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The "Harry" letters, written by Peter Benenson, founder of the international human rights group Amnesty International, detail the funding during 1966 of Amnesty's mission in the Rhodesian capital of Salisbury by somebody or something referred to as "Harry", commonly interpreted as code for the British government, then headed by Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The letters were made public in March 1967 by Polly Toynbee, an Englishwoman who had worked for Amnesty in Salisbury while a 19-year-old gap year student during early 1966. Scandal resulted within both the British government and Amnesty; Benenson left the group soon after. While with Amnesty in Rhodesia, Toynbee became suspicious of the disproportionately large amounts of money apparently at the disposal of Amnesty's mission there, as well as the modest scale of Amnesty's operations in both Rhodesia and Nigeria. Toynbee asked Benenson about the origin of the money, and pressed him on rumours that Britain was funding Amnesty's mission in Salisbury; according to her, he admitted it, and referred to it as "Operation ''Lordship''". This ran at odds with Amnesty's claimed apolitical stance. Toynbee subsequently acquired a set of letters that appeared to confirm her suspicions. Addressed to an Amnesty official in Salisbury, they described efforts to gain external financing for the Rhodesia mission. Toynbee made the existence of the letters public in March 1967, concurrently alleging that Amnesty had been "bought off" by Whitehall.〔 When questioned in parliament on payments by the government to Amnesty, Wilson said that his administration had indeed been "approached by a member of the organisation",〔 and had given a list of possible financial donors in response. Amnesty claimed that any such activities had been unilaterally conducted by Benenson on his own accord, and denied any collective wrongdoing. Benenson held that the money had been intended for Rhodesian political prisoners and their families, and said that the British government had wished for the payments to be kept secret for political reasons. The relationship between Whitehall and Amnesty was ended as a result of the affair, with Amnesty reaffirming its official impartiality. ==Rhodesia mission== In early 1966, during her gap year from studies at Oxford University, Polly Toynbee served as the secretary for the peer and former West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine on an Amnesty International mission to Nigeria and Rhodesia,〔 two countries in Africa. In Lagos, the Nigerian capital, Toynbee and the other Amnesty members were supposed to helping political detainees, but Toynbee recalled that "We sat around drinking and entertaining the press. We must have spent an enormous amount but we never achieved anything. We never saw anyone important. We just got vague assurances that the prisoners were all right."〔 The mission then went on to Rhodesia, where the predominantly white minority government under Ian Smith had unilaterally declared independence the previous November. Since the declaration of independence there had been reports of mass arrests of black nationalist leaders.〔 During Toynbee's six weeks in Salisbury, Toynbee and other volunteers dispensed funds to the families of political detainees, and tried to arrange legal aid for the prisoners. Toynbee claimed that Amnesty's operations in both Nigeria and Rhodesia were little more than nominal, and became suspicious of the financial situation surrounding the Salisbury mission in particular. Although Amnesty then had a modest budget for such a prominent organisation—it operated out of Benenson's cramped legal chambers, and during the financial year 1965–66 boasted an annual budget of only £7,000—Toynbee said she found that there was, in her own words, a seemingly "endless supply of money. I could go to the bank and draw out £200 at a time. And there was no check on what I did with the money." When Amnesty founder Peter Benenson visited the group in Salisbury, Toynbee asked him where the funds came from, saying there were rumours flying around the city that it was coming from Whitehall, the British government. According to Toynbee, Benenson said the British government was indeed supplying money. He reportedly described the transactions as "Operation ''Lordship''".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harry letters affair」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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