Soon, Smiley refocuses his attention on Operation Witchcraft. Witchcraft was an operation in which Soviet intelligence was leaked by a Source Merlin, one of the Circus' best intelligence sources. Although it was treated with suspicion by both Smiley and Control, Alleline, the main force behind the operation, obtained ministerial support in order to circumvent Control's authority. As a result of his promotion, Alleline and his supporters Haydon, Esterhase, and Bland, have been able to vigorously sponsor it. Smiley also learns that 'The Magic Circle', as they are known by some, have obtained a safe house, funded directly by the government, somewhere in London, where Alleline and his associates obtain information from a Merlin emissary posted in London under a diplomatic cover. Eventually, Smiley concludes that the emissary is Polyakov himself, and that the Circus do not realise the flow of information is going the other way, with Gerald passing British secrets across ("gold dust") whilst receiving information that is mostly fabricated and worthless Soviet material in exchange ("chicken feed"). They also discover that the log from the night Tarr reported in from Hong Kong has been removed, and Guillam starts to suffer from paranoia as a result of their operation.