HC Deb 07 September 1939 vol 351 cc578-87
Mr. Greenwood

May I ask the Prime Minister whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the general situation, as he promised yesterday?

The Prime Minister

The House will, I am sure, realise that it is impossible for me to give more than a general indication of the present situation and of the state of our defences. There is necessarily a number of matters to which, in the public interest, it is impossible for me to refer.

With that necessary preamble I will give the House a resumé of the position. In the East the Poles are fighting hard against a strong and ruthless enemy, who is relying on the weight of numbers and material to crush all opposition. The Polish soldier has ever shown himself to be a courageous and determined fighter; and, to-day, he is worthily maintaining this tradition. Against overwhelming superiority in the air, outnumbered and outgunned, he is contesting every yard of the German advance.

The Germans have often stressed the need for a short war and a quick decision. In pursuance of this idea the German plan appears to be to concentrate their first main effort against Poland, and as the House is aware, that country was invaded just over a week ago without any formal declaration of war. In spite of the human and material losses which they have already suffered, the morale and courage of the Polish people remain unaffected. His Majesty's Government and the French Government have to-day signed an agreement with the Polish Government for the provision of further financial assistance to Poland to enable her to replenish her resources.

In the West, France has, like ourselves, mobilised her forces with complete efficiency and smoothness, and they are now in contact with the enemy on their common frontier. Certain information has been published of what has taken place, but, for obvious reasons, no details can yet be disclosed. The outbreak of war has found the same spirit, determination, and solidarity among the French people as is evident here. The understanding between the two countries is complete, and the arrangements, which have now been put into force, for co-operation in all the activities concerned with the prosecution of the war are working smoothly and well.

In this country the defensive military dispositions of our Army, which cover a very wide field, were made in good time, owing to the precautionary measures which it was decided to adopt during the period of tension.

The manning of the Anti-Aircraft and Coast Defences was efficiently carried out. Within a short time of calling out the units, guns and searchlights were fully manned. Since a large number of the A.A. units were in camp and away from their home stations, this reflects great credit on their organisation.

The guarding of vulnerable points has been taken over by the National Defence companies supplemented by personnel of the Territorial Army. The personnel reached their posts with the minimum of delay and under trying weather conditions.

The mobilisation of the remainder of the Army has been carried out with the greatest smoothness. The morale of all ranks is high. In particular, the spirit of the reservists recalled from civil life, some of whom have already this year been called up for training, is excellent.

I should like to make special mention of the women of the Auxiliary Territorial Services, who are performing many tasks under arduous conditions and thereby relieving soldiers for fighting duties.

Turning to the naval side, the most important feature up to the present has been the development of German U-boat attacks on our shipping. The sinking of the "Athenia," with its scenes of death and terror, virtually opened the war, and no denials or inventions on the part of Germany will convince the public of German innocence of this crime which has profoundly shocked and horrified the world.

Apart from the case of the "Athenia," there have been attacks on other British merchant ships by German U-boats, and three or four ships have been sunk.

On our side, the Admiralty have taken immediate counter measures. British destroyers and other anti-submarine craft have been very active, and large reinforcements of anti-submarine and escort vessels are rapidly becoming available.

As my right hon. Friend the First Lord has already informed the House, steps are being taken to establish a convoy system at the earliest possible moment. This method of protection can obviously only be instituted after the outbreak of war, and it takes time to bring it fully into operation, but the House can be satisfied that it is being applied with the utmost possible speed and vigour. Most of the ships which have been attacked hitherto are vessels which commenced their voyages before war had broken out, and naturally, for them the full scope of our defensive organisation could not immediately provide.

While a certain proportion of weekly losses must be expected—and I do not minimise the threat to our shipping—I think the House and the country may rest assured that the Navy, with all their war-time experience of handling this problem, and with the added advantage of the methods of submarine detection and destruction which have since been developed, will increasingly bring the problem under control.

I should next like to pay my tribute to the very gallant attack which was made by units of the Royal Air Force on certain German warships off Wilhelmshaven, during which at least two hits were secured on one of the so-called pocket battleships.

It will be realised that the objectives attacked, namely, the German Fleet bases at Wilhelmshaven and at the entrance to the Kiel Canal, are probably among the most strongly defended points in Germany. The manner in which the Royal Air Force attacks were pressed home, despite the strength of the defences, is worthy of the highest praise.

I should also mention the weather conditions prevailing on the afternoon of the attack. Visibility was extremely poor, and the final stages of the attack are stated to have been carried out in a blinding rainstorm. A high degree of navigational skill was thus necessary to enable the attack to reach its objective at all, and the fact that hits were registered demonstrates the ability of the Royal Air Force to carry out its attacks under conditions of great difficulty.

