FOREIGN OFFICE STAFF

HC Deb 25 June 1951 vol 489 cc994-7

47. Mr. Ralph Morley

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the necessity for securing as members of the diplomatic staff men and women who have had working-class experience and understand modern trends of thought, he will revise the method of entrance to the administrative grade of the Foreign Office.

Mr. Younger

No, Sir. A thorough reform of the Foreign Service, on the lines set out in the "Proposals for the Reform of the Foreign Service," published as a White Paper in 1943 (Command 6420), has been carried out in recent years. The system of recruitment has been recast to facilitate the entry of candidates with suitable qualifications from all sections of the community. The competitions for entry to the Foreign Service, which are conducted by the Civil Service Commission, are designed to ensure that the candidates selected have the qualities of personality and intelligence necessary for a good understanding of modern trends of thought: I have no reason to think that the reforms are not achieving their object.

Mr. Morley

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the present Secretary of State for Scotland said a few months ago that he was considering broadening the method of entry into the Foreign Service? Has that taken place?

Mr. Younger

If my hon. Friend will look at the White Paper to which I referred, and also to a memorandum issued recently by the Civil Service Commissioners, he will see that there is no restriction so far as the procedure for entry into the Service is concerned.

Mr. Peter Smithers

Is not the proper way to take the best men from whatever place they come?

Mr. Emrys Hughes

Can my right hon. Friend say how many of the present staff were educated in approved schools?

48. Mr. Morley

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many members of the administrative grade of the staff of the Foreign Office received their first education in a school under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education or the Board of Education.

Mr. Younger

Full particulars of the first education of the members of Branch A of His Majesty's Foreign Service are not readily available, but 24 such officers serving in the Foreign Office and a further 62 serving in posts overseas are known to have received their first education at schools maintained by or assisted by local education authorities or otherwise grant-aided from public funds.

50. Mr. Donner

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the new chief Foreign Office security officer to replace Mr. Askew, due to retire this month, has been either selected or appointed; and what steps he is proposing to take to improve upon existing security measures in the Foreign Service.

Mr. Younger

Mr. Askew is the officer-in-charge of the team of security guards who control access to the Foreign Office and supervise the physical security arrangements of all Foreign Office buildings in London. He is not in charge of the Security Department of the Foreign Office, of which he is only one of the members. Mr. Askew is retiring on reaching the age limit. His replacement is under consideration.

As regards the second part of the Question, the Security Department of the Foreign Office is in constant touch with the security authorities with a view to improving and making modifications, as the need arises, in the security system. It would not be in the public interest to disclose the actual steps being taken.

Mr. Donner

In view of the fact that this officer was both efficient and conscientious, will the right hon. Gentleman revise the regulations which governed his work and also review the general security measures of the Foreign Office in order to allay public anxiety?

Mr. Younger

I am very glad to hear the hon. Member say that this officer was conscientious and efficient because some extremely unjust statements have appeared in the Press. I am not aware that the instructions need revision in the way suggested.

62. Mr. Russell

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many members of the Foreign Service have been dismissed or transferred for having associations with Communist circles of a kind which throw doubt on their reliability.

Mr. Younger

As I stated in my reply to the hon. Member for Paddington, South (Mr. de Chair) on 18th June, three people have been removed from the Foreign Service on the grounds of their Communist affiliations. These persons were not dismissed but transferred to other Government Departments, and no member of the Foreign Service has been dismissed on these grounds.

Mr. Russell

Does the right hon. Gentleman really think that it is possible for anybody to have associations with Communist circles which do not throw doubt on his reliability? Does he not think that the phrase which he used last week was most misleading?

Mr. Younger

No, I do not. It entirely depends what sort of association it is, of course.

Mr. Godfrey Nicholson

Is it not the fact that past membership of Communist circles at least proves that those concerned, if not disloyal, are at any rate of a very erratic nature and does not this in itself make them unsuitable for confidential employment?