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Lucas claimed that Burrows was the one who requested him to reach out to

the HEC to keep ‘certainly not an open, but not a particularly clandestine

relationship with them’. The First Secretary recalled that the contacts went

smoothly between the two until the Ruler discovered them. Upon the Ruler’s

discovery, Burrows was summoned and told by the Ruler, according to Lucas, ‘I hear

that the young men in your Residency are hob-nobbing with my opposition. I won’t

have it! If you want to know what’s going on in my island, you come and ask me!’

From that point onwards the ‘beautiful friendship’ as described by Lucas between

him and the nationalists ended. The British diplomat, however, did not specify the

date from which contact was broken. 390

Belgrave’s diary entry of 18 October, following his recent return from leave,

might indicate the time period of the Ruler’s discovery of Lucas’ involvement.

Belgrave revealed on that date that the Ruler complained first to Gault regarding

Lucas’ activities and saw him to be ‘equally responsible for the trouble here as A.R.

Bakr and the rest’ as Belgrave noted. Later Belgrave confirmed the meeting

between the Ruler and Burrows as the former had suddenly asked to meet the

Resident on 22 October. The Ruler complained to him regarding the actions of

Lucas, which ‘had caused people to suppose the British were supporting the other[s]

against the Shaikhs’. The Adviser did not mention Burrows’ response or any action

taken following the meeting. 391

390 Quoted in Ivor Thomas Mark Lucas, interviewed by Malcolm McBain, The British Diplomatic Oral
History Programme, 25 January 2005, 7.
<https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/media/uploads/files/Lucas.pdf> [accessed 28 November 2015].
391 Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave’s Personal Diaries, 18 and 22 October 1955.

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