Finally, I think it right to stress the fact that a high proportion of the officers and men in the squadrons concerned have entered the Royal Air Force and received their training since expansion began. The House may also be interested to learn that those who took part in the attack included a number who came from the Dominions.

As the House knows, extensive reconnaissance flights have been carried out over Germany on three successive nights during the last week by units of the Bomber Command. More than 10,000,000 copies of Notes to the German people have been distributed over a wide area of Northern and Western Germany, including the Ruhr. Although on each occasion the enemy defences were set fully in motion, no contact was secured by enemy fighters and all our aircraft returned safely.

The activity of the Fighter and Coastal Commands, if less conspicuous, has been no less intense. From the early stages of the emergency all squadrons of the Fighter Command have been at their war stations and in a state of instant readiness.

The Coastal Command has also been busily engaged in extensive reconnaissance over the surrounding seas in order to locate and destroy enemy submarines.

I now wish to say something of the organisation of the Home Defence Services, which is being rapidly completed.

The Regional organisation is functioning well. There is still some shortage of whole-time personnel, but this is chiefly now to be found in country districts.

The enforcement of the blackout is proceeding satisfactorily. With the help of the Air Force Reconnaissance every night, it has been possible to discover lights irregularly showing, and action is at once taken to deal with the offenders.

The Government decided last Thursday that the plans for evacuation, mainly in respect of school children, young children, and their mothers, should be put into operation.

Evacuation started on Friday morning; in a number of towns it was completed by Saturday; in London, where the problem is exceptionally large, it was completed by Monday. The operation has now been substantially completed and has covered, not only those towns for which plans had been worked out beforehand, but also a number of other vulnerable areas. So far approximately 1,475,000 children and mothers have been evacuated in the country as a whole.

The arrangements for evacuation and transport were carried out without a hitch, and those responsible for reception in the receiving areas have displayed remarkable enterprise, efficiency, and good will.

The process of assimilating this large increase of population in the receiving areas will take time and calls for tolerance and mutual understanding. Schools are to be reopened in the receiving areas as quickly as possible, and both public authorities and voluntary effort will be busily occupied with measures for the welfare of the children and for the assistance of the householders who are so generously providing homes for the mothers and children.

Over 200,000 hospital beds are to-day ready for air-raid casualties. Of those, 56,500 are in the London region, 15,500 inside the county and 41,000 outside the county. The beds in any region would, of course, be available to meet the needs of any other hard-pressed area.

Over 11,000 trained nurses, 4,000 assistant nurses, and over 50,000 auxiliary nurses have joined the Civil Nursing Reserve for service in hospitals and first-aid posts; but more of both trained nurses and auxiliaries are needed, especially women who can give whole-time service in any part of the country.

Nearly 2,500 doctors have accepted enrolment in the Emergency Medical Service, and acceptances are being received daily.

The Auxiliary Fire Service was mobilised, quickly and, on the whole, smoothly, and, in the main, the available fire-fighting units are being kept permanently manned and ready for action.

In London, for example, there are over 1,800 fire pumps ready for action, as against about 125 in peace time.

I hope that the statement I have made will show the House and the country that our war effort in its many aspects is rapidly gaining momentum. I know that it has behind it the full weight of all the people of this country, who are united in their conviction that no nation ever went to war in a higher cause.

We are greatly heartened by the knowledge that, in the straggle for the defence of liberty and free institutions and the preservation of all that makes life worth living, we can count on the support of the oversea members of the British Commonwealth.

Of their own free will and under no form of compulsion, save the moral com- pelling force of right and justice, these self-governing nations have declared their intention of co-operating in a cause which is no less precious to them than it is to the people of the Homeland.

Mr. Greenwood

May I first, on behalf of Members of the House, thank the right hon. Gentleman for his statement. May I thank him also for his statement yesterday that it is his intention at regular and, I hope, frequent intervals to keep the House fully informed of the war situation. May I, however, express my regret that the circumstances of his statement to-day make it impossible for anybody to speak upon it, and express the hope that next week the statement will be of a character which may enable something, perhaps a little wider than supplementary questions to be put. I would like to put one or two questions to the Prime Minister which I should have preferred to put as statements, and if they are a little complicated I hope that Mr. Speaker will forgive me.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is aware of the state of the Press last evening; whether he is aware of the growing uneasiness in this House and outside it regarding the lack of information concerning the war; whether he is aware that yesterday we had a situation on a much smaller scale then, but very similar in principle to, that of last Saturday in this House; whether he is aware that wild rumours of a most fantastic kind were flying round this House; whether, in order to avoid that kind of situation and to maintain the spirit of the people, who are as brave and as keen as he and his Government, he will give us here and now a specific pledge that he on his part, without in any way making statements which ought not to be made in the public interest, which would be a crime, he will unbosom himself to the full when he speaks to us and the country in future; and that, whether things be good or bad, he will tell the country early; whether he is not aware that, had that magnificent statement he made about the Keil incident been published on the day of that achievement, it would have heartened our people; whether he is aware that if he tells them of a situation which appears like a temporary reverse it will not dishearten them but will make them more resolute? I put this very complicated question because I feel that now, before things go far, the people of our land should know that nothing is to be withheld from them and that they are to be trusted with the truth, however distasteful it may be.

