§ 6. Mr. WHEATLEYasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if the detention of the hon. Member for Bridgeton and his friends by the Belgian authorities at Ostend has been reported to him; and if he has taken any steps to obtain an explanation and apology from the Belgian Government and to prevent a repetition of such indignity to British citizens travelling on the Continent with passports issued by His. Majesty's Government?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINYes, Sir, my attention was called to this incident. I did not consider that any representations to the Belgian Government were called for, inasmuch as the exclusion of any alien from the national soil is a sovereign right inherent in every Government. The possession of a British passport is not in itself a guarantee of admsision to a foreign country.
§ Mr. WHEATLEYIs the right hon. Gentleman bearing in mind the fact that the passport issued in his name to my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgeton (Mr. Maxton) before he left this country reads as follows:
…request and require in the name of His Majesty's Government all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford him every assistance and protection of which he may stand in need.Does not the right hon. Gentleman consider that, in view of that request and requirement, the treatment of these members by the Belgian Government in the manner that has been described is an act of discourtesy to the Foreign Office?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINI am well aware of the terms in which passports are drawn up, and I have, indeed, considered whether in the present circumstances some modification ought not to be introduced, or a different form used in certain cases. I have decided that on the whole the inconvenience of that course would be greater than any benefit to be derived from it. But the passport is issued subject to the general principles of international law, and they allow the right to a State, which, we claim and exercise for ourselves, to exclude aliens if they see fit to do so.
§ Mr. WHEATLEYMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman if he would treat this matter so lightly and in the same manner if the people concerned were his own colleagues on the Front Bench?
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYWould the right hon. Gentleman explain what he means by the expression "in certain cases"? Are passports proposed to be issued subject to the political opinions held by those to whom they are issued, and is it too much to ask the Foreign Secretary, if possible, to put aside political prejudice in this matter? [Interruption.]
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat hardly arises out of the question on the Paper.
§ Mr. BUCHANANAre we to understand, from the right hon. Gentleman's answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Shettleston (Mr. Wheatley), that people belong to a certain group who disagree with him are to be treated, not as citizens, but as people differing from him?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINNo, Sir. Obviously, the hon. Gentleman did not catch the answer I gave. I said that I had considered whether there should be any differentiation in the form of passports, and had come to the conclusion that it was undesirable to make such differentiation.
§ Mr. THURTLEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is quite a breach of accepted practice for the Belgian Government to treat a British Member of Parliament as an undesirable alien?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat would not be a suitable question to ask here.
§ Mr. MAXTONCould the right hon. Gentleman not have taken steps that would have been courteous to a colleague, and have informed me before I left Britain what were the defects in my political views that made me an undesirable person to enter Belgium?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINIt is not for me to decide, or even to suggest, that there would be any objection by the Belgian Government to the entry of the hon. Gentleman. It is in their own discretion, as it is within the discretion of every sovereign Government, to say what aliens they will admit to their territory.
§ Mr. SPEAKERA very full answer has been given.
§ Mr. MAXTONMay I ask the Prime Minister if he approves of a colleague of his in this House being treated on the continent in a similar fashion to international crooks and dopemongers?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat does not arise out of the question.
§ Mr. SAKLATVALAIs it not customary, if a person is directly affected in a matter, to allow him the right of a supplementary question?
§ Mr. SPEAKERIf any personal matter arises, the hon. Member may ask a supplementary question.
§ Mr. SAKLATVALAI was one of the victims, and I think the least the House can do is to allow me to ask a supplementary question. Is it not the case, taking it for granted that the Belgian Government had sovereign authority, that the right hon. Gentleman, in answer to the first question that though the Chinese had sovereign authority, the British Government made representations and obtained justice; is it not also the fact that in the case of Mr. Brewer, the Portuguese Government have sovereign authority and the right hon. Gentleman is fighting for him? Why cannot he do it with the Belgian Government?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThis is not the time either to make a speech or to have a debate.