HC Deb 03 November 1943 vol 393 cc639-40
13. Mr. Ivor Thomas

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will arrange for a small Parliamentary delegation to convey greetings to the French Provisional Consultative Assembly in Algiers?

Mr. Law

No, Sir. I do not consider that the action suggested is appropriate at present.

Mr. Thomas

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that such a gesture from the oldest Parliament in the world would be very much appreciated in French circles? Would he not consider sending a message to the meeting of this Assembly to-day?

Mr. Law

The hon. Gentleman is under some misapprehension. This body in Algiers is not a Parliamentary body, it is a consultative body. There are 20 members of the two Houses in it, but they are a minority—20 out of 84.

Mr. Price

Is not the initiative in sending a delegation of this kind a matter for the House, and not for the Government?

Mr. Shinwell

How many Members of this House have not been on a delegation of some kind or other since the beginning of the war?