The last official interview Talaat granted was to Aubrey Herbert, a British intelligence agent. Aubrey at first refused to meet Talaat, but in February 1921, he was persuaded by Sir Basil Thomson, the director of the British intelligence at the time, to conduct an interview with Talaat Pasha. The interview was partly conducted in the small German town Hamm and later also Düsseldorf. The interview was a chance for Talaat to explain the policies of the Ottoman Empire during the last 10 years.