§ 48. Mr. Wyattasked the Prime Minister whether he will publish a White Paper embodying the submissions made by Her Majesty's Government to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Council, which began its meetings on Monday, 15th December.
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir.
§ Mr. WyattCan the Prime Minister at least say whether or not he has given N.A.T.O. the reasons why he thinks the danger of war has receded during the last year, as General Ridgway has said that it has not and as Lord Ismay on Sunday said that the international situation is as bad today as it was last February? Can he at least tell the House of Commons why he thinks the danger of war has receded and what information he has given N.A.T.O. about that?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Member selects one topic out of a vast number of important topics and asks me to select it from all that were discussed at N.A.T.O. and give an answer upon it. I could not attempt to do that in reply to a supplementary question. I might also say that 1394 the papers circulated to the North Atlantic Council by its member governments contain much secret information. Her Majesty's Government's submissions are, therefore, not capable of being published. The late Government never published similar documents.
§ Mr. WyattDoes this mean that the Prime Minister does not know why he thinks the danger of war has receded?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not think a great issue of that kind ought to be thrust in as a self-advertising supplementary question.