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Some may find this interesting..
Here is a series of exchanges in The House of Commons surrounding Secret Service payment funds, Sir Robert Anderson, and involves Littlechild, Munro and Sir Charles Warren..
SIR ROBERT ANDERSON AND "THE. TIMES" ARTICLES.
20 April 1910
Mr. REDDY asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can state if any secret service money was disbursed at the instance or on the advice of Sir Robert Anderson; and, if so, whether he can state the total amount?
The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Churchill)-For obvious reasons I can make no statement on this subject.
Mr. MacVEAGH asked what safeguards are in operation to prevent money disbursed in connection with the Secret Service Fund being improperly or wastefully employed?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-No charge is admitted by the Comptroller and Auditor-General against the Vote for Secret Service unless covered by a certificate by the Minister of the Crown responsible for the payments, solemnly declaring that the interests of the public service required them to be made out of the Secret Service Fund and that they were properly so made.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Has the Treasury any reason to think those safeguards are sufficient, and is there any record as to whether any part of the £50,000 -which was offered by "The Times" newspaper to P. J. Sheridan was to come from the Secret Service Fund?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-There are no such records at all that I know of.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that large sums of money were paid out from the Secret Service Fund to agents provocateurs for giving information with regard to plots which they themselves were organising with money supplied by the Secret Service Fund?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-I have no such information.
Mr. FLAVIN-Who supervises or checks the expenditure of the Secret Service Fund?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-I have already explained that the Minister responsible for the Department with which the particular expenditure is connected is responsible for the proper expenditure.
Mr. MacVEAGH-asked whether Mr. Munro received any gratuity from public funds on the termination of his appointment in Scotland Yard; and whether he was entitled to any pension?
Mr. CHURCHILL-The answer to both questions is in the negative.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Why is it that Sir Robert Anderson had an increase of salary, a pension and a knighthood whilst his superior official receives neither a pension nor a knighthood?
Mr. CHURCHILL-I am afraid I. cannot give any explanation of the freaks of fortune in the world.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Are there any records to show on whose advice Sir Robert Anderson received a knighthood?
Mr. CHURCHILL-That was the decision of a Government which has long passed away. I cannot investigate, justify or explain, still less impeach their motives.
Mr. FLAVIN-Was the knighthood conferred on Sir Robert Anderson for services rendered to the Tory party?
Mr. CHURCHILL-I know nothing of the circumstances.
Mr. FLAVIN-Who conferred the knighthood on Sir Robert Anderson?
Mr. CHURCHILL-The King.
Mr. MacVEAGH asked what official position was being held by Sir Robert Anderson on the date on which Pigott and Mr. Soames got permission to visit John Daly and Dr. Gallagher in Chatham Prison; on the date on which a similar permit was issued to Inspector Littlechild; and on the date on which Pigott escaped?
Mr. CHURCHILL-Neither Inspector Littlechild nor Pigott appears to have visited Dr. Gallagher. At the time when the other visits mentioned took place, and also at the time of Pigott's escape, Sir Robert Anderson occupied the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether Inspector Littlechild and Pigott were admitted to the prison to interview these prisoners?
Mr. CHURCHILL-My information is that they were not.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Well, that information is diametrically opposed to the information given to the Parnell Commission.
Mr. MacVEAGHasked whether Sir Robert Anderson filed any official memoranda embodying the substance of the communications made to him by Le Caron?
Mr. CHURCHILL-No, Sir.
Mr. MacVEAGH-If no official report has been filed, what evidence have the Home Office that they ever got value for their money?
Mr. CHURCHILL-I suppose that the Secretary of State for the time being was satisfied that full value was received for the money.
Captain CRAIG-May I ask whether value was not received in the fact that a great many of the crimes of the Nationalist party of that day were laid open to the public?
Mr. MALLABY-DEELEY-May I ask how much further time of this House is to be wasted by these fruitless and absurd inquiries?
