11. Philby came under suspicion following the disappearance of Burgess and Maclean
Kim Philby’s long association with Burgess, both professional and personal, immediately put him under suspicion of being complicit in the disappearance. During the summer of 1951, Philby received orders to return to London. Under interrogation, he denied knowledge of the two missing diplomats’ espionage and disappearance. The evidence produced against Philby proved insufficient to charge him with any crimes. Nonetheless, he resigned his position with MI6 in London in July. Philby was allowed to resign rather than face immediate dismissal. The British actions led to increased mistrust of MI6 by their American counterparts. Philby continued to submit to interrogations by the British following his resignation. For two years he failed to find work as a journalist in London.
In 1954 Philby joined a small London newspaper which focused on diplomatic affairs. After several years of interrogation, he requested the government publicly acknowledge his innocence. In November 1955, then Foreign Secretary Harold MacMillan cleared Philby of any and all acts of espionage. “I have no reason to conclude that Mr. Philby has at any time betrayed the interests of his country…”, MacMillan informed the House of Commons. Philby followed the announcement with a press conference of his own, in which he denied having ever been a communist. He continued to proclaim his complete innocence and stressed his long service to his country. By 1956 Philby was in Beirut, ostensibly as a journalist, a position he used to renew contacts with MI6. Once again, Philby had gained access to classified information of interest to the Soviets.