sleeves rolled up over his heavy forearms, beads of sweat running down his cheeks into the plump folds of his neck. The DCS roused himself and asked, ‘So what’s happened to all the French troublemakers? Any coming our way?’
‘Not as far as we know,’ replied Reece-Jones. ‘But obviously we are interested in any political group who might try to start trouble of the same kind here. Specifically, it has now been decided that we would like you to keep a closer watch on certain Leftist groups. You’re already familiar with these organizations, but now we’ve got to take an even closer look at them.’ He handed out a duplicated list. ‘We want to know about their leadership, about their links with known communists and subversives. It is quite a task, we realize.’
Nick read the list. All the organizations were well established, and some quite large. There were eight of them, ranging from the International Marsists to the Vietnam United Front and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Nick raised his eyebrows. ‘Why are the peace campaigners included?’
Reece-Jones replied in a tone that suggested the answer was obvious. ‘They are communist-based, and they’ve got strong links with the World Peace Council.’ It was well known that the World Peace Council was Soviet-backed and had been manoeuvring behind the scenes for years. None the less, Nick felt that Box 500 were on the wrong track.
He said, ‘Surely these people aren’t about to start a revolt in the Paris style?’
‘No, maybe not,’ said Reece-Jones defensively. ‘But their aims are still subversive, and it has been decided to keep a much firmer eye on potential troublemakers.’
Straughan gave Nick a look that suggested it might be best for him to shut up. But Nick continued, ‘Well, if we’re looking for real troublemakers shouldn’t we be looking at the latest splinter groups?’
Reece-Jones took a deep breath. Nick sensed that the intelligence officer wished he was back among his colleagues in Box 500 where the atmosphere was more co-operative. Reece-Jones said patiently, ‘Well, I think we have to concentrate on the main groups, the ones on this list, because they’re the ones known to be communist-controlled. They’re also the most organized .’
Nick frowned. Reece-Jones – and the rest of Box 500 for that matter – had tunnel vision when it came to looking for Soviet and orthodox communist links. That was virtually all they were trained for. Which was all very fine when there were spies and fully-fledged Soviet-trained subverters around. But the students weren’t like that. Most of them had rejected conventional communism. But he was on to a loser here, he could see that. The policy had been decided somewhere in the Ministry of Defence and it wasn’t going to be changed on his say-so. He decided to shut up.
Reece-Jones brought the briefing to a close with a resumé of the information Box 500 itself would be providing.
‘We’re putting taps and mail intercepts on all the leaders of these organizations who have communist contacts or sympathies. This information will be available to you as necessary.’
Nick thought: Like hell. Box 500 were notoriously mean with their intelligence. Their attitude was guarded and, if not actually obstructive, then distinctly unhelpful. Nick suspected this was partly because they were all public school and Oxford and stuck together, and partly because they regarded Special Branch as a force which existed solely for their convenience – to do all the dog’s work and to make arrests for them.
Reece-Jones was summing up. ‘So what we need is a record of these people’s movements and who they associate with, the things they write and for which publications’ – he smiled ingratiatingly – ‘but then I don’t have to tell you what we need, gentlemen. You’ve done it all before.’
Nick winced slightly. The flattery was unnecessary and more than a little patronizing. He resented it. He
‘Not as far as we know,’ replied Reece-Jones. ‘But obviously we are interested in any political group who might try to start trouble of the same kind here. Specifically, it has now been decided that we would like you to keep a closer watch on certain Leftist groups. You’re already familiar with these organizations, but now we’ve got to take an even closer look at them.’ He handed out a duplicated list. ‘We want to know about their leadership, about their links with known communists and subversives. It is quite a task, we realize.’
Nick read the list. All the organizations were well established, and some quite large. There were eight of them, ranging from the International Marsists to the Vietnam United Front and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Nick raised his eyebrows. ‘Why are the peace campaigners included?’
Reece-Jones replied in a tone that suggested the answer was obvious. ‘They are communist-based, and they’ve got strong links with the World Peace Council.’ It was well known that the World Peace Council was Soviet-backed and had been manoeuvring behind the scenes for years. None the less, Nick felt that Box 500 were on the wrong track.
He said, ‘Surely these people aren’t about to start a revolt in the Paris style?’
‘No, maybe not,’ said Reece-Jones defensively. ‘But their aims are still subversive, and it has been decided to keep a much firmer eye on potential troublemakers.’
Straughan gave Nick a look that suggested it might be best for him to shut up. But Nick continued, ‘Well, if we’re looking for real troublemakers shouldn’t we be looking at the latest splinter groups?’
Reece-Jones took a deep breath. Nick sensed that the intelligence officer wished he was back among his colleagues in Box 500 where the atmosphere was more co-operative. Reece-Jones said patiently, ‘Well, I think we have to concentrate on the main groups, the ones on this list, because they’re the ones known to be communist-controlled. They’re also the most organized .’
Nick frowned. Reece-Jones – and the rest of Box 500 for that matter – had tunnel vision when it came to looking for Soviet and orthodox communist links. That was virtually all they were trained for. Which was all very fine when there were spies and fully-fledged Soviet-trained subverters around. But the students weren’t like that. Most of them had rejected conventional communism. But he was on to a loser here, he could see that. The policy had been decided somewhere in the Ministry of Defence and it wasn’t going to be changed on his say-so. He decided to shut up.
Reece-Jones brought the briefing to a close with a resumé of the information Box 500 itself would be providing.
‘We’re putting taps and mail intercepts on all the leaders of these organizations who have communist contacts or sympathies. This information will be available to you as necessary.’
Nick thought: Like hell. Box 500 were notoriously mean with their intelligence. Their attitude was guarded and, if not actually obstructive, then distinctly unhelpful. Nick suspected this was partly because they were all public school and Oxford and stuck together, and partly because they regarded Special Branch as a force which existed solely for their convenience – to do all the dog’s work and to make arrests for them.
Reece-Jones was summing up. ‘So what we need is a record of these people’s movements and who they associate with, the things they write and for which publications’ – he smiled ingratiatingly – ‘but then I don’t have to tell you what we need, gentlemen. You’ve done it all before.’
Nick winced slightly. The flattery was unnecessary and more than a little patronizing. He resented it. He
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