Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal

I first came across the Cambridge Four–a ring of British spies recruited by Soviet Union scout Arnold Deutsch–thanks to my obsession over an actor who played (still does) detective Sherlock Holmes in BBC’s Sherlock. It was while 'researching' my favourite actor’s—yes, a juvenile label indeed—works that I came across the famous four (or five as they are often thought to be). My ‘favourite one’ had, in the beginning of his career, a critically-acclaimed play on an evening’s conversation between Winston Churchill and one of the famous four—Guy Burgess—often thought to be the ring leader of the gang. During World War II and well into the early 1950s, four meritorious students Kim Philby (Stanley), Donald Duart Maclean (Homer), Guy Burgess (Hicks) and Anthony Blunt (Johnson) were allegedly recruited during their Cambridge University days in the 1930s. Blunt and Burgess were members of Apostles, an exclusive society based at Trinity and King’s Colleges. A fifth man, John Cairncross (Liszt), also an Apostle is often labelled as the fifth man in the ring of Famous Five (not the Enid Blyton variety).

For his fourth book Ben Macintyre turns his attention to Kim Philby— one of the Cambridge Spies. Historically, this book may not offer much that is new, but it does tell the story from a different viewpoint; that of his friendships, most notably with Nicholas Elliott. In other words, this is not really a straight-forward biography of Philby, but focusses on his personality and on the Old Boy network that enabled him to evade detection for so long. The book begins with the meeting between Philby and Elliott in Beirut in January, 1963, with Elliott confronting his former friend about his betrayal of his country and trying to obtain a confession. He must certainly have felt betrayed personally too, as he had done much to protect Philby from earlier suspicions by MI5—defending and helping him when he was in difficulty.

Debate surrounds the exact timing of their recruitment by Soviet intelligence; Anthony Blunt claimed that they were not recruited as agents until they had graduated. Blunt, a Fellow of Trinity College, was several years older than Burgess, Maclean, and Philby; he acted as a talent-spotter and recruiter for most of the group save Burgess. Several people have been suspected of being the “fifth man” of the group.

This fascinating account looks at the early life of both men, their meeting during WWII and their career in the Secret Intelligence Service. Kim Philby was, from the beginning, a Soviet agent. The Old Boy network which had brought both Elliott and Philby into the intelligence service meant that while agents were secretive outside of their immediate circle, they were horribly indiscreet within it, trusting on bonds of class and social networking to protect them.

In this book, we read of Elliott’s and Philby’s careers, and personal life, including the jaw dropping appointment of Philby as head of the Soviet Section. As the Second World War ended and the Cold War began, Philby was able to inform Moscow of exactly what Britain was doing to counter Soviet espionage and, indeed, their own espionage efforts against Moscow. There is no doubt that Philby’s actions were an odd mix of defiant belief in the Soviet Union and an inability to take responsibility for his own actions.

As Kim Philby’s life descended into the drama of defection, Macintyre asks whether he was, in fact, allowed to escape. Would his possible trial been such an embarrassment to the British government that he was simply given the chance to leave? However, the real core of this book is his friendship with Nicholas Elliott and the two men are almost given equal space.

Personally, I found this a really interesting read and there is an enjoyable afterword, written by John le Carre. It is impossible to defend Kim Philby for his actions, but his story—both personal and as a spy— are certainly larger than life. If you have read anything by Ben Macintyre before, you will know that this is a not a dry and academic account, but reads almost like a spy novel. It is certainly a riveting read and another well written and entertaining book from the talented Ben Macintyre.