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GCHQ: the Cover-Up Continues

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GCHQ: the Cover-Up Continues ___ SEC~RITV "" GCHQ: the cover-up continues Last week the New Statesman revealed evidence of widespread corrup- Mirror or Granada Television's World in Action has damaged, or tion security failure and foreign espionage inside Britain's largest and could damage 'national security': all the evidence suggests that the pro- least-known secret intelligence agency, Government Communications gramme's real offence is to contain further and later research which Headquarters (GCHQ). Similar facts, based on a joint inquiry, were demolishes the government's pretence that GCHQ's failures and cor- published in the Daily Mirror. The government's initial strategy was to ruptions are in the past, and have been dealt with. On the contrary, pretend that the (admittedly complex) allegations were of no sig- they continue unchecked: 'national security', as presently defined by nificance to 'national security' - the cause in which Whitehall has. Whitehall, is simply a device which enables the secret agencies of the attacked so many liberties, and suppressed so many disclosures. This state to place themselves above the law, whiJe repressing the statements strategy auto-destructed on Monday, when IBA banned a World of anyone who dares to criticise them. Here DUNCAN CAMPBELL in Action programme based on the same material, and prepared in con- produces further evidence of GCHQ's corruption, and on another page junction with the New Statesman. The IBA said that the programme JOCK KANE, the former civil servant whose revelations began the 'could be prejudicial to national security'. Nothing done by the NS, the whole story, shows how corruption relates to dangerous incompetence .. JOCK KANE'S STORY, published last week done. THE GOVERNMENT ASSERTION that all with details of Our own investigations, has When we enquired into the Ascot House is now well in Hong Kong does not fit at all provoked a response from the government. Hotel in conjunction with the Daily Mirror, with our discoveries in Hong Kong. Numerous Their case is based on two propositions: that we discovered within ten days that Kane's and Chinese traders are still offering GCHQ staff Kane's revelations are out of date and don't others' allegations of a conspiracy were very tempting and irregular deals with the full bless- amount to much; and that remedial action has well founded. Our evidence for this was sent ing of GCHQ administrative staff. We asked already been taken. to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir one senior official, who served in Little Sai That case is false. When Mrs Thatcher even- Thomas Hetherington, last Friday. Almost in- Wan during 1979, whether the traders referred tually prepares a new statement on this matter, cidentally, we discovered evidence of several to by Kane (below) were still in business then: there are many grounds for grave public con- other possible corruption offences by one of They're stillin the sameold lineof business cern that will have to be dealt with. Chief the two men, former Defence Land Agent Eric he commmented wearily. One of those both amongst these is the question of the ultimate Garland. As a direct result, Garland has been Kane and the official we spoke to singled out fate of something over 200 highly classified questioned by Hong Kong's Independent Secret and Top Secret documents which were Commission Against Corruption, and charges was one of the packing and moving companies established to have disappeared by 1973, when prepared for submission to the Colony's At- in Kowloon, Shangai Packer Koo, now on Kane's instigations a 'muster' was held at torney General. operating under the name Dah. Yeung the Little Sai Wan GCHQ base in Hong Kong. During our enquiries, we discovered that Packers. I rang the manager of Dah Yeung to By 1975, another 14 documents were missing. GCHQ had finally taken some action over this put to her Kane's allegation that the business Another serving GCHQ official, of Kane's matter. Specifically, they had used their in- provided GCHQ staff with fake estimates of rank, told me during our enquiry that, since telligence information to tip off Garland and moving costs in order to win the business, and 1976, when Kane left Hong Kong: his colleague, former GCHQ Operations Of- that in return staff received free metal trunks. Documentshavegonemissingallthe time ficer Frank Wilks, about our visit to Hong Before I asked the question about the three The losses have continued to the present day. Kong. Part of this shabby cover-up has now fake estimates, which Kane mentions below, World in Action established, from a senior been acknowledged by the Foreign Office, in a official with a detailed knowledge of Little Sai parliamentary reply. They were asked if Wan, that since last summer at least one fur- GCHQ's chief in Hong Kong, Mr Don Cook, ther Top Secret document has gone missing had been 'authorised to release classified in- from Little Sai Wan; specifically, a map con- formation to Mr Frank Wilks and Mr Eric taining intelligence obtained from monitored Garland': communications. When enquiriesare known to be beingmade into The same senior official describes the Wad- Government CommunicationsHeadquarters' ac- dell enquiry into Kane's allegations, con- tivities, some of which are secret, it is normal to ducted by three men on a visit to Hong Kong remind staff who may be concerned, including last year, as a farce. 