HC Deb 05 November 1912 vol 43 c1059
Mr. BONAR LAW

Can the right hon. Gentleman make any statement in regard to the position at Constantinople, and in particular with reference to the rumour in the papers as to British action?

Sir E. GREY

There is no foundation whatever for the report that any warning of any kind has boon given by His Majesty's Government to the Bulgarian Government. The movements and intentions of British ships are those stated by the Prime Minister yesterday. They are, I believe, precisely similar to the action which has been, or is being, taken by the other Powers to protect the lives of their respective communities, if need be, in a temporary emergency; and they are the result of communications which have passed between the Powers as the result of opinions expressed by the other Ambassadors equally with the British Ambassador at Constantinople. In reply to the right hon. Gentleman's request for actual news, so far as we know, the situation at Constantinople remains as it was yesterday. I should describe it as being apprehension of what may occur in the city of Constantinople itself as the result of future developments in the war proceeding at the gates of Constantinople. Nothing untoward in the city itself has yet happened.