The Open Society and It's Enemies

by Tony Hollick

The Open Society and It's Enemies

After being chucked out of the Freedom Association, Top Thatcher aide and speechwriter Robert Moss wrote a best-selling 'roman-a-clef' 'The Spike', published Feb. 6, 1980, ISTR. It recycles the paranoid Rightist fantasy that the leading left-wing think-tank in America, the Institute for Policy Studies, is a KGB 'outstation', and is also involved with international terrorists. Yet the US has a Foreign Agents Registration Act, so _why didn't the FBI_ (which does the US counterespionage stuff too) 'bust' them all? They never arrested or charged anyone, AFAIK. IPS is still there after the Soviets have disappeared.

Rep. Larry McDonald (7th District, Georgia) read some of this stuff into the Congrressional Record, afterr Orlando Letelier (former Chilean Foreign Minister and Senior Fellow at IPS), and Ronnie Moffet (who worked at IPS) were assassinated by a car-bomb on Embassy Row in Washington.

He was also vocal about CIA Station Chief Richard Welch, who was assassinated in Athens, which US Rightists tried to blame on the 'CounterSpy' people being involved in 'disclosing' his home address (an address known to just about everyone in Athens, and identified by the East German press much earlier. Nat Hentoff, VP of the ACLU wrote for CounterSpy. John Ranelagh's brilliant book 'The Agency' discusses this case thoroughly and exonerates them.. Ranelagh's no 'crazed leftie.'

The .45 ACP automatic pistol used to kill him has since been used in other kilings by the shadowy terrorist group 'November 17'. Note the date.

Interestingly, Larry McDonald was himself later a passenger on KAL 007 when it was shot down, presumably by the Soviets. An unanswered question is why the KAL transponder apparrently did not automatic returm a 'Civilian Airliner' identifier when 'illuminated' by Soviet radars. If it was rigged to return an 'E4B' (Airborne Command and Control) ID, it's no surprise that the Soviets got over-eager.

In the UK, Soviet 'Bear' reconaissance bombers frequently intruded into British airspace. We just sent up a pair of Lightnings, and they formated one over the left wing and one under the right wing, and turned it through 180 degrees.. Photos were later exchanged of crew larking about and smiling at earch other... >:-}

Moss was also a crony of Pinochet's. He also gave lectures to the Argentine Junta's military Academies prior to the Falklands war, telling them that the Thatcher government viewd Argentina as the model for the whole of Latin America... He was also the first editor of 'Policy Review', the journal of the very powerful Heritage Foundation in Washington.

TITLE: The Open Society and its Enemies...

[This is a brief account of some of my experiences of the "Thatcher Years." Of course, some of these events may have various possible explanations. Without there having been an adequate investigation, it's not possible to know. I am not making threats, or issuing demands. This file most recently revised 27 March 1997].

[1978] 18th December; 1:00 a.m. I came within ten minutes of being killed when a large (@ 150 lb.) car-bomb exploded next to the "Oasis" building in Holborn (an MI5 outstaion), on my route home. This was after David Davis and Graham Smith had stopped their car in Tottenham Court Road next to the YMCA (where another two bombs exploded in the car park that same night), so that I could walk home to the Alternative Bookshop in Floral Street, Covent Garden.

[1979] Graham Smith, Gerald Hartup and I were verbally threatened, manhandled, and our property destroyed, by a dozen SWP and Communist Party people in the presence of Mr. Gordon McLennan, the Secretary of the Communist Party (whose assistant fetched the attackers), while we were distributing entirely innocuous "Freedom Association" literature to the public at Brixton Underground Station, pointing out the distinction between communism and capitalism: "Under Capitalism, you are free to criticise Capitalism. Under Communism, you are also free to criticize Capitalism."

On several occasions while I was living and working there, bricks were thrown, smashing through the front windows of the Alternative Bookshop at 40 Floral Street; and telephoned threats were received, as well as other acts directed against the property.

