system and that the Swedish government had listed the PKK as a terrorist organization. Carlsson's theories were largely a rehash of the "PKK track" that had become the main path of the Palme inquiry under Hans Holmér in 1986, leading to a major police clampdown on suspected PKK people in early 1987. After prosecutors deemed the police work on the Kurds unsatisfactory and had denied further search warrants and phone tapping along those lines, Holmér stepped down as chief of the inquiry. Holmér, Lidbom, and Carlsson were long-time friends and Carlsson's theories are believed to have been inspired by Holmér. On 17 March 1988, Anna-Greta Leijon was briefed by Lidbom about Carlsson's theories, and a few days later she also met with Carlsson himself. On 28 March, the prime minister was informed by Lidbom, who was given a deadline of 7 June to confirm Carlsson's theories. On 2 May, Carlsson went to see Leijon to get a letter of recommendation. He intended to use this when traveling to England where his aim was to talk with a number of people whom he considered knowledgeable on the alleged meeting in Damascus. Leijon promptly wrote the letter, giving it to Carlsson two days later. A copy was placed in her safe without a registration, bypassing the correct procedure. All documents issued by or sent to a public authority in Sweden generally have to be noted, with date, in a roll of documents and by default become public, unless access has been specifically restricted. By treating the document as a private letter, Leijon was aiming to keep it hidden. A week later Carlsson had a meeting with chief prosecutor Jörgen Almblad where he presented his theories about the PKK. Almblad was enraged as he had not been informed about Carlsson's part in the investigation prior to this meeting. He was highly critical, too, of the fact that Carlsson had been given access to various kinds of top-secret information. Finally, on 30 May and 1 June 1988, Expressen reporter Per Wendel called Leijon and asked about Carlsson's involvement in the investigation. Leijon, among other things, denied that she had given Carlsson any letter of recommendation. Immediately after this, the letter was taken out of the safe, registered, and thereafter classified. References 1988 in Sweden Assassination of Olof Palme Political scandals in Sweden 1988 in politics