Mr. SPEAKER-The hon. Member is not entitled to make that observation.
Mr. MacVEAGH asked whether there is any precedent for terminating the career of any Scotland Yard official on the ground that he wrote articles for a magazine?
Mr. CHURCHILL-The correspondence which led to Sir Charles Warren's retirement in 1888 originated in a magazine article written by him; but it would hardly be correct to say that that article was the ground of his retirement. Apart from that case, I know of no precedent.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Has the attention of the right hon. Gentleman been called to the fact that the Home Secretary of that time, Mr. Matthews, now Lord Llandaff, declared explicitly in this House that the only cause for the censure passed on Sir Charles Warren and his subsequent retirement was that he wrote this article in "Murray's Magazine"?
Mr. LAWSON-May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is a not uncommon practice for high officials to write articles in various magazines?
Mr. CHURCHILL-If it is a not uncommon practice it is certainly one which should be discouraged when and if these articles trench at all upon subjects which are matters of controversy, and in respect to which the knowledge they have acquired has been due solely to their official position.
Mr. MacVEAGH-May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to answer the question I put to him, namely, whether the Home Secretary of the day declared in this House that the only cause for the censure passed on Sir Charles Warren was as stated in the question?
Mr. SPEAKER-The hon. Member can find that out for himself. If there is any record in the Proceedings of the House, he will be able to find it.
Mr. MacVEAGH-I have found it out already.
Mr. CHURCHILL-The hon. Member has placed newspaper extracts at my disposal, and, so far as public accounts go, his statement is not out of harmony with those accounts, but I am informed by the Home Office that the retirement of Sir Charles Warren was not the writing of the article, but the discussion and correspondence which proceeded from that original act.
Captain COOPER-May I ask if that applies to Ministers of the Crown who write articles descriptive of the Departments for which they are responsible?
Mr. CHURCHILL-Every case must be judged entirely on its merits or demerits.
best wishes
Phil
Some may find this interesting..
Here is a series of exchanges in The House of Commons surrounding Secret Service payment funds, Sir Robert Anderson, and involves Littlechild, Munro and Sir Charles Warren..
SIR ROBERT ANDERSON AND "THE. TIMES" ARTICLES.
20 April 1910
Mr. REDDY asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can state if any secret service money was disbursed at the instance or on the advice of Sir Robert Anderson; and, if so, whether he can state the total amount?
The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Churchill)-For obvious reasons I can make no statement on this subject.
Mr. MacVEAGH asked what safeguards are in operation to prevent money disbursed in connection with the Secret Service Fund being improperly or wastefully employed?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-No charge is admitted by the Comptroller and Auditor-General against the Vote for Secret Service unless covered by a certificate by the Minister of the Crown responsible for the payments, solemnly declaring that the interests of the public service required them to be made out of the Secret Service Fund and that they were properly so made.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Has the Treasury any reason to think those safeguards are sufficient, and is there any record as to whether any part of the £50,000 -which was offered by "The Times" newspaper to P. J. Sheridan was to come from the Secret Service Fund?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-There are no such records at all that I know of.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that large sums of money were paid out from the Secret Service Fund to agents provocateurs for giving information with regard to plots which they themselves were organising with money supplied by the Secret Service Fund?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-I have no such information.
Mr. FLAVIN-Who supervises or checks the expenditure of the Secret Service Fund?
Mr. HOBHOUSE-I have already explained that the Minister responsible for the Department with which the particular expenditure is connected is responsible for the proper expenditure.
Mr. MacVEAGH-asked whether Mr. Munro received any gratuity from public funds on the termination of his appointment in Scotland Yard; and whether he was entitled to any pension?
Mr. CHURCHILL-The answer to both questions is in the negative.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Why is it that Sir Robert Anderson had an increase of salary, a pension and a knighthood whilst his superior official receives neither a pension nor a knighthood?
