No one spoke, though I thought we should have clapped or something. Jarrow flicked ash from his cigarette, looking at nobody.

'Ambassador Qiao,' the Private Secretary went on, 'has conferred with the Prime Minister, who is therefore acquainted with the situation, and who has pledged her assistance in any way possible with the ambassador's proposals. Mr Hyde and Mr Jones were called upon, and have declared themselves ready to implement those proposals by whatever means are open to them. I need hardly say, gentlemen, that the most extreme discretion must be used by all those present, when we are no longer protected by the security measures we enjoy at the present time.'

If those measures, of course, were adequate. Maybe I was paranoid, but the fact remained that if this meeting had taken place a few years ago, the Foreign Office could have been represented here by Kim Philby.

'Before Ambassador Qiao presents his ideas, are there any questions?'

'What's going to be our timing?' Hyde asked him. 'How quickly have we got to move?'

'Almost immediately, as far as I can gather, but we'll have a more precise idea from Ambassador Qiao.'

It was getting stuffy in here, and I took off my bomber jacket. There was also a certain amount of heat generating from the nerves: Barstow had said we'd have to move almost immediately and by tonight the Bureau could have catapulted me straight into Beijing, and I didn't feel ready for that.

'If there are no questions, I'll ask Ambassador Qiao to take over.'

The Chinese got out his handkerchief again and when he'd finished he said with a note of apology, 'I hope that the proposals I'm about to give you will offer a chance for my country to free itself of its present onerous regime, and at the same time break down the barriers between China and the rest of the world.