The BBC has claimed that a plot arose during times of poor Anglo-French relations when President Charles de Gaulle repeatedly stopped the UK joining the European Community.
The revelation is contained in a memo dated 3 January 1968 from Sir Denis Greenhill, to Cabinet Secretary Sir Burke Trend and Lord Chalfont, the Foreign Office minister.
“As agreed, I consulted Lord Chalfont on whether he thought it would be a good idea to suggest to Mr [Harry] Evans [editor] of the Sunday Times that they write an article entitled ‘Is there a French Philby?’. Lord Chalfont agreed that this might be profitable.
“I accordingly saw Mr Evans last evening for a few minutes and put the idea to him. I suggested that the article might start from the point that Philby’s memoirs seemed likely to appear in Paris Match and then go on to speculate whether the French had escaped the penetration which Philby and company had successfully achieved here… He seemed quite taken with the idea but made no promises.”
In a memo dated 18 January 1968, Sir Denis Greenhill accused the French of “treachery” when he feared they might agree to publish Philby’s memoirs.
“I think we have taken all reasonable steps to impede Philby in this matter and I much regret it if the French have finally agreed to pay him a considerable sum.”
“However, treachery is more familiar to the French than it is to us and no doubt the publisher was for this reason better able to accommodate himself to the fact that he was liberally rewarding someone who had damaged his own country’s interests.”
