Vassall Tribunal
Encyclopedia
The Vassall Tribunal was a public inquiry
undertaken in 1963 by the British
government in the wake of the John Vassall
affair. Vassall, a civil servant
working in the Admiralty
, had been revealed the previous year to be a Soviet
spy, and considerable criticism had been leveled at the security arrangements that were in place. The tribunal was established to investigate these claims, and determine whether any blame could be laid on officials or ministers.
At first, the inquiry was to be conducted by three senior civil servants — the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Treasury, the Treasury Solicitor, and the Second Secretary at the Treasury. Before it could begin, however, letters were discovered in Vassall's possession from Tam Galbraith
, who had been a Civil Lord of the Admiralty. It was thought odd that a minister would communicate by post with an official of his own department, and there was considerable speculation of impropriety in the press. Given Vassall's known homosexuality, rumours began to circulate that Vassall and Galbraith were involved with each other, and that Galbraith might have shielded Vassall from discovery. The committee of civil servants investigated the correspondence and declared it innocent, but this verdict was not universally accepted. Eventually, the Prime Minister was compelled to open a wider inquiry, conducted by three jurists. Eventually, the inquiry determined that Vassall had not been helped or favoured by any of his seniors.
The inquiry was controversial in some quarters for compelling journalists to reveal the sources behind their allegations, and for having two journalists (including Brendan Mulholland of the Daily Mail and Reg Foster of the Daily Sketch) who refused prosecuted and jailed for contempt of court.
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
undertaken in 1963 by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government in the wake of the John Vassall
John Vassall
William John Christopher Vassall was a British civil servant who, under pressure of blackmail, spied for the Soviet Union....
affair. Vassall, a civil servant
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
working in the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, had been revealed the previous year to be a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
spy, and considerable criticism had been leveled at the security arrangements that were in place. The tribunal was established to investigate these claims, and determine whether any blame could be laid on officials or ministers.
At first, the inquiry was to be conducted by three senior civil servants — the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Treasury, the Treasury Solicitor, and the Second Secretary at the Treasury. Before it could begin, however, letters were discovered in Vassall's possession from Tam Galbraith
Tam Galbraith
The Hon. Sir Thomas Galloway Dunlop Galbraith, KBE , was a British Conservative politician....
, who had been a Civil Lord of the Admiralty. It was thought odd that a minister would communicate by post with an official of his own department, and there was considerable speculation of impropriety in the press. Given Vassall's known homosexuality, rumours began to circulate that Vassall and Galbraith were involved with each other, and that Galbraith might have shielded Vassall from discovery. The committee of civil servants investigated the correspondence and declared it innocent, but this verdict was not universally accepted. Eventually, the Prime Minister was compelled to open a wider inquiry, conducted by three jurists. Eventually, the inquiry determined that Vassall had not been helped or favoured by any of his seniors.
The inquiry was controversial in some quarters for compelling journalists to reveal the sources behind their allegations, and for having two journalists (including Brendan Mulholland of the Daily Mail and Reg Foster of the Daily Sketch) who refused prosecuted and jailed for contempt of court.