Talk:Duke of Berwick-upon-Tweed

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Kim Philby, in "My Silent War" writes:

...The existence of neutral diplomats was a lasting embarrasment to the British security authorities. The problem was brought to their attention early by the Duke of Alba, the ambassador of Spain. We had regular access to the spanish diplomatic bag and, from it, learned that Alba periodically sent to Madrid dispatches on the British political scene of quite exceptional quality. As we had no doubt that the Spanish foreign ministry would make them available to their German allies, these dispatches represented a really serious leakage. Yet there was nothing that could be done. There was no evidence that the Duke had obtained his information improperly. He simply moved with people in the know and he reported what they said, with shrewd commentaries of his own. For some time MI5 toyed with the idea of using him as a channel for deception. But his informants were just too high up. They included such people as Brendan Bracken, Beaverbrook, even Churchill himself; they could scarcely stoop to trickery with a grandee of spain. So there we had to leave it, cherishing a single hope. Alba's reports maintained a tone wholly friendly to Britain. It was possible that Hitler would dismiss him as an incurable Anglophile. After all he was Duke of Berwick, too....

This is good stuff. I think we should add it here and in House of Alba. --euyyn 09:58, 3 July 2006 (UTC)