4. Donald Maclean worked closely with Burgess in the British Foreign Office
Donald Maclean worked in the British Foreign Office in the 1930s, followed by a stint with the BBC, another with MI6, and then the Foreign Office again. As an undercover operative for the Soviet Union Maclean often proved almost comically inept. Another heavy drinker, he frequently talked openly and loudly about his activities, at parties and in pubs and bars. On at least one occasion he lost classified documents he had taken from the Foreign Office. Along with Burgess and Anthony Blunt, he took up residence in the home of Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild. The house became a noted destination for those wishing to pursue a path of debauchery during the war years, which Rothschild later vehemently denied.
In 1944 Maclean went to Washington as the Second Secretary of the British legation to the United States. He later achieved promotion to First Secretary. During the years following World War II Maclean sent to Moscow copies of diplomatic cables between Washington and London. He sent minutes and amplified information from meetings of several groups discussing atomic weapon secrets. Nearly all of the atomic bomb, as well as atomic energy, secrets shared between the United States, Britain, and Canada went to Moscow through Maclean’s efforts. Maclean first attracted the attention of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation during his stay in Washington. Insufficient evidence precluded his being charged as a spy. By 1948 Maclean appeared in Cairo, where he continued to draw the attention of British and American intelligence agencies interested in his activities.