Martin Rowley wrote:

"Graham P Davis" wrote in message
snip

They're all great episodes. Actually, I think the mole didn't bury
the
report - that would have been Sir Humphrey or a minion - he warned
the PM
about the practice of hiding delicate information at the bottom of
the
bottom red box.

... just to get the story right (for the Google archive)

... the 'mole' (or 'plant' really) was Luke, who was the Foreign
Office clerk in the No.10 office - i.e., 'their' man in No.10, though
nominally the PM's contact point for the FO.

Luke wrote the "Northern Indian Ocean: Situation Report" and placed it
at the bottom of the FO 'Red Box' for the PM. Hacker (PM) found it,
without prompting, after he had had a little chat with the Israeli
Ambassador. Hacker was, by this time, experienced enough in the ways
of the Civil Service to understand that anything 'vital' would be
carefully hidden!

[ "Yes Prime Minister", The Diaries of the Righ Hon. James Hacker,
Volume 1 / 1986 ]


Martin, thanks for setting me straight on that one. I'd got mixed up with
another story-line. I think the bottom-of-the-red-box scenario cropped up in
an early episode of "Yes, Minister".


--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks., UK. E-mail: newsman not newsboy
"I wear the cheese. It does not wear me."