speech which provoked the Curragh incident, in which Hubert Gough and other officers threatened to resign rather than coerce Ulster – Roberts, aided by Wilson, drafted a letter to the Prime Minister, urging him not to cause a split in the army. Roberts had asked the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) John French to come and see him at Ascot on 19 March; French had been too busy but invited Roberts to visit him when next in London. On the morning of 21 March Roberts and French had an acrimonious telephone conversation in which Roberts told French that he would share the blame if he collaborated with the Cabinet's "dastardly" attempt to coerce Ulster, and then, after French told him that he would "do his duty as a soldier" and obey lawful orders, put the phone down on him. Soon after, Roberts received a telegram from Hubert Gough, purporting to ask for advice, although possibly designed to goad him into further action. Roberts requested an audience with King George V, who told him that Seely (Secretary of State for War), to whom the King had recently spoken, had complained that Roberts was "at the bottom" of the matter, had incited Gough, and had called the politicians "swine and robbers" in his phone conversation with French. Roberts indignantly denied this, claiming that he had not been in contact with Gough for "years" and that he had advised officers not to resign. Roberts's claim may not be the whole truth as Gough was on first name terms with Roberts's daughter and later gave her copies of key documents relating to the Incident. Roberts also had an interview with Seely (he was unable to locate French, who was in fact himself having an audience with the King at the time) but came away thinking him "drunk with power", although he learned that Paget had been acting without authority (in talking of "commencing active operations" against Ulster and in offering officers a chance to discuss hypothetical orders and to threaten to resign) and left a note for Hubert Gough to this effect. This note influenced the Gough brothers in being willing to remain in the Army, albeit with a written guarantee that the Army would not have to act against Ulster. After Roberts's lobbying, the King insisted that Asquith make no further troop movements in Ulster without consulting him. Roberts wrote to