Ken McClure: Deception

Macmillan seemed like a cat on hot bricks. Steven had sensed it as soon as he’d arrived after taking a few days off to visit Jenny and the others over in Norfolk. He watched him arrange the papers on his desk and then rearrange them.

‘Not very much, I’m afraid,’ said Macmillan.

‘You’re kidding,’ said Steven.

‘The official story is that these men, Childs and Leadbetter, were acting on their own initiative and went far beyond anything their brief had authorised them for.’

‘Acting on their own?’ exclaimed Steven. ‘You can’t possibly expect me to swallow that!’

‘Of course not,’ conceded Macmillan. ‘But proving it is another matter.’

‘So you’re going for the knighthood after all,’ said Steven angrily and then regretted it almost immediately.

‘It’s not that,’ said Macmillan with admirable calm, ‘I promise you. It’s just that I cannot afford the luxury of resentment or bitterness or even bad temper. I have to be pragmatic if Sci-Med is to survive and it must. I’ve done all the sums and I’ve decided that we can’t win. As I’ve said to you many times in the past, don’t get into a fight you can’t win.’

‘Why can’t we win?’

‘Childs and Leadbetter have been disowned — as I think we always knew they would be. Apart from that, they’re both dead. There will be nothing in writing that links them to any government department either in London or Edinburgh and the BSE cull material, which doesn’t exist any more was in any case being stored legally. On top of that, its connection to the rats’ behaviour is now little more than conjecture.’

Steven started to protest but Macmillan held up his hand and continued, ‘It could still be argued — and would be, I’m sure, that the problem was down to the GM crop, which no longer exists either.’

‘But we both know the truth!’ protested Steven.

‘Knowing is not enough. Defending a GM crop is not a tenable position for us to adopt in the current climate of popular opinion and that is what it would amount to.

‘Christ!’ said Steven, feeling helpless. ‘They’re going to get away with it. Isn’t that what you’re saying?’

‘That’s what usually happens, isn’t it?’ said Macmillan, leaning on his desk.

Steven got up to leave, shaking his head in disbelief but fearing that he might see that Macmillan was right when he’d had time to calm down. This only made it worse. As Steven reached the door, Macmillan said, ‘I got the letter about the knighthood this morning.’

‘And?’ asked Steven without turning around.

‘I declined.’