Admiralty Cleared in Spy Case

New York Times Service undetected as a spy for the, THE SELECTION of VasLONDON-The British AdSoviet Union for more than sall, a homosexual, for a senmiralty and security services seven years. sitive job in the British emwere virtually absolved of The clerk. William John bassy in Moscow showed that blame yesterday for the conVassall, was sentenced last the system of selection was ditions that permitted a civilOct. 22 to 18 years' imprison-"inadequate," the tribunal ian Admiralty clerk to work ment. held. The system has since

A three-man tribunal of in-been improved. quiry, set up by the governAn official in naval intelliment last November under

the chairmanship of Viscount gence was "remiss" in not Radcliffe, found that nobody giving enough attention to need necessarily be blamed Foreign Office warnings that for the lapse of security.

the selection system needed reviewing, the tribunal added. The official died last September.

Prime Minister Macmillan told the House of Commons of the publication of the tribunal's findings. In response to a shower of questions, he promised a debate soon on the broader questions of security.

EMANUEL SHINWELL, a Labor member, asked whether there would be a remission of any part of the sentences imposed on two reporters who refused before the tribunal to reveal their sources of information for articles they wrote about Vassall.

The tribunal was highly critical of the newspaper reporting of the affair. Though it did not generally condemn the press, it invited the public to judge the facts for itself.

It said it had examined about 250 separate newspaper articles.