July 1879: I was dismissed from my job at "The Freedom Association", supposedly for attending an ISOS/Heritage Foundation Summer School at Cambridge during my holiday, at which I was asked by the ISOS organizers to give a talk on libertarian ideas. This was after an article by the notorious right-wing conservative and police witness Ernest van den Haag attacking libertarianism had been published by the American conservative magazine "National Review" in their July issue. Van den Haag was a participant at the Summer School, as were Gerald Frost, Geordie Hayward, Diana Bowen, Graham Smith and Keith Joseph.

Afterwards, a letter was brought to my attention, dated 14 August 1979, written by the director of "The Freedom Association", a Defence intelligence Staff army major, Derek Jackson to Lord de l'Isle, the chairman, saying that "It might be said that we have already in part neutralised the situation as the two most outspoken of the Alliance are Hollick and Chris Tame." Graham Smith was not objected to, it seems. A month later, my friend Gerald Hartup was also dismissed, but Jackson and Smith themselves were ousted before this came into effect.

[1980] Feb 4; My aunt and godparent Mrs. Joyce Pike was found dead in a river, supposedly from drowning, outside Glenside Hospital, an hour after news of a "mistaken diagnosis" of depression had been notified to me by telephone by her consultant, a Dr. Charneaud. This was after she had been subjected to months of ruinous hospitalization at Barrow, extended electroshock (at the hands of Drs. Rooth and Hughes) and drug "treatment" entirely inappropriate to a _thyroid condition_.

She herself said her problem was pain and disability casued by an incompetent knee operation, which had left her hardly able to walk, and look after her husband. My telephone calls were made from a phone subject to interception, at the Alangate Group Chairman's office.

[1981] On 3 June I had to abandon my home completely and immediately , on police instructions from David Hedges, after threats were made against me and the life of my pet cat on 2nd June by one Rex Smoothy, a criminal. He threatened to cut Beeper's throat in front of me.

This necessitated my moving immediately to David Davis's house in Denmark Rd., Bedford, more than sixty miles (five hours a day travelling time) away from my place of work.

[1982] My main client company (the Alangate Group of employment agencies) was finally deliberately and unlawfully put out of business by Inland Revenue Special Office officials, owing me #1,700.00, and leaving several thousand people without work, and this after John Blundell, Gerald Frost, Lord Cockfield and others at the Centre for Policy Studies had been told what was going on. This was the second time this had happened.

1982: My uncle and godparent Bertram Pike, a retired trade union leader, was found dead (and his will was found to have been changed; no probate document was ever received). One of his friends has said there was something suspicious about his death; I have no means of knowing.

July 1982: The MI5-controlled publication "Searchlight" published an article attacking George Miller, a young Liberal Party officer and NTS anti-Soviet activist; and the Libertarian Alliance, a small human-rights group which I had helped to found. This attack 'coincided' with the KGB arresting NTS free trade union activists in Russia.

22 Aug; A contentious Libertarian Alliance (LA) foreign policy day-school took place.

October; the LA dispute worsened. At Chris Tame's request, I went to his assistance, and that of the Alternative Bookshop and George Miller. A sub-group of Libertarian Alliance members, led by David Ramsay Steele and Mark Brady, and supported by the American-based Institute for Humane Studies and SEARCHLIGHT, were trying illicitly to seize control of the Alternative Bookshop and the LA.

20 Nov; Michael Zegarac threatened to arrange for the Socialist Workers' Party to fire-bomb the Alternative Bookshop, if Chris Tame got into a fight. Steele repeatedly threatened to publicly "name" Chris Tame, Judy Tame, myself and others as "intelligence agents", implying that we were acting under direction, when -- as far as I know -- none of us ever had.

15 Dec; A menacing -- blackmailing -- letter from David Ramsay Steele addressed "To Whom It May Concern" was forwarded to the DPP by our -- concerned -- Solicitors.

24 Dec; A very unpleasant entrapment attempt took place, when a "security guard" approached me in a railway carriage, asked me if I had a "shooter", and then offered to _kill_ Steele and his associates for money.

25 Dec; These incidents were pre-emptively reported by me to the Metropolitan Police, who seemed in no hurry whatsoever to obtain a description of the 'hit-man'.

