Thatcher attends "coup plot' case

Sir Mark Thatcher has appeared in court in Cape Town as his lawyers argued against an order forcing him to answer questions about a suspected coup plot. They are contesting, over two days, the agreement of South African officials to a request from Equatorial Guinea.

Equatorial Guinea prosecutors want to question the 51-year-old about claims he helped fund a coup plot there. His lawyers argue that could prejudice his trial in South Africa for alleged mercenary activity, charges he denies. They say they are also in court to defend Sir Mark's right to remain

silent on the issue. His legal team has submitted more than 80 pages of argument to the Cape Town High Court and three judges are hearing the case, expected to finish on Wednesday.

Sir Mark, the son of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, sat behind his legal team on Tuesday as they told the court he was innocent of all charges and was confident he would be acquitted. They argued that having to answer questions from Equatorial Guinea officials would also prejudice the trial of 14 suspected foreign mercenaries being held in the west African country.

Lawyer Peter Hodes said it was unconstitutional to subpoena Sir Mark to respond to those questions while a trial was pending in South Africa. He added that the South African government would be assisting Equatorial Guinea in an unfair trial. He went on to accuse Equatorial Guinean officials of lying about statements obtained from suspected coup plotters in order to convince South African authorities to question Sir Mark. They had claimed the suspects had given confessions voluntarily and legitimately, Mr Hodes argued, but the men later said they were tortured and coerced into confessing.

Sir Mark was arrested in August by South African police and released after posting bail of J167,000, reportedly paid by his 78-year-old mother. He is accused of helping to fund the purchase of a helicopter, breaching laws banning South African residents from taking part in foreign military action. His lawyers maintain that the funds were an investment in an air ambulance venture for west Africa. He could face 15 years in jail if convicted.

NEWSDAY, 16 . 11 . 04 .

Agency in turmoil

Two top CIA officials have resigned amid reported disagreements with the new management of the US spying agency.

The departures are the latest in a string of resignations following a shake-up in the agency's operations. The chief of the clandestine unit and his deputy stepped down last week.

The newspaper said the two officials could not be named, as they were working undercover, but described them as two "very senior guys". Their unit was

responsible for recruiting foreign spies and conducting covert overseas operations. The two, who head operations in Europe and the Far East respectively, are reported to have stepped down because they did not feel comfortable with the new management. Their departures are the latest evidence of turmoil within the organisation, whose new head, Porter Goss, is reported to have clashed with long-serving senior officers.

Mr Goss was appointed by President Bush in September to reform the agency after a series of intelligence failures. The CIA was especially severely criticised for failures relating to the 11 September attacks in the US and also inaccurate reports on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Serving CIA staff are banned from talking with the media, but former agency's officials have pointed out to intense internal frictions with Mr Goss' arrival. Mr Goss made clear that he thought the agency had failed in its "core mission". Some CIA officers have already left, others seem likely to leave in the coming days and weeks.

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T I M E , 22 . 11 . 04 .