New angles on the case of Bobby Moore and the Bogotá bracelet

Carl Worswick’s article provides some interesting new angles on this complicated story (Bobby Moore and the mystery of the missing Bogotá bracelet, 28 May). As I was chargé d’affaires in Bogotá on 18 May 1970 when the incident took place – the new ambassador, Tom Rogers, arrived on 22 May – I’d like to clarify a few things.

The questioning of Bobby Moore before the team’s departure for Quito on 21 May was not part of the investigation by the National Police, but was done by a detective from DAS, a rival police force, at my suggestion. It aimed to show the complete confidence of the England party in his innocence.

The return of the team to Bogotá on 25 May was more dramatic than described. At the airport, our information officer, Julio Tobon, was tipped off that National Police detectives were there to arrest Moore. This would have meant humiliation for Moore and the risk of unhelpful headlines. I managed to persuade the detectives not to arrest him on the understanding that I would take him to make a voluntary statement to the magistrate. We were joined by Vicente Laverde, an excellent lawyer who defended Moore throughout for free.

The hearing did not last until late at night as Worswick describes. The magistrate decided that Moore should be detained, but then agreed that he could be held at the house of Alfonso Senior, president of the Colombian FA. He stipulated two policemen to guard him but could not, as the article implies, provide them. That fell to me. I turned to the DAS again. Moore was with us at the embassy until 1am, when the DAS men finally arrived.

On 26 May, Tom Rogers and I lobbied the foreign ministry vigorously to secure Moore’s release. There were no instructions from Harold Wilson himself, as Worswick implies, but we knew it was politically charged, with a general election under way. There was relief all round when Moore flew to Mexico on 28 May, never having lost his cool.
Sir Keith Morris
First secretary, British embassy in Bogotá, 1967-71; British ambassador to Colombia 1990-94

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