[1983] 9 Jan.; After further efforts on my part to get the authorities to deal with the deteriorating situation, I was asked by the Anti-Terrorist Branch at New Scotland Yard (C13) to stay on after Hillel Steiner's inquiry at the Waldorf Hotel so as to learn more of the intentions of Steele and his associates.

11 Jan.; I did so: more threats, and violent attacks by Steele occurred (and were reported by complaint later that night to C13)

13 Jan.; According to a C13 officer, the matter was the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police, Special Branch (C11). During a meeting with two of their people which took place at Beckenham Police Station, which they started by saying that they were investigating allegations of security "leaks", it was rather obvious they would prefer these matters to be ignored, and hints to me of ten-year terms of imprisonment for "conspiracy to murder" making it harder to leave the country rather emphasised this. They seemed quite friendly. I would not want to harm Steele's life-chances, and I would also prefer a quiet life. I said I did not want to press charges for assault and threats to murder, and that I wanted Steele to rejoin his American wife in America.

[ The officer was Detective-Inspector Ray Dowd ]

On returning to the U.S., Steele, with his friend Brady, rewarded this forbearance by publishing a variety of abuse, disinformation and allegations of involvement with British intelligence and so on, in "Libertarian Vanguard", a publication controlled by US government informers. When I discussed their threats of further 'revelations' with Special Agent Dolan of the San Francisco Branch of the FBI, he pointed out that the First Amendment prohibited pre-publication censorship, and asked _me_ for a written complaint, even though the LV article was in blatant breach of the US Intelligence Identities Protection Act.

At that time, the Reagan administration was apparently trying by means of National Security Directive D84 to get powers of prior restraint on publishing, in violation of the US Constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press. I received hints that if Chris Tame and/or his wife Judy and/or myself had been attacked or killed by 'terrorists' this would have been most helpful to passage of such further measures.

Since then, Brady and and some of his associates have received tens of thousands of dollars from Institute for Humane Studies-linked funds. (This may be what I.H.S. (a Koch front) calls "recruiting intelligence officers for freedom:" paying America's enemies to attack America's friends).

Since then, my telephone has been monitored and obstructed (obtrusively); my mail has been opened or 'disappeared' (obtrusively); someone with SIGINT knowledge may explain more about the monitoring of word processor radiofrequencies. Other unusual and unpleasant incidents have occurred.

17 November 1982: Ashford, Kent; My friend Andrew Robert Dennett, whom I used to accompany to church when he was five years old, was found dying of cyanide poisoning. He was 19 years old. I learnt of this after receiving a letter from Steele's associate Steven Berry, at ESOC Darmstadt, West Germany, referring to "a leather-bound set of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica." This was a gift given by me to Andrew, Peter and Terence Dennett when they were children, at Christmastime in 1969.

The existence of a cassette tape-recording was pointed out to me, and I asked Andrew's step-father for it; I then listened to the recording, made by Andrew prior to his death. Andrew Dennett had recorded his belief thast his life was being destroyed, as well as his fear that he was going to be murdered, and naming those he feared were going to kill him as Klara Barrett and his step-father Michael Dickens (a Freedom Association member). The existence of this tape-recording was notified to New Scotland Yard within 24 hours; the interviewing officers' existence was denied; there was no follow-up at all.

13 October 1983; Margaret H. Thatcher's birthday. My pet cat Beeper's still-warm and floppy dead body was handed to me in a black polythene bag at 6 o'clock in the evening at the local Veterinary Hospital. I had been told that Beeper had died 'under anaesthesia' at 10 o'clock that morning. A "vet" was obliged to leave the country a few days later for illegally 'operating on human beings.' [I had asked 'Dr.' Robert Lefever for a 'second opinion.'

In the same week, George Miller's car was rammed. Coincidentally, Two cars hired by Jeremy Shearmur from Hertz had mechanical failures. Jeremy's a skeptic.

[1984] 14 Jan; After spending the evening with Jeremy Shearmur, I was attacked, head-butted and maliciously injured in Croydon Road, Beckenham, while trying to arrest a man who had attacked and injured my landlord's son. The police were called, and seemed very uninterested. After 15 minutes they were persuaded to note a description of the attacker. They were not heard from again.

