit- ment to the home Departments, that és to say it is all through the Civil Service Commission. The examination is some- what different from that for the home Departments but by and large it is not enormously differeat -- - ea Pad