The Prime Minister

I think I can give a fairly simple answer to the right hon. Gentleman's complicated question. I am sure that he, and the House generally, will recognise that when we are bringing into instant operation a somewhat complicated machine there is apt to be a little creaking at first, but I can tell him that we fully appreciate the considerations he has put before the House, and that we had that very subject under discussion this morning at a meeting of the War Cabinet. He can take it from me that we will endeavour to deal with it in exactly the spirit which he expressed in his questions. We do not want to keep the public in the dark. On the other hand, we do not want to give them inaccurate information. Very frequently it is not possible immediately to be certain what the facts are. Of course, that does not necessarily exclude our saying something which, without giving all the facts, might give some of the facts about which there is no dispute whatever. We do not defend on its merits what has happened. We say that we agree that it might have been better done, but that these things have got to be found out by experience and that we hope to do better in future.

Mr. Arthur Henderson

May I ask whether, in view of the fact that the German invasion of Poland is a clear breach of the League Covenant, it is the policy of the Government to bring the matter before a meeting of the League Council as soon as it can be conveniently arranged in order that public opinion throughout the world may have an opportunity of expressing itself?

The Prime Minister

I understand that we have suggested to the League of Nations that they should postpone their meeting for the time being to see how things develop, so that, without giving a final answer to the question, I think that at the immediate moment there is nothing further to be said.

Sir A. Sinclair

The Prime Minister told us that the work of the National Defence Companies in guarding points of importance was being supplemented by units of the Territorial Army. Does that not mean that young men are being deprived of the military training which they ought now to be having, and are not the Government considering calling upon ex-service men, who are so anxious to work at the present time, and organising them for the purpose of such duties?

The Prime Minister

I think that the present arrangement must be considered a temporary one.

Major-General Sir Alfred Knox

I would like to ask a question, but I do not know whether the Prime Minister will find it possible to answer it in the public interest. It is whether he thinks it will soon be possible for the Allies in the West to undertake such military operations as may relieve pressure on Poland, which is now fighting for its life?

The Prime Minister

I could not possibly answer that question.

Mr. Stephen

In view of the Prime Minister's statement about what happened yesterday, may I ask whether the Government will take any steps to prevent workpeople losing wages if they are prevented from getting to their work when a raid is in progress?

Mr. Thurtle

rose —

Mr. Stephen

On a point of Order. Surely I am entitled to ask the Prime Minister that question?

Mr. Speaker

It should be put as a separate question.

Mr. Thurtle

Is the Prime Minister aware that there is a strong public opinion that, in the contractual obligation to Poland of ourselves and France to go to her immediate assistance if she is hard-pressed, time is of the essence of the contract?

Mr. McEntee

In regard to the latter part of the Prime Minister's statement about evacuation, may I ask whether he proposes to take any steps to have evacuated from the danger areas cripples, people who are bedridden and others who are quite unable to look after themselves.

Mr. Speaker

rose—

Mr. McEntee

On a point of Order. Surely my question arises out of the statement made by the Prime Minister regarding the evacuation of mothers, babies and school children. I want to know whether it is proposed to extend the evacuation.

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member should have asked his question as a supplementary to the one on the Paper.

Mr. John Morgan

Will the Prime Minister include in his next survey references to the food situation of a reassuring kind; and would it also be possible to include the tonnage of vessels that make port, seeing that we get reports of the sinking of vessels? If we had the tonnage of those which have arrived home it would give us a feeling of assurance.

Mr. Benjamin Smith

Having regard to the statement that it is to be expected, until we have completed the deployment of our sea forces, that a number of vessels will be lost, may I ask whether the Prime Minister is seeing to it that the whole of the services of our shippers are being made available, so that not only may this country be provided with all its necessities but our Allies served with the troops and material they want?

The Prime Minister

I do not think that is a question which should be addressed to me on a statement of this kind. It is rather a Departmental question.