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FE eat ay “4 FIRST SPY LEAK TWO YEARS BEFORE 'DIPLOMATS FLED THE report begins: On- the evening of Friday, May 25, 1951, Mr. Donald. Duart Maclean, a Counsellor in the Senior Branch of the . Foreign Service and at that time head of the Ameri an Department in the Foreign Office, and Mr. Guy Francis de Moncy-Burgess, a Second Secretary in the Junior Branch of the Foreign Service, left the United” | Kingdom from Southampton on the boat for St. Malo. The circumstances of their departure from England, for which they had | not sought sanction, were such as to make it obvious that they had’ deliberately fled the country. MACLEAN Was the son of a former Cabinet Minister, Sir Donald Maclean. He successfully competed for athe Diplomatic Service in 1935 “and was posted: in the first instance to the Foreign Office. He was an officer of excep- tional ability and was promoted to the rank of Counsellor at the ly age of 35. n May, 1950, while serving a: Hig. Majesty's. Enmsbassy, Cairo Mafiean was guilty of seriou miskondtuct and suffered. a for: of breakdown which was attri buted to overwork and excessive drinking. Uniil the breakdown took place his. work had remained enunently satisfactory and there was ng ground whatsoever for doubting his: loyalty. After recuperation and leave at home he was passed medically fit, and in October, 1950, was appointed to be head of the American Bepartment of the Foreign. Office, which, since it .@oes not deal with the. major problems of Anglo-American relations, appeared to be within SSE ae fis capacity. Since Maclean's disappearance a close examination of his back- ground has revealed that during his student days at Cambridge OS Stee 7, 7 “ * from 1931 te- 1934 he had ex- ae om Ne tp Gian alo res SaaS ae — pressed Communist sympathies. But there was no evidence that he had ever been a mem- ber of the Communist Party and, indeed. on leaving the university he had outwardly renounced His earlier Com- mubist views, BURGESS ii vias educated at Lhe Royal Naval Coliege. Peg Dartmouth, at Eton and at Trinjty College, Cambitdge, where. he fad «e brifiant academic record. After Jeaving Cambridge in 1935 he worked for a short. time in London as 4 journalist. and joined the BBC in 1936 where hie remained until January, 1939, : He rejoined the BBC in’ January, 1941, and remained there until 1944 when he applied for and obtained.a post asa tem- porary Press officer in the News Department of the Foreign Office. ‘ He was not recruited Inte the Foreign Service through the open competitive examination, but in 1947 took the opportunity Open lo temporary employees to, present himself for .establish-, ment - He appeared. before. 2 Civil. Service Commission Board, and Wasrecommended for dhe Junior Branch of the Foreign Service. His establishment took fect from January 1, [947. He wdrked for a time in the office o the | CONTINUED ON 4 & PAGE SIX. - . fn : nite oe es Shee een “ai cae neh _ teed ES eee baal a hdr tae