Wat lees ik over de halfbroer - oeps, nee natuurlijk - van Beatrix op de site van de BBC?
Aitken's first career choice was as a journalist. But he became unsettled by his brush with the law over what was called the "Scott scoop".
He was shown the Scott Report by General Henry Alexander, who was a British representative on the International Military Observer team in Nigeria at the time of the Biafran civil war. The report appeared to prove that Britain had been providing the Nigerian government with many more arms than they had admitted.
Aitken photocopied the document and made two copies. One went to Hugh Fraser, a pro-Biafran Tory MP and the other went to the Sunday Telegraph, who used it as a basis for an attack on the government of the day.
In the ensuing uproar Aitken was charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act - but was cleared at the Old Bailey. However, the incident took its toll on his political aspirations when he was dropped as the candidate for the Thirsk and Malton seat.
Ik krijg nog sympathie voor de man (hij heeft ook gevangen gezeten, toch uniek voor een lid van de heersende klasse, en schrijft hierover dat het een louterende ervaring geweest is - en is ook begrijpend over zijn medegevangenen).
Iemand die vuile zaakjes over wapenleveranties op straat gooit schopt het nooit te ver in de heersende stand. Zijn pappie zal niet blij met hem geweest zijn (kom op, genoeg flauw gegrapt hierover).
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