The earlier plans for coastal shipping to be taken over by Thai interests were also realized. These sudden changes apparently alarmed "moderate" elements in the bureaucracy as well as members of the business community. The British Minister, Crosby, who had been sending positive reports about Pridi to his superiors in London now described him as "a nice dog with an ugly tail in the sense that there is attached to him an unpleasant crowd of hangers on, some of whom are downright dishonest whilst others feed him with all manner of fantastic notions upon the subject of political economy".