HC Deb 24 June 1948 vol 452 cc1537-40
17. Mr. Emrys Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Colonel Tassoev made any written application to come to Britain, filled up any of the forms or gave any of the information that aliens usually give before being allowed into this country; and if when taken to Hammersmith Police Station he applied for permission to communicate with the Soviet Embassy.

18. Mr. Gallacher

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the fact that Colonel Tassoev had not been given leave to land in this country, any action is being taken against those responsible for bringing him here.

Mr. Ede

The circumstances in which Colonel Tassoev came to this country have already been explained to the House by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. In such circumstances, there was no question of any written application for admission, and it would have been wrong to refuse him the opportunity of seeking asylum in this country. I have seen a newspaper report to the effect that when he was trying to find his way about London he asked to be taken to the Soviet Embassy, but I have no confirmation of this. As has already been stated, when he changed his mind and expressed a wish to return to the Soviet authorities, effect was given to his request.

Mr. Hughes

Would the Home Secretary tell us whether or not this Colonel was brought here in custody? Can he assure us that this gentleman did not make an application to the Soviet Embassy for assistance, or state whether such a request was refused?

Mr. Ede

This man was not brought here in custody. He was brought here, as my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has explained to the House, because he had expressed a wish to have asylum here. I have no knowledge that he made an application at any time to the Soviet Embassy whilst he was here.

Mr. Gallacher

Excuse my saying so, Mr. Speaker, but this matter becomes more and more amazing. I want to ask the Home Secretary, in view of the written answer last Thursday, whether this man came to this country without permission and was detained and whether, when he was left on his own, he was put off a bus because he could not pay his fare? Will the Home Secretary tell us who paid his fare to this country—[An HON. MEMBER: "Dr. Joad."]—and whether that particular person will be prosecuted for bringing an alien into the country without permission? Further, is it the case that Sir Percy Sillitoe was associated with this matter and has been sent to America until it dies down?

Mr. Ede

I was not responsible for bringing the man to this country and I do not know who paid for bringing him here. I sent him out of the country and, presumably, the charge for that will eventually be borne on my Vote. As far as I know, Sir Percy Sillitoe had nothing to de with this man while he was here.

Mr. Godfrey Nicholson

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the immense international importance of this episode and that the whole of the Soviet Union, and in particular the Russian Army, have been filled with the idea that this officer was kidnapped and brought to this country against his will; and further, that so far we have made no comparable efforts to deny this and to put the truth before the world? Will he see that that is done?

Mr. Ede

As I said, I was not responsible for bringing the man to this country. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary was questioned about it. Further questions about how he came to get into this country should be addressed to my right hon. Friend. As soon as I knew that the man wished to return to the Soviet I arranged for him to go back to where he was picked up.

Mr. Nicholson

The right hon. Gentleman misunderstood me. I was asking whether as a Member of the Government and one of the Ministers involved he would use his influence to see that the truth about the case, as he knows it, is disseminated, as against the untruth disseminated by Soviet propaganda?

Mr. Ede

I have made a complete statement today and in a written answer last week, as to the connections I had with this affair. I have seen the reply given by my hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary previously, but I will consider, in consultation with my right hon. Friend, whether it would be desirable to issue a connected statement about the whole of the episode.

Mr. Gallacher

Is it not a fact that the Foreign Secretary said the man came here voluntarily and was not detained, and that the Home Secretary, in a written answer last week, said that he came without permission and was detained? Are we not entitled to know who brought him here and if that person is to be prosecuted for committing an illegal act? Surely, we are entitled to know that?

Lieut.-Colonel Sir Thomas Moore

As we are informed that this officer was shot on returning home, surely, the dead man may be permitted to rest in peace?