§ 8. Mr. MANDERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any statement to make with reference to the evidence given by Mr. Carlton Rich, an agent of the firm of Federal Laboratories Incorporated of America, before the Senatorial inquiry of the United States of America, in which he stated that the British ambassador interested himself in a prospective sale to the Montevideo police force and even arranged to have Montevideo police officials sent to London for training?
§ Sir J. SIMONYes, Sir, I have a statement to make. The statement is that the story referred to in the hon. Member's Question is entirely untrue. It is only fair to Mr. Carlton Rich to add that he himself declared that what he was repeating was mere hearsay and not, as would be inferred from the hon. Member's Question, evidence of something he knew. The facts are as follow. His Majesty's Minister at Montevideo, who was for many years Counsellor to His Majesty's Embassy at Buenos Aires, on his own initiative arranged recently for two members of the Argentine police force to visit England in order to study English police methods. I should explain that it 1010 is a regular practice for arrangements to be made for the interchange of visits by members of the police forces of the various countries of the world. No expense to His Majesty's Government was involved. Similar arrangements were also made by him for a member of the Montevideo police force to visit this country. I welcomed this action as promoting useful co-operation between the police forces of these two countries and of the United Kingdom. The proposal was an entirely innocent and proper one and had no indirect motive whatever. I wish to make it quite plain that there was no question of His Majesty's Minister interesting himself in any sale or prospective sale of anything—not even policemen's boots—and that this matter has no connection whatever, as is implied in the hon. Member's Question, with the international trade in arms.
§ Mr. MANDERDoes not my right hon. Friend think that an opportunity ought to be provided for repudiating these grave charges and for stating the true facts, as he has done to-day?
§ Sir J. SIMONI must thank the hon. Member for giving me the opportunity, but I hope that in future he will not put down questions which suggest that evidence has been given on matters of fact when the record shows that the suggestion was qualified by the statement that the witness did not know and was speaking from hearsay.
§ Mr. MANDERIt is not a fact that the Question merely stated what has appeared in the Press and was put in order that a repudiation might take place?
§ Sir J. SIMONI, too, have seen the statement in the "News Chronicle," word for word as in this Question, but in the "News Chronicle" there followed a sentence which said: "The witness added that what he was referring to was mere hearsay."