Ought he to have known about that attempt to import arms? The answer is certainly ‘yes’. But the burden of evidence that I have examined leads me to conclude that he did not know. What was evident in those critical weeks was a catastrophic breakdown in the proven decision-making system in the civil service, military intelligence, the Department of Justice and, in two cases, involving cabinet ministers. ‘Dysfunctional’ may be too strong a word to describe that phenomenon. But they were extraordinary times and some people, believing they were living in a time of great emergency, felt that precedent and procedures could be left to one side. That led to a huge government systems failure in March and April 1970.