HC Deb 23 July 1951 vol 491 cc32-3
The Prime Minister

The House will have learned with horror and regret of the assassination of His late Majesty King Abdullah of the Jordan. I feel confident that hon. Members on both sides will wish to be associated with His Majesty's Government in expressing their deepest sympathy with all those who have been bereaved in consequence of this senseless crime.

I would wish to take this opportunity of conveying our respectful condolences to Their Royal Highnesses his sons, the Amir Talal and the Amir Naif, and to all His late Majesty's kinsmen both within and outside his realm; as also to the Government and people of Jordan.

They have lost a great and good monarch, a statesman of unusual courage and wisdom, whose vision was not bounded by the confines either of his kingdom or of our own age, and one who was in the very best sense a leader of his people.

I had the pleasure of entertaining him and talking with him when he visited this country; and I was struck then by the broad view which he took of international affairs. Unlike some leaders in the Middle East he was always capable of looking beyond the interests of his own community.

King Abdullah's passing will be mourned not only in Jordan, but also in the world at large; and nowhere, I believe, more sincerely than in this country. Great Britain has lost a trusted friend and ally. His was no fair weather loyalty, he stood by us in all circumstances and came unhesitatingly to our aid when it seemed that we had little to rely upon except our own faith in our survival.

I wish to inform the House that I propose to move an appropriate Motion tomorrow.

Mr. Churchill

All quarters of the. House will share the sorrow and concern with which we learnt of the news of the murder of King Abdullah of Transjordan. I was myself responsible for taking the direct steps which led to his appointment or creation as Emir of Transjordan in 1922.

Of the institutions which have survived the shock of the Second World War, he continued, up till this murder, to be an example of the character and quality of his administration, a man of the greatest fidelity and a vehement Arab patriot if ever there was one, who left Mecca to endeavour to expel the French from Syria by force of arms.

When I was on the spot, having the great advantage of Colonel Lawrence's advice, we persuaded him not to take this disruptive step, on which he was prepared to sacrifice his life, and he became, instead, a skilled and consistent worker for the peace and prosperity of that part of the world and for the interests and the honour of Arab peoples wherever they may be.

It is a great source of regret that he should have been struck down. In the war, as the Prime Minister has said, whenever things went wrong Abdullah was at his very best. He ran every risk to keep good faith with those with whom he had worked. Not only was he a champion of Arab rights, but he always sought that reconciliation between the Arabs and the Jews, the Arabs and the Israelites, which is the foundation of all future hopes in Palestine.

I am very glad that a Motion will be moved by the Prime Minister tomorrow. It will certainly win the support of the whole House, I am sure, no matter what may be the deviations of thought on these subjects, because we know that the Arabs have lost a great champion, that the Jews have lost a friend and one who might have reconciled difficulties, and that we have lost a faithful comrade and ally.