7 February 1984; Andrew Dennett's brother Terry was hospitalised with a broken neck in New South Wales, Australia, after his car was rammed in a head-on crash by an identical stolen BMW, registration no. BS 201. (BS 201 happens to be the basic CIA file descriptor). Both cars were destroyed by fire. The other driver disappeared. This happened one year to the day after Brady's associate Michael Zegarac issued a document mentioning "measures" he and his associates would be taking, and one year to the day after Jorge Amador's "Better Red than Dead" article was published in the US.

July 1984; All mention of these events was censored from the publication "Free Life: The Journal of the Libertarian Alliance", which I edited, after I had sent the copy for the issue to the printers. This was done on the instructions of Jillian Becker, the self-styled "terrorism" expert and RENAMO apologist.

[1985] As confirmed by John Warden, the Daily Express Political Editor, abuse and disinformation instigated by Mr. John Selwyn Gummer and his associates at Conservative Central Office, and directed against conservatives and libertarians as well as the Libertarian alliance, was published on the front page of the Daily Express, on national ITV news, and elsewhere. By this time I had ceased work on medical advice, with a diagnosis of "stress reaction." My employment was subsequently lost. The Daily Express paid four-figure sums in damages to Chris Tame and Madsen Pirie.

A man was charged with and convicted of arson with intent to endanger life after another fire-bombing at the Alternative Bookshop, while Brian Micklethwait was staying there. On the very same day, the "private-sector" doctor R. Lefever (another "Freedom Association" member, whose stated concern for "state secrecy" seems to exceed his concern for the well-being of the patients who pay him) was telling me I was being "paranoid" and that I was "imagining" these incidents (having previously told me the very same incidents (including the three 'non-accidental' deaths) were connected in a way I would never discover, being part of a "plot" being perpetrated by "the KGB", based at 9, Poland Street, London W1, according to him, who were "trying to drive us crazy" as part of a plan to diminish the effectiveness of anyone opposing the KGB).

Counter-Information Services, the UK affiliate of Transnational Institute (the international wing of the American Institute for Policy Studies), as well as the Tory Reform Group, also used 9, Poland Street, which was controlled by the Rowntree Trust. The Rowntree Trust, (which with Keith Joseph also took part in establishing the Centre for Policy Studies), had Chitnis as chairman at the time. Chitnis is also a close associate of David Steel, the Liberal Party politician.

Since that time, further unpleasant incidents have occurred.

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The cumulative effect of being subjected to this continued misconduct, without adequate defence or support, has been to deplete my resources of skills and intellectual and financial capital, and to make it almost impossible to plan ahead with any confidence so as to earn a living. I am presently receiving prescribed mild tranquillizers (to mitigate anxiety) and prescribed anti-depressants (to mitigate a profound sense of grief at having my life, my relationships and my life-chances damaged). And those are the only drugs I have had anything to do with (to my knowledge). I am at this time disabled and unable to work, with a diagnosis of reactive depression and/or post-traumatic stress disorder.

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The response of the "Conservative" government to these and other incidents has been quite disgracefully negligent, inadequate as well as incompetent. I do know that I have not done anything injurious to anyone. We might have expected that the authorities would help us to resolve the problems, and that they would at least try to provide adequate safety measures and restitution. So much for "defending freedom." So much for "the Rule of Law."

As the Tory Government allows this country's free-society intellectual activists to be messed around like this, it is not really surprising that their policies continue to lose support by the day. If the abilities and energies and resources of our "brightest and best" are dissipated by such unpleasantness, is it any wonder that our country has so many unsolved problems? Or that people become reluctant to speak out in defence of a free society, with disastrous consequences for the quality of life and the prospects for any real national security?

It is a matter for some regret that, after so many years of effort trying to make this a country where individual freedom, ability, courage, independent thought and civilized behaviour are respected, valued and protected, I should have to say, with very considerable regret, that for me, the "Thatcher Years" proved to be an unnecessarily costly and miserably disappointing failure.

I think it is fair to say that what has been going on in this country does not come close to measuring up to the standards of administration for an Open Society which Karl Popper could have considered to be anywhere near satisfactory.

Tony Hollick