Kim Philby: Undercover in Beirut (Ep 4)

David McCloskey (0:07)

Kim Philby is staying one step ahead of his pursuers, who suspect the MI6 man may actually be an agent for the KGB.

Now, he's heading to the Middle East, where his past will soon catch up with him. Well, welcome to The Rest Is Classified. I'm David McCloskey.

Gordon Corera (0:23)

And I'm Gordon Corera.

David McCloskey (0:24)

And we are now entering the fourth episode of the Kim Philby saga. And the last time, we looked at this really remarkable turnaround for Philby, who had been pushed out of MI6, driving a decommissioned black cab around the streets of London, really whiling away his time aimlessly, when all of a sudden, he ends up being cleared publicly by the Foreign Secretary, who announces that Kim Philby is, in fact, not the third man.

And Philby, now back in the good graces, sort of, of his former friends at MI6, has been given a very interesting new job, because MI6 has helped him to get work for the Observer newspaper, and he has been sent to Beirut, where he will be a journalist, but also a paid agent of British intelligence, and where he might again be useful to his Soviet handlers. So Philby arrives in Beirut, Lebanon in 1956

Gordon Corera (1:29)

Yeah, and it's an amazing time to be there and to start this new phase of his life, because firstly, the Middle East is in turmoil. This is a really interesting moment in the Middle East, because you've got the rise of Arab nationalism, Nasser in Egypt, you're going to have the Suez Crisis in 1956 when Nasser tries to nationalize the Suez Canal and the Brits and French try and boot him out and the Americans stop us. You've got turmoil in Syria and Iraq. It all feels a bit familiar, doesn't it?

David McCloskey (2:03)

I tell you, yes. I was going to say, it's one of the unusual spots in the last century where the Middle East has been in turmoil, right? Exactly. Otherwise quite placid.

Gordon Corera (2:13)

Although I guess what's different is then, Beirut is this wonderful, calm oasis, isn't it?

David McCloskey (2:18)

This is pre-Civil War Beirut.

So I think from Philby's perspective, it's a kind of a romantic, lively city and called famously the Paris of the Middle East. So in many ways, this feels like exactly the sort of place that Philby would love to be. I mean, very active restaurant, clubs, nightlife scene. It's really this kind of vibrant place where a guy like Philby, who's got a bunch of interesting contacts and loves himself a drink, would probably have a great time.

Gordon Corera (2:56)

Yeah, that's right. And I think it is a perfect place to be if you're trying to get back into the spying game.

Worth a moment on his personal life and life in Beirut. I mean-

David McCloskey (3:05)

I'd rare for you, Gordon.

Gordon Corera (3:06)

No, let's do the personal life because it's important in the Philby story. Because Philby is alone when he heads to Beirut in the summer of 1956 Aileen doesn't go with him, so his wife. I mean, we talked before, she's having really serious mental health problems, drinking problems. Their marriage is on the rocks. They're kind of separated, so he goes out alone.

Philby does, though, re-engage with a character from our very first series on Philby, which if you haven't heard, it's worth going back and listening to the very start, Sinjin Philby, Philby's dad. How do we summarize?

David McCloskey (3:44)

For American listeners, I will say that the name Sinjin is actually, when you spell it out, looks like St. John.

Gordon Corera (3:50)

Yeah, it is. It's fair to say, as well as the name being curious, the character is curious. I mean, this is a man who, in brief summary, has been a British civil servant, fallen out with the British civil service, helped found Saudi Arabia, been interned for being a traitor at the start of the Second World War, helped get his son inside MI6, become a famous explorer traversing the empty quarter of Saudi Arabia, converted to Islam, and married a 16-year-old Baluchi girl given to him while he's in his 60s, Sinjan, by the leader of Saudi Arabia, and he's written a ton of books. So this is a man who's lived a full life, I mean, which tells you something about the son, perhaps.

Sinjan had been living in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, but he kind of in this period, he falls in and out with the Saudis. He's kind of in and out of favor, all the time keeping up his membership of the Athenean Club in London, which is one of our back to club land in London. Reading the Times. What's the Athenean?