DIARY OF A SOMEBODY

the Fleet Street newspaper tycoon who ran the Mirror group for a quarter of a century, has blown the gaff.

He has published a personal diary he kept from 1965 to 1970 during the years of the Wilson government.

Herisa tho the published material only from his daily account of his meetings with Cabinet ministers, bankers and businessHe told a literary luncheon the other day that the book is only a third or a quarter of the diary. I have cut out any passages which could form a breach of confidence'.

If the 300-odd pages published on Monday represent the edited and more discreet sections of his diaries, the rest must he absolutely stlisational!

In 3 fit of cranky pique, King has released his diaries while he and all the other participants are still very much around and in business.

He utterly exposes the links between the Tory Press and the top politicians and in the process reveals their frailty. His prose is enlivened by poisonous streak which vilifies the majority of the dignatories he sups with. It is written in the most lethal vein— the jugular vein.

Un censured by the ruling been censured class. In the capitalist Press you can find review after review which lambasts the man they previously crawled before.

Woodrow Wyatt, the Labour MP who drew a salary from the 'Daily Mirror' for years in return for writing a reactionary column, said in "The Sunday Times' last weekend:

'Cecil King is a monumental bore. I used to have lunch with him only because he was the chairman of IPC (the International Printing Corporation) and I wrote a column for the "Daily Mirror" I have never heard from Cecil King an original idea, an amusing remark or anything which indicated why y he should have emerged at the head of a large business and newspaper emphan a handful of shares more without owning Richard Marsh, the Labourite turned railway hatchet man for the Tories, was so incensad over the entries about him in King's diaries that ha wrote a letter to "The Times'. 'One can only say— UGH to King's caddish behaviour, wrote the oftended Mr Marsh.

(Marsh's public indignation is odd. When King spoke to the Press earlier this week he said he would shortly be having lunch with none other than Victor Feather of the TUC and UK Press Gazette" TUC and. Richard Marsh.) Colin Valdar, one of King's editors, ended his outraged article with this pomposity:

It is a desperate situation for journalists when a mar who has been one of their most distinguished associates and champions shows so little respect for the privileged newspapers openedposition him. sources which his position in From a mannered man, it is an ill-mannered example.' And on a BBC television programme last week, the (K Liberal Ludovic Kennedy, ser foamed and fumed as he in- dis terrogated King about his wh 'breach of faith' in bringing tin out conversations and anecdotes about the men in high dis places. bel The King has po: shruggea on tne unreals to cut i01 him out of high society. He an! told at his book WC launching: I think nir It was usE ordinary conversa- Ki: tion. The diary was not compiled publication. Had I remained in • Fleet Co Street, ali: have published any book.' ch:

He said that the theme of Lo pri the diary was that 'our political emperors have no clothes. bu When reminded that Wood- Ar The row Wyatt had described him monumental bore, King ite be said drily: I have had harsher epithets applied in the past. UI But Mr able authority' an sig As King says, he 'EI wrote the "from the The front row of the political fer dil intimate on the political and na th the country.

ing group in world by sister of newspaper barons, and His editorover the largest chain ever concentrated the hands of one man-the 'Daily Mirror' His main plaything, the gave all-out backing to Party in the Election, said, he felt about London in my office bonnet saying King's for the Labour Party based on SULL to two major the Common with the When neither of objectives could ing believes he didn't try iously enough) he became illusioned and slumped into lat was described at the he as 'melancholia'.

His diary reveals important icussions which commenced hind the scenes about the ssible formation of a natal government in which he d other captains of industry ›uld play a vital role in run1g the country.

In preparing for high office directorships with the Bank accepted Wilson's offer England and the National sal Board. Here he was gned with the respective airmen, Lord Cromer and ird Robens, who were also ivate advocates of a national sinessmen's government. nother malcontent that he Id talks with was ex-LabourSir Oswald Mosley who came leader of the British nion of Fascists.

On May 10, 1968, he wrot astonishing front-page ¡ned editorial entitled nough is enough' in which called for Wilson's replaceent as Prime Minister.

days later his 13 corectors called for his resignation and he was ousted from to it he was used tron significance of King's mat extremely precise and timate vision politica velopments. And when King eaks he is not a complete ner; what he was saying iring the years 1965-1970 is lly a reflection of what rger number of them were ying. irporatism poratis they were plannise ars, how much more sinister us bed poetek rooms of tre ch today.

He has clumsily blurted out e truth about the crisis in iling-class circles-warts and For revolutionaries it is book well worth reading be. luse it provides such a canleast a section of nate ce of d appraisal of the nature lemy.

Further extracts from lary will Torkers Press eek. "he Cecil King 970° is publishe ape from King's examined in during next by Jonathan

Sir Alec Douglas-Home. Tory Foreign Secretary:

agreed with those who greeted his appointment to the Foreign Office with derision, and his nomination to 10 Downing Street with stupefaction.' (July 1965.)

Lord Shawcross. Ex-Labour minister, chairman of City Takeover Panel and BSA:

'A brilliant man and a most charming one, but hard to say why his career hasn't really been worthy of him... is now said to be lazy' (July 1965.) Lord Longford. Labour Cabinet Minister:

'Frank Longford quite useless—mental age of 12. (July 1965.)

Michael Stewart. Foreign Secretary:

think honest, intelligent, and (on his feet) articulate, but a man so dim as almost to be invisible.' (July 1965.) Charles de Gaulle.

