مجموعة ٦/٨٠ "الحدود الجنوبية والجنوبية الغربية للسعودية" [و‎‎٤‎٩] (١٤٠/٩٧)

is an Irshadi element which has for some years been
trying to overthrow the influence of the Seiyids
of the Hadhraraaut and to spread the tenets of the
Wahabi faith* I, therefore, take a serious view
of the diffusion of any determined Sa’udi propaganda
in the Hadhramaut such as that in which Mr* Philby
has recently been engaged.
7* I am not in a position to give an opinion
as to whether Mr* Philby’s recent activities had the
support of Ibn Sa’ud. Mr* Hope Gill, who has known
both for some years, thinks not* Possibly Mr* Philby’s
apparent desire to cover the whole of Arabia in the
course of his travels and to try to be the first
European to cross an unexplored route or to visit a
town of historical interest (in this case - Shabwa)
may have furnished the real reason for his recent
journey, and that, being such an ardent admirer of
Ibn Sa’ud, he could not resist the temptation to proclaim
aloud the virtues of his hero, but, in view of the
conversations now being conducted by His Majesty’s
Government with the Sa’udi Government over the
boundaries of Sa’udi Arabia, and of Ibn Saud’s tendency
to claim more than His Majesty’s Government is willing
to cede, it is quite likely that Mr* Philby’s intrigue
may have had the unofficial, if not the official,
support of the King, and that it was financed by the
latter (vide last paragraph of Royal Air Force report
enclosed)•
In any case, as Mr* Philby is the proteg£ of
Ibn Sa’ud, I assume that His Majesty’s Government will
take up this matter with the Sa’udi Government and address