Mr. CHURCHILL-I am afraid I. cannot give any explanation of the freaks of fortune in the world.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Are there any records to show on whose advice Sir Robert Anderson received a knighthood?
Mr. CHURCHILL-That was the decision of a Government which has long passed away. I cannot investigate, justify or explain, still less impeach their motives.
Mr. FLAVIN-Was the knighthood conferred on Sir Robert Anderson for services rendered to the Tory party?
Mr. CHURCHILL-I know nothing of the circumstances.
Mr. FLAVIN-Who conferred the knighthood on Sir Robert Anderson?
Mr. CHURCHILL-The King.
Mr. MacVEAGH asked what official position was being held by Sir Robert Anderson on the date on which Pigott and Mr. Soames got permission to visit John Daly and Dr. Gallagher in Chatham Prison; on the date on which a similar permit was issued to Inspector Littlechild; and on the date on which Pigott escaped?
Mr. CHURCHILL-Neither Inspector Littlechild nor Pigott appears to have visited Dr. Gallagher. At the time when the other visits mentioned took place, and also at the time of Pigott's escape, Sir Robert Anderson occupied the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether Inspector Littlechild and Pigott were admitted to the prison to interview these prisoners?
Mr. CHURCHILL-My information is that they were not.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Well, that information is diametrically opposed to the information given to the Parnell Commission.
Mr. MacVEAGHasked whether Sir Robert Anderson filed any official memoranda embodying the substance of the communications made to him by Le Caron?
Mr. CHURCHILL-No, Sir.
Mr. MacVEAGH-If no official report has been filed, what evidence have the Home Office that they ever got value for their money?
Mr. CHURCHILL-I suppose that the Secretary of State for the time being was satisfied that full value was received for the money.
Captain CRAIG-May I ask whether value was not received in the fact that a great many of the crimes of the Nationalist party of that day were laid open to the public?
Mr. MALLABY-DEELEY-May I ask how much further time of this House is to be wasted by these fruitless and absurd inquiries?
Mr. SPEAKER-The hon. Member is not entitled to make that observation.
Mr. MacVEAGH asked whether there is any precedent for terminating the career of any Scotland Yard official on the ground that he wrote articles for a magazine?
Mr. CHURCHILL-The correspondence which led to Sir Charles Warren's retirement in 1888 originated in a magazine article written by him; but it would hardly be correct to say that that article was the ground of his retirement. Apart from that case, I know of no precedent.
Mr. MacVEAGH-Has the attention of the right hon. Gentleman been called to the fact that the Home Secretary of that time, Mr. Matthews, now Lord Llandaff, declared explicitly in this House that the only cause for the censure passed on Sir Charles Warren and his subsequent retirement was that he wrote this article in "Murray's Magazine"?
Mr. LAWSON-May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is a not uncommon practice for high officials to write articles in various magazines?
Mr. CHURCHILL-If it is a not uncommon practice it is certainly one which should be discouraged when and if these articles trench at all upon subjects which are matters of controversy, and in respect to which the knowledge they have acquired has been due solely to their official position.
Mr. MacVEAGH-May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to answer the question I put to him, namely, whether the Home Secretary of the day declared in this House that the only cause for the censure passed on Sir Charles Warren was as stated in the question?
Mr. SPEAKER-The hon. Member can find that out for himself. If there is any record in the Proceedings of the House, he will be able to find it.
Mr. MacVEAGH-I have found it out already.
Mr. CHURCHILL-The hon. Member has placed newspaper extracts at my disposal, and, so far as public accounts go, his statement is not out of harmony with those accounts, but I am informed by the Home Office that the retirement of Sir Charles Warren was not the writing of the article, but the discussion and correspondence which proceeded from that original act.
Captain COOPER-May I ask if that applies to Ministers of the Crown who write articles descriptive of the Departments for which they are responsible?
Mr. CHURCHILL-Every case must be judged entirely on its merits or demerits.
best wishes
Phil
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