§ 45. Sir Waldron Smithersasked the Prime Minister if he will set up a Committee of this House on Un-British Activities, on the lines of the Committee on Un-American activities, a copy of the House Report of which has been sent him, set up by the House of Representatives under Public Law 601.
§ The Lord President of the Council (Mr. Herbert Morrison)I have been asked to reply. No, Sir.
§ Sir W. SmithersMay I ask the Prime Minister, who is in his place, if, in view of the rapidly increasing menace of Communist infiltration, he will come out into the open and introduce a Bill to outlaw Communists and sequestrate their funds; and have a "show down" before it is too late?
§ Mr. MorrisonAs the hon. Gentleman knows, I have been asked to reply. The answer is still "No, Sir." It seems to me that the other political parties can take care of the Communists. We are not afraid of them, and I cannot understand why the hon. Gentleman is, and why he should exclude other subversive influences from consideration.
§ Later—
§ Sir W. SmithersOn a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. May I call your attention to what has happened and ask for your guidance? I put down Question No. 45 to the Prime Minister. The Question covered the subject of Communist infiltration, which is the root cause of most of the trouble in the world today, and it was answered by the Leader of the House, with the Prime Minister sitting next to him. Is that not likely to create an impression abroad that the Prime Minister is afraid to answer the Question?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat is hardly a point of Order, but I presume that the Question was handed over to the right hon. Gentleman the Lord President of the Council who, no doubt, went into the matter very carefully.