Talk:John Cairncross

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As with all espionage accusations, I would like to see some references on this page. Aconnelly 11:33, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

In this article Cairncross is asserted as the definitive "fifth man". However the article about the Cambridge 5 itself claims that there are several candidates.

[edit] Bias

Aconnelly -- you've requested references before, but could you explain what bias you see in this page? Thanks. — Matt Crypto 16:58, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

The accusations regarding Cairncross have never been substantiated. As far as I know-- I looked into this a little bit in the Bodleian upon noticing the page-- there is no evidence to substantiate them. I requested references because I wanted to give the creator a chance to defend his position before going about making changes. Please, if I am missing some important protocl, let me know. Aconnelly 17:24, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

Most biogs of Victor Rothschild assume that he was effectively cleared of suspicion about being the Fifth Man once Cairncross was "unmasked". The Kenneth Rose biog Elusive Rothschild: The Life of Victor, Third Baron does not seem to give a Cairncross source, but hints that the ref may be: "My Five Cambridge Friends" by Yuri Modin, a KGB controller. Can this be checked? mervyn 21:40, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

It seems that Cairncross confessed to passing some secrets to the Soviets; I guess that the disputed matter is whether he passed atomic secrets? — Matt Crypto 23:04, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

I have ordered the Modin book from the stacks, and will look into it Wednesday. I am not sure, however, that a tell-all is an appropriate source. When I said I hadn't found any information to substantiate the claims about Cairncross, I was referring to academic works or works of high journalistic integrity. If Modin accuses Cairncross, then we should change the page to reflect that this is an accusation, not fact. Matt, I am not sure whether the references tag quite does it. We aren't simply looking for references to substantiate the accusations post hoc; we should be looking to determine whether the accusations can be substantiated, and simultaneously whether they can be dismissed. You may have noticed there are a number of HUAC-style allegations on the pages of several figures of the period (the worst-case example being Dean Acheson). I would like to see these conformed to higher standard of credibility, while still giving equal validity. Aconnelly 13:17, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

This source says that he hat not confessed to be the fifth man: [1] 82.83.52.210 09:39, 11 February 2006 (UTC)-

Per the New York Times, September 23, 1991

"A BRITON ADMITS SPYING FOR SOVIETS" (an unambiguous headline, no?)

"The identity of the "fifth man" in Moscow's notorious British spy ring has been unveiled by the man himself -- John Cairncross, a former British intelligence agent. "I was made one of the five during the war," Mr. Cairncross, 78 years old, was quoted as saying by The Mail..."

I can pull the entire article if you need. Uucp 16:33, 17 April 2007 (UTC)