HC Deb 20 June 1944 vol 401 cc22-3
45. Major Vyvyan Adams

asked the Prime Minister whether he will now indicate in broad terms the nature and magnitude of any attempt at the invasion of the British Isles made by the enemy during the summer or autumn of 1940.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Churchill)

I have nothing which I can usefully add at this stage to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council (Mr. Attlee) gave to my hon. and gallant Friend on 29th July last.

Major Adams

May I ask my right hon. Friend if he cannot tell at this interval of time, as a matter of historical interest, whether the enemy ever set in motion the apparatus of a sea-borne invasion?

Mr. Churchill

Well, Sir, it is a matter on which I should not like to take people off other current jobs in order to use their time to-day. I do not know what my hon. and gallant Friend means by "set in motion." "Set in motion," in the sense of crossing the Channel, no; "set in motion," in the sense of making very heavy concentrations, both of troops and ships, to cross the Channel, yes.

Mr. Shinwell

Can the right hon. Gentleman say that, if such an attempt was made, at any rate, it was unsuccessful?

Mr. Churchill

Yes, Sir.

Major Adams

Can my right hon. Friend add this—did any of that shipping emerge from the ports across the Channel?

Mr. Churchill

Not to my belief. A great deal of it was smashed in the ports, and then they changed their minds.