THE French were accused of “treachery” for agreeing to pay a “considerable sum” to British double agent Kim Philby to publish his memoirs, according to letters released by the National Archives today.

My Silent War was published in France, the United States and, from March 1968, was serialised by the Sunday Express while KGB spy Mr Philby was exiled in Moscow.

In a letter seen by the Morning Star, Sir Denis Greenhill, chairman of the joint intelligence committee and then head of the Diplomatic Service a year later, condemned magazine Paris Match for agreeing to pay Mr Philby for worldwide serialisation rights.