French President:

'De Gaulle had given Wilson a glittering reception at the Grand Trianon, and then, having illustrated to his own satisfaction the importance of de Gaulle and the nullity of Wilson, took him under a spreading chestnut tree and fairly clobbered him.' (July 1967) Sir Arnold Weinstock. Chairman GEC:

'Lunch with Arnold Weinstock. He thought our problem in industry was not strikes but the fact that though the men didn't strike they didn't work. He believed in equal pay for equal work, but the men's wages should be brought down to that of the women. (May 1969)

Victor Feather.

TUC general secretary:

'Lunch yesterday for Vic Feather. I have known him well for years, as the "Mirror" paid him a f500-a-year retainer, and he was a useful source of trade union opinion. He seemed to think a national wages board was not an impossible idea.' (April 1969.)

Ray Gunter.

Wilson's Labour Minister:

'Ray Gunter to lunch: a nice little man. Gunter was amusing about trying to teach [Richard] Crossman the facts of life: that the British working man does not want to see equal wages for women; does not like family allowances; has little sympathy for the lowerpaid worker.' (October 1968.) Lord Stokes. Chairman 'He has a pleasant personality and is, I believe, a good alesman, but inat is alligreat but that is all. uggestion that he is a industrialist" or whatever is nonsense.' (February 1969.) Peter Shore. Minister Economic Affairs:

'Crosland will not impress the business world-even less will Shore, who, though 434, gives the impression of being a clever undergraduate. I should say his ceiling would be as a university lecturer in economics. However, he is a friend of Wilson and that, presumably, is enough.' (August 1967.) Enoch Powell. Tory MP:

'What impressed me, and what I did not know of before was his love of the army and particularly of the discipline of the army, especially when he was a private. He may be the herald a new fascist regime-but we have certainly not heard the last of Enoch Powell. (December 1968) Jenis Healey. Labour Defence Minister:

'He [Heath] also mentioned in passing that Denis Healey is intolerably arrogant. He had been this when they were both (and Rov Jenkins) at Balliol.' (July 1968.) yndon jolinson. US President:

'He is obviously obsessed by Vietnam and finds it difficult to talk or think of anything else. He seemed to judge people by their willingness to stand by him, SO he spoke very warmly of Harold Holt (who is a pleasant nonentity), of Bob Menzies (much abler than Holt, but a lazy snob). (September 1966.)

Lord Goodman. Chairman of the Newspaper Publishers' Association:

'We gave a dinner party at Claridge's last night. I urged on Goodman, as I did a few days ago on Murdoch, the vital importat ice of closing down one of tl le newspapersat least the • 'Sketch"! (June 1970.)

Workers Prei Lord Kearton. Chairman of Courtaulds:

I had some talk with Frank Kearton who seemed to me, as usual, a very woolly-minded man. He says the squeeze is taking great effect, and that Courtaulds have difficulty in getting their bills paid even by their biggest customers. (December 1969)

Sir Oswald Mosley. Ex-British fascist leader:

'I had lunch with Oswald Mosley. He thinks the drift towards the revolution that he tried to take charge of during the 1930s has resumed. I think he sees himself in charge at last. This seems to me quite fantastic, but there is so little leadership of any kind these days that even the Enoch Powells and the Oswald Mosleys are not entirely incredible.' (March 1969) Robin Day. BBC commentator:

'At the BBC yesterday, a discussion with Robin Day. He had seen something of the Tories lately and these are his opinions: (1) Ted cannot get over his inferiority complex; (2) Maudling is bone-lazy and quite useless after lunch.' (October 1969.)

Lord Pilkington. Chairman Pilkington Bros:

'Harry Pilkington has taken the strikes that have closed 14 of his 17 factories very hard. He had no idea that his chaps would behave like other people's chaps. He is one of the nicest men I have ever met, but simple and naive. (April 1970.)

Willy Brandt. West German Chancellor:

'In the course of conversation Ted [Heath] said foreigners thought us mad to put up with such a Prime Minister as Wilson: Willy Brandt had virtually said so to Ted when he was in Bonn a few days ago.' (May 1970. lain Macleod (der Chancellor of the 'Macleod agre that our parli: stitutions are th that we are headi wing dictatorship coalition quite a only after a crash.

Roy Jenkins. Labour of the Exchequer:

*Hugh [Cudlipp] dined with Roy on the day of his appointment as chancellor and pointed out that he was now the most important man in the government. He told Hugh that this gave him a shock at the time. He went home and thought about it, and realized Hugh was right.' (February 1968) Hugh Scanion. President AUEW:

'He [Heath] recently dined with trades union chiefs: Woodcock was incoherent and negative; Cannon and Scanlon were both ready to accept the enforceability of labour contracts, but only if they were effectively operated in the cases of all unions.' (February 1969.)

Henry Kissinger. Nixon's foreign relations envoy:

'He (Dutch editor) had been in the US and had some talk with Kissinger who was then supporting Rockefeller as the Republican candidate. This Dutchman asked why. Kissinger said because it would be a disaster if Nixon became president.' (February 1969.) Harold Wilson. Labour Prime Minister:

'Wilson seems to me to have no administrative ability and his political ability is limited mostly to the parliamentary scene, and then to very short-term tactics. No problems get solved.' (March 1966.)

1972 PAGE ceased). Tory Exchequer: es with me amentary inreatened and ng for a right1. He thinks a possibility but : (April 1968)