The following is extracted from the book Sniffing Planes, Extreme Right, Intelligence and J. Violet by Pierre Pean (Editions Fayard, France, 1984). This, in turn, is based on a secret report written by a West German intelligence official, Hans Langemann, which was published in 1980 by Der Spiegel.
Langemann was, at the time he wrote his report, chief of security of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior.
Material similar to this version taken from Pean’s book is reproduced in Parapolitics/Intelligence (October 1984)
It should be said that while there has been no doubt about the authenticity of the ‘Langemann report’, it contains a number of what appear to be striking errors: viz it describes Nicholas Elliot as “former director of SIS”. We are conscious of the fact that the report in PP/Intelligence may well be the end product of a complicated translation process: from German into French, and then French into English and this may explain what appear to be errors.
The Pinay Circle is an informal group which meets twice a year in different locations. It includes conservative and anti-communist politicians, journalists, bankers etc., and occasional guests, all of whom originally gravitated around former French President Pinay.
A meeting took place at the Madison Hotel, Washington, on Dec. 1st 1979. Participants included Julian Amery MP (ex SOE, the Albanian operation, ex Air Minister); William Colby (ex head of CIA); Feulner of the Heritage Foundation; Paul Volker of the US Federal Reserve Bank; Italian Minister of Finance, Pandolfi; South African, General Fraser; former West German minister, Mertz; and Paris lawyer Jean Violet, director of the circle, with ties to western intelligence agencies, including MI6.
The circle met on the 5th and 6th of January, 1980, in Zurich. Attending were: Violet, Count Huyn, Brian Crozier, Nicholas Elliot (ex MI6), General D. Stinwell (Stilwell?) (ex US Defence Intelligence Agency – DIA), and someone called Jameson (ex CIA). They discussed executive matters including:
- How to improve the international image of Franz Joseph Strauss (help was given in the January 1980 election: Crozier launched a ‘Victory for Strauss Project group’);
- How to influence the situation in Rhodesia and South Africa according to a conservative European view;
- The construction of a powerful radio transmitter in Saudi Arabia to transmit Islamic programmes to the Middle East and the frontiers of the USSR.
“Recently we noticed the creation inside the circle of a ‘General Staff’ which is trying to organise the major axes of activity around current political questions. The success of Brian Crozier (transnational security) has already been discussed.”
Der Speigel (Spring 1982) noted that Crozier was a CIA agent for several years. Moreover, none of his activities are unknown to the agency in Langley. He is acquainted with most important former members of western intelligence services including Count de Marenches, ex Director of the SDECE; Temple Franks and Nicholas Elliot of MI6. “Crozier, Elliot and Franks recently (ie 1982) visited Mrs Thatcher at Chequers for discussions and work.”
Crozier’s group designed to ensure victory for Thatcher, Strauss, and to combat terrorism, etc. The group can furnish articles, access to media, support of powerful lobby groups, covert finance and the co-operation of intelligence services, with offices in London, Washington, Paris, Munich and Madrid, each with its own appropriate cover and directed by a regional co-ordinator for each zone.