Secret Agent’s Stories.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 April 1921, Page 4

Secret Agent’s Stories.

£SOO LIBEL DAMAGES

LONDON, Feb. 5

Damages amounting to £SOO were awarded in the King’s Bench Division yesterday to Mr Herbert J. IV. Booth, tt private inquiry agent, of Headley, Surrey, who was employed in the English Secret Service during the war. He was the plaintiff in a libel action against the Victoria House Printing and Publishing Co., Ltd., Carmelite street, E.C., and the proprietors of the Daily Herald, and complained of statements in tin article in “that paper on December 20, beaded, "Spies and Agents Provocateurs.” Defendants pleaded justification. Sir Ellis Hume-Williams, K.C., who appeared for Mr Booth, said in September 191(5, he joined the staff ol what was known its Permanent Military Secretary No 2. At that time this country was making tremendous efforts to • increase munitions of war of every kind, and German agents were trying to minimise our efforts. The P.M.S. 2 Department was therefore established bv the Government.

In a certain factory one would find tin output of too many bad fuses. A great number of shells were backfiring, which indicated that they had been carelessly made or else something else had occurred which necessitated investigation. Suspicious fires took place in factories, and one recalled the fire tit Silvertown.

Mr Booth went about the country as

"Comrade Bert.” He went to the extreme Socialist clubs, mixed with the men and heard their conversations, and as far as possible triel to ascertain "hat inlluciices were at work. THE WHEELDON CASE.

It Wits Mr Booth who gave information about the plot to murder Mr Lloyd George, for which the Wheeldon family were prosecuted at Derby in 191 1. Poison tlaits were to he shot at the Prime Minister when.on Walton Heath. In a review in the Daily Herald of a book called, "The Skilled Labourer. 17C0-1532,” the following appeared: The civil war that flourished 100 years ago still goes on, and within the pages of "The Skilled Labourer” will he found not only a human history of the attempts made by miners, cotton operatives, woollen workers, silk-weavers, and hosiery and lace makers to repel the rising tide of capitalism and huge settle production, hut a thrilling account of the methods used by the Government of that time to heat down the workers. They are the same methods as are iicing used to-day—-the spy and the agent-provocateur. Then it was Oliver: to-day it is Booth and Gordon: then it was Sidinoutli: today it is Basil Thomson. Then the loyalty of trade unionists was sapped by bribes; to-day the hand of the Special Department of Scotland 'lard is evetywheic to he lottnd. ANTI-AI R CRAFT BULLET. , In iiis evidence Mr Booth said : "1 had to get hold of men who wore attempting to steal, and did actually steal, the Pomeroy bullet which brought down aeroplanes.” ; How did you conduct your inquiries? : i tried to find out where jK'rsons belonging to organisations such its the Industrial Workers of the World and kindred organisations met at night. How would you be intinduced?—As "Comrade Bert,” a conscientious objector on the run. Did you attend meetings of revolutionaries?— Yes, as a member of the audience. DENOUNCED FROM PLATFORM. You have heard yourself denounced front the platform?—Yes. Sometimes somebody else got thrown out for me. How did you discover the existence of the plot to blow up -Mr Lloyd George?— I sent to Derby a man framed Alee Gordon, who was working with me. lie had specific instructions to gel into touch with prominent revolutionaries. Afterwards 1 received a telegram from Gordon staling, "Plot to murder Lloyd George and Arthur Henderson. Come at once.”

It is said that tinder your assumed name you asked Mrs Wheeldon what, in hot opinion, was the best way to poison .Mr Lloyd George, at a time wnoii she had spoken generally to the effect that certain .Ministers ought to he killed? —No. She spoke to me of poisoning, and 1 asked her how she proposed to do it. Site mentioned curare. I did not know anything about it—whether you drunk it or ate it. She said it could he given at a restaurant where Mr 1.10.vd George and Mr Henderson were and' that 1 could get a position in an hotel as “hoots,” see that a nail was exposed in the heel of their hoots, paint the end of the nail with curare, and they would he dead men in 20 minutes. Another tiling she suggested was to file I the chain of the overcoat so that it, left ! a rough edge to scratch the neck and cause death. A further idea site had was that if 1 went to Walton Heath and watched Air Lloyd George playing goli I could conceal myself and shoot tit him with a dart-gun, the darts to he dipped in the poison. Mr Patrick Hastings K.C. (for the • defence): You went to people under the pretence that you were in trouble and got them to offer you an asylum. You don’t think yours was a loathsome occupation?—No. I do not, and I would do it again.

Questioned by Mr -Hastings about the part he played in connection with the Whoeldons, who were prosecuted for thre n tening to poison Mr Lloyd George, Mr Booth ?ail it wa quite possible lie dictated a letter to Gordon tor Goilon to write to the Wheeldons introducing him as a p" on to ■■ !rusted and asking when the poison was com-

Mr Patrick Hastings, for the defence, said that nobody thought any the worse of Air Booth in consequence of what- had appeared in the Daily Herald, and nobody could suggest that he had been injured in his business as an inquiry agent.

The jury returned a verdict for Mr Booth, assessing the damages at £SOO. Alt Justice Coleridge granted an application for tt stav of execution.