HC Deb 05 December 1951 vol 494 cc2379-80
30. Mr. Gough

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in view of the fact that the perpetrators of the atrocities in Malaya are usually dressed in Communist uniforms, he will arrange for them not to be described in official reports merely as bandits.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

Many murders and other atrocities are, in fact, committed by persons not dressed in uniform. Although the Communist terrorists are sometimes referred to simply as "bandits," this does not indicate any failure by the Government or the people of Malaya to recognise the Malayan Communist Party as the directing force behind the present campaign of violence. Personally I prefer the description "terrorist."