§ 5. Mr. KINGasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether diplomatic relations between Russia and Germany have been broken off and the Russian Minister has left Berlin; whether the reason is the alleged attempt of the Russians to stir up propaganda against German autocratic rule; and, if so, whether the Government will withdraw their assertions that the Russians are paid by secret allies of Germany?
Mr. BALFOURI have seen the report to which the hon. Member refers in the first two parts of his question. I do not know what assertions he refers to in the last part. There has never been any suggestion that the Russians as a whole were the paid allies of Germany. But there are very strong grounds for believing that many highly placed personages in the Soviet Government were the conscious agents of the German military autocracy.