'They looked at internal former staff where appropriate, of their obliga- security checkpoints, but little else'. And no tions under the OfficialSecretsAct. Mr Wilkswas so reminded. No classified information was in- action has been taken to tighten up security, volved. he says. Chinese staff, employed as cleaners on the base, are still allowed to come and go This ingenious answer acknowledges, without being searched for secret papers. somewhat indirectly, that GCHQ was aware New proof of the inadequacy of the alleged of our enquiries from its secret surveillance ac- government investigations is a major feature tivities, and that contact was then made with of the World in Action report, which was sup- former official Wilks. However, the purpose of our approach, as GCHQ well knew, was to pressed on Monday. Besides that, its general question. Wilks on the propriety of his private character resembles last week's report in the business dealings in hotels and furnishings, in NEW STATESMAN. the course of which he became very wealthy through trading with GCHQ staff. These mat- BESIDES THE continuing leakage of ters did not touch on 'secret' activities or documents from Hong Kong, there is clear 'obligations under the Official Secrets Act'. evidence that Kane's most serious complaints Nor does the Foreign Office explain why have never been investigated - or, if in- Garland, who never worked for GCHQ, has vestigated, in a manner intended to avoid ge- had a phone call from 'the chief bloke (at) Lit- nuine discovery. Last week, we detailed the af- tle Sai Wan'. fair of the Ascot House Hotel, operated by a It is worth briefly restating the evidence serving Defence Ministry official and a former against these men whom the Foreign Office ap- GCHQ official, which corruptly won its parently asserts may reasonably be forewarned business from GCHQ. This affair was first of journalistic enquiries, based on GCHQ in- reported to GCHQ ten years ago in 1970. telligence. Wilks has admitted complicity in a The Lee Gardens Hotel: GCHQ's temporary accommodation for its top security employees Nothing was done. Kane has repeatedly refer- scheme to induce GCHQ civil servants to hire in Hong Kong. and the site of the most blatant red to the affair, including in his statement to his furniture, by making gifts of refrigerators call glrl racket among the colony's luxury the Waddell enquiry in 1979. Nothing was and other goodies. hotels. 774 .the manager said: We're only allowed to give one estimate now From the rest of our conversation it became clear that part of the 'evasive action' which CGHQ had taken to block our enquiries in Hong Kong was warning the Dah Yeung com- pany. PERHAPS THE MOST REMARKABLE ex- ample of continuing security laxity in Hong Kong is the manner in which GCHQ has taken out permanent lettings (for temporary accom- modation of staff) in a new hotel closely con- nected with Triad prostitution rackets - and in turn connected with the Kuomintang, a na- tionalist Chinese subversive and intelligence Alec Crombie, his superior and Duty Officer at the organisation. station; whose basic salary is over £10,000 per The Lee Gardens Hotel, in Hysan Avenue annum. (A Radio Supervisor gets £7,900.) Hong Kong, was built in 1972. Its first public THESE DISPARATE dwellings are occupied by It would be remarkable for such evidently GCHQ officials Who work at the Irton Moor Sta- lucrative private enterprise to be allowed by any relations manager was the remarkable and tion near Scarborough. The differehce between civil service department, let alone one like GCHQ ubiquitous Mr Eric Garland, whose first job it the two is that the opulent mansion (left) out in the solely concerned with secret intelligence. Despite was after leaving the employment of the country is owned by the junior employee of the these private activities however, Shaw was one of Ministry of Defence. GCHQ now permanently two. That's because GCHQ allows the occupier, GCHQ's more efficient operatives in Hong Kong, Radio Supervisor Derek Shaw, to run his own according to Jock Kane. But Kane was disturbed leases 20-30 suites for visiting intelligence private security business in Hong Kong, and in Bri- by GCHQ's practice of allowing Shaw to bring a staff.
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