HC Deb 26 June 1950 vol 476 c1895
50. Mr. Emrys Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what were the passages in the reports of "The Times" correspondent at Tokio to which General MacArthur objected and to which His Majesty's Government directed the attention of the editor of "The Times."

Mr. Ernest Davies

I should like to make it clear once again that the only official action taken towards "The Times" in this matter was that as an act of courtesy the Foreign Office News Department informed a representative of "The Times" of the contents of a confidential report received from the United Kingdom Liaison Mission in Tokio. This concerned General MacArthur's attitude towards "The Times" correspondent in Japan. My right hon. Friend is not responsible for the activities of any newspaper correspondents, and I cannot discuss the substance of their reports.

Mr. Hughes

If General MacArthur's report was handed by the Foreign Secretary to "The Times," are we not entitled to know the reasons for which objection was taken to those passages?

Mr. Davies

As I have said, all that General MacArthur did was that he dealt with the United Kingdom Liaison Mission and gave certain information to us which we passed on to "The Times." We did not feel that it was our responsibility or our duty to interfere in the matter.