1920~30년대 일본에 극비 정보를 제공했던 스코틀랜드 출신 공군 William Francis Forbes-Sempill는 미쓰비시 중공업의 고문이었고, 나치에 동조적이었다; 그의 부친은 조지 5세의 최측근이었다; 그는 일본에 극비 군사정보를 제공하고, 자금을 원조했음에도, 기소조차 되지 않았다

 
William Francis Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill, AFC, FRAeS,[1] (24 September 1893 – 30 December 1965) was a Scottish peer and record-breaking air pioneer, who was later shown to have passed secret information to the Imperial Japanese military before the Second World War.[2] Educated at Eton, he began his career as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, and then served in the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force during the First World War. In 1921, Sempill led an official military mission to Japan that showcased the latest British aircraft. In subsequent years, he continued to aid the Imperial Japanese Navy in developing its Navy Air Service.

In the 1920s, Sempill began giving military secrets to the Japanese. Although his activities were uncovered by British Intelligence, Sempill was not prosecuted for spying, and was allowed to continue in public life. He was eventually forced to retire from the Royal Navy in 1941, after being discovered passing on secret material to Tokyo shortly before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States and the British Empire.[3]

Sempill was known as "Master of Sempill" before succeeding his father to the titles of Lord Sempill and Baronet of Craigevar in 1934.


A subsequent meeting, chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Austen Chamberlain, decided it was not in the interests of the British government to prosecute Sempill.[24] Firstly, Sempill's father was then aide-de-camp to King George V; any public trial would be a grave embarrassment to both the Crown and the British establishment. Secondly, a prosecution would have revealed to the Japanese that British Intelligence had cracked the cypher codes of its diplomatic service.[26]

--- He later served in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer, and was later the chairman of the Aberdeenshire Territorial Army Association, the Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion Gordon Highlanders - his brother Robert's battalion - and an aide-de-camp to King George V.[5]


Six years after admitting he had breached the UK's Official Secrets Act, Sempill became a technical and business consultant to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; from 1932 to 1936, he represented the Japanese company in Europe.[24] He also became chairman and then president of the Royal Aeronautical Society. In this capacity, he advised overseas governments, such as Australia, on the creation of their naval air services.


Sempill had "an affinity with militarist right-wing regimes".[24] During the 1930s, he developed extreme right-wing political opinions, and was active in several antisemitic organizations such as the Anglo-German Fellowship, the pro-Nazi Link organisation, and The Right Club led by Archibald Ramsay.[29][30]

By June 1941, MI5 had intercepted messages between London and Mitsubishi and Field Marshal Yamagata's Tokyo headquarters indicating payments were being made to Sempill: "In light of the use made of Lord Sempill by our military and naval attaches in London, these payments should continue".[4] On further investigation, MI5 suspected that Sempill was passing on top secret information about Fleet Air Arm aircraft. The matter was passed to the Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions. Once more, the Attorney General advised against prosecution. On 5 September 1941, Sempill attended a meeting with the Fifth Sea Lord, and was given "a strict private warning".[4]

On Friday 2 August 1940, Special Branch arrested Japanese businessman Makihara Satoru, head of Mitsubishi Shoji Company's London office, and several others on suspicion of espionage, and took them to Brixton prison.[31][32][33][34] On discovering that Makihara was in custody, Sempill telephoned and then called at Paddington police station to assure the police of Makihara's innocence and character.[24] He was released a few days later, on Monday 5 August, due to "insufficient evidence".[31][35]


On 13 December 1941, six days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Sempill's office was raided. A search revealed secret documents that he should have handed back to the Admiralty over three weeks earlier. Two days later, Sempill was discovered making phone calls to the Japanese Embassy.[24] Despite the evidence of treason in wartime (see Treachery Act 1940), no arrest or prosecution was ordered; Sempill agreed to retire from public office.[4]


Sempill's motives remain unclear. The National Archives states that "on the evidence of these [1920s] files", Sempill's activities on behalf of the militaristic Japanese and Fascist contacts were less from any desire to help the enemy but more motivated by his own impetuous character, obstinacy, and flawed judgement.[30]