Inquiry call on ex-MI6 chief


Inquiry call on ex-MI6 chief
Michael Evans, Defence Correspondent
20 April 1987
The Times
Excerpts:
There were reports in the Belfast newspapers, attempting to link Sir Maurice with the scandal over the Kincora welfare hostel for boys, which in 1980 was alleged to have been used for hiring out boys for homosexuals.  Mr Cavendish said that Sir Maurice was aware of the allegations being made and because he as a bachelor he was anxious that it would cause embarrassment to the government of Mrs Thatcher.  He told Mr Cavendish that it was one one reason why he had decided to resign from the Ulster job, although at that time he was also suffering from cancer of cancer of the stomach and died the following year.
...A former Army intelligence officer, Mr Colin Wallace, who admits that he was involved in a dirty tricks campaign in the 1970s against the Labour government, also claimed that Sir Maurice had been a victim of a smear campaign.


Inquiry call on ex-MI6 chief
Michael Evans, Defence Correspondent
20 April 1987
The Times

MPs are to make renewed demands that the Prime Minister investigate Britain's intelligence services after allegations about the private life of the late Sir Maurice Oldfield, who for five years was head of MI6.  Mr Chapman Pincher, the author, who knew Sir Maurice during his intelligence career, says in a new book that he was a homosexual who consorted with young male prostitutes.

Shocked MPs said last night they would be calling on the Prime Minister to investigate the relevations. There was particular concern over claims that Lord Whitelaw, when he was Home Secretary, received a report on Sir Maurice Oldfield's alleged homosexual activities from the then Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir David McNee, in the late 1970s.  At that time, Sir Maurice was a special security co-ordinator in Northern Ireland after being brought out of retirement.

He had retired from MI6 in 1978 after an impeccable career in the Secret Intelligence Service, during which he had acquired a reputation for integrity and loyalty. He was regarded by the intelligence community and also by Mrs Thatcher as a Civil Servant of the highest quality.

But according to Mr Pincher, in his book Traitors: The Labyrinths of Treason, Special Branch officers who were giving Sir Maurice round-the-clock protection throughout his Northern Ireland appointment, discovered that male prostitutes were visiting him in his flat in Westminster.

A report was sent to the then Mr William Whitelaw, it was claimed, and Sir Maurice was warned by a senior minister 'in the most direct language' to curb his behaviour.  It appeared that no further action was taken, although Sir Maurice resigned as Ulster security co-ordinator in 1980 through ill-health. He died a year later at the age of 65.  Yesterday the Home Office would not confirm whether a report had been sent by the police on Sir Maurice's private life.  But last night the allegations against Sir Maurice was rebutted by a former colleague, Mr Anthony Cavendish, who worked closely with Sir Maurice in the Secret Intelligence Service.

According to Mr Cavendish, Sir Maurice was aware that there was a smear campaign against him during his time as security co-odinator. There was rivalry between MI5 and MI6 and Sir Maurice realized that he was the victim of attempts to destroy his character.

MI5 objected to having officers from MI6 working in Northern Ireland - they had been sent there by the then Prime Minister, Mr Edward Heath - and when Sir Maurice was appointed security co-ordinator by Mrs Thatcher, the smear campaigne began, according to Mr Cavendish.

There were reports in the Belfast newspapers, attempting to link Sir Maurice with the scandal over the Kincora welfare hostel for boys, which in 1980 was alleged to have been used for hiring out boys for homosexuals.  Mr Cavendish said that Sir Maurice was aware of the allegations being made and because he as a bachelor he was anxious that it would cause embarrassment to the government of Mrs Thatcher.  He told Mr Cavendish that it was one one reason why he had decided to resign from the Ulster job, although at that time he was also suffering from cancer of cancer of the stomach and died the following year.

A former Army intelligence officer, Mr Colin Wallace, who admits that he was involved in a dirty tricks campaign in the 1970s against the Labour government, also claimed that Sir Maurice had been a victim of a smear campaign.

Last night, Sir David McNee declined to make any comment about the affair. He said that he had decided on leaving the Metropolitan Police that he would not make any comment at any time about police matters.

The latest allegations of a scandal inside Britain's intelligence services comes after a series of revelations that have caused considerable damage to the integrity of both MI5 and MI6.

Mr Peter Wright, the former MI5 officer, has claimed in his book, Spycatcher, which has still not been published because of government action to stop it, that he was part of a team running a dirty tricks campaign against the Labour government in the 1970s. He has also said that Sir Roger Hollis, the former director-general of MI5, was a Soviet spy. The Government is appealing against the decision by an Australian judge last month to allow publication of the book.

The scandals of the past, in particular the case of Anthony Blunt who spied for the Russians but was granted immunity from prosecution, has also made the Government sensitive to allegations of security cover-ups.

Yesterday, Mr Ted Leadbitter, the Labour MP who exposed Blunt, said that a full investigation was necessary to find out whether the latest allegations against Sir Maurice involving 'disgusting behaviour' were true or not. If they were true, it was 'a disgrace to this country'.  Mr Leadbitter added that a cover-up by the Government of that sort of alleged activity meant that the interests of the country were second to the need to protect high-placed officials.  A second Labour MP, Mr Tam Dalyell, also said he would be demanding an inquiry into the allegation against Sir Maurice.

According to Mr Pincher, despite the fears that his private life would have made Sir Maurice a security risk, there was no suggestion that he had been compromised by the Russians.  However, intelligence sources said yesterday that even though atttitudes towards homoesexuality had changed in recent years, it was still regarded as serious in the security services because of the potential for blackmail.  A young worker at GCHQ, the top-secret communcations centre at Cheltenham, is under suspension because of suspicion that he is a homosexual, posing a security risk.

The issue was given sharp focus in 1982 when Commander Michael Trestrail, the Queen's personal bodyguard, resigned after allegations that he had had a relationship with a male prostitute.  After the scandal over the case, Lord Bridge, chairman of the Security Commission, investigated the security implications and recommended, not for the first time, a tighter system of positive vetting of people appointed to sensitive posts.


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