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“seoniem ne eee W595 mer Forcign Office R. BRrooMas-Waite] 2% ooo: ve all know roughly what happens when there is a Government inquiry. The Department under investigation Starts eparations to defend itself against the vestigation to show that it has not done ko badly after all. We all know that. We have scen it happen in various Govern- Ment Departments. A great number of People start spending their time preparing to give evidence and to answer questions. ‘And in order to do that they have to fop 7” getting on with the day to day job whic! they should be doing, => > ‘ : I entirely agree with everything that Das been said on both sides of the House Bs to the need to give adequate facilities and the best possible personne! to the security services. 1 do not think that because they have failed to make an ‘@rrest in this case there are adequate grounds for an inquiry, which can do no other than impede their day-to-day work. This is not justified unless there is, over the whole field, a feeling that they are falling down on their job, That feeling cannot be found ip this House or is the Popular Press, - - . Mr. Daines : On that point, did the hon. Gentleman read & very interesting article in the “ Observer™ a week or two ago by a@ man who was a Russian espionage agent, according to the article, against Germany until 1947. He pointed out that the withdrawal of these men to Russia - was quite contrary 10 the usual Russian was because of fear of interrogation and break down and of information being . Riven that they took that action. If that 45 80, surcly it is a very important reason as inquiry to be held? aw * Mr. Brooman-White: 3 do not agree that that follows. I said that we scored a near miss. It bears out my point that had we had these people in time it would have been a great success. Let us see - this thing io proportion. 2 _ . J am not concerned to protect the eecurity services against the inquiry. I + am only concerned to see that we do not fore more in trying es create efficie a Sprane ghiorese ~ than we gain. e iet services wit! an - “4 whom the Western services are in com- Petition, have great advantages. On the Tepressive side, they have the full “machinery of a police state. On the offensive side, they have the system of a » bation which sets the greaiest virtue ee ene ‘actice, and he therefore sugeested thay, Officlals—Disappeararce’ $586 ~~ under-cover work. “Their'national heross of the past were all men who, in Lenin’ phrase, had “To know hunger, work -; Mepally, and be anonymous.”- All their shinking is feared to that sort of ining That gives them an advantage, The: understand that sort of work. ‘Preic : Intelligence services probably have much - more money and resources than our - | People, es bonus AUS Be ; cbt they have a weakness Periodicanty, 3 quite frequently, they indulge in purges —» and blocd fetta Gh must be jest ° about as debilitating as medieval medi- cine. To knock off the heads of the Soviet Chief of Secret Police and his various assistants may be good for promotion, but it cannot fead to the efficient fune- tioning of the Department. Uniess 2 very -- strong case is made, 1 am not in favour of messing around in @ similar though milder way in that Department of our owa against whom there is no solid pround for suspecting that on balance it fot doing fairly well. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary paid the Sccurity Services an eloquent tribute and only be and the Chiefs of Staff and a few others are in « position to sce the pic- fure as a whole and to measure the successes it has been achieving. + rit: ~ Let me pass to the second ' point. During their undergraduate days, these men had Communist associates. There is no crime in that. Indeed, the only thing that has been proved against Mr. Philby is that he bad Burgess staying with him and he had certain Communist friends. He may not have been wise in his Choice of friends, but what hon. Member of this House could say that all his friends were people against whom no shadow of suspicion could ever be cast? That point bas bees adequately dealt with, m2. 0 i seent fs: gol save bh” 1 should fike 10 come to the question of the staffing of the Foreign ice de- paziments and the question, which has ot cogently argued from both sides of of the House, as to whether at this stage there is a case for further investigation and reform of the Foreign Office admini- sirative machine, ¥ think it was the hon Member for Hammersmith, North (Mr. Tompey) who said that there was piblie uneasiness because there was a feeling that the personal judgment of the senior tuembers of the Foreign Office had bees. at fault. cvee eons ca ue eRe ee pier omen, or fe Oey