Professor John FitzGerald:

I was furious. It may not actually have been treason. I heard only last night that this would be brought up and I have not had access to the letters involved. There have been occasions when people have contacted us and I have been very annoyed and I would certainly do the opposite. Nobody tells me what I am to do in my report. It is my responsibility. The director does not say, "You can’t say that". It is for me to decide. I was furious and the director was furious. We had not come across this before. My memory is that the director said that he was telephoned by a senior official from the Department of Finance to say this was over the top and to ignore it. If people come in with their studs up it does not make one happy. It makes one more inclined to do the opposite. Points are much more likely to score and nudge one when people make reasonable arguments and one says on balance maybe they have a point. When people do that kind of thing it does not go down well, especially when one is independent and free to choose.