§ 47. Mr. Stephen Swinglerasked the Prime Minister whether the speech of the President of the Board of Trade at Cardiff on 19th January on national defence represents the policy of His Majesty's Government.
§ The Prime MinisterI have read the passing references to national defence in the speech made by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade at Cardiff on 19th January. These references were, of course, factual, incidental and illustrative. I can, however, assure the hon. Member that what my right hon. Friend said on that occasion gives a very 361 good account of the outlook of His Majesty's Government on the general situation.
§ Mr. SwinglerIs the Prime Minister aware that among the passing references of the Minister was the statement that Britain's armed strength had fallen far below the necessary level? Could he tell the House how he reconciles this statement with the fulsome tribute he himself paid to my right hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell) on 6th December, whose spirit as Minister of Defence, he said, had added great strength to the country; and also the opinion reported in "The Times" today by Mr. Avril Harriman that Britain's re-armament effort was greater than that of the rest of Europe combined?
§ The Prime MinisterWe on this side of the House must, I fear, be very careful not to pay compliments to right hon. Members opposite if their followers are to describe these compliments as "fulsome." I really do not feel I need interfere further in this inside-party difficulty.
§ Mr. E. ShinwellLeaving aside the personal matter, would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that before his right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade made this statement about the state of our defences he might very well have consulted the present Minister of Defence to ascertain the facts?
§ The Prime MinisterThe present Minister of Defence was at that time out of the country and consultation would have been difficult, but I think it perfectly correct to say that our defences are very much below what we should like them to be. I have never seen this country so denuded as it is at the present time, but to say that is not necessarily to imply blame upon the right hon. Gentleman, or even upon the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Dundee, West (Mr. Strachey), who I see in his place, because when the sense of danger overtook them they certainly made considerable exertions.
§ Mr. ShinwellBut in view of the statements made by the Foreign Secretary—I believe in Ottawa, certainly overseas—and the statement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last week, I think in connection with the Commonwealth Finance Conference, to the effect that our contribution to Western defence was far in 362 excess of that of any other country associated with N.A.T.O., was it wise on the part of the President of the Board of Trade to speak in disparaging terms of the state of our defences? Would it not be useful if the President of the Board of Trade aligned his utterances with those of some of his colleagues?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is quite possible to reconcile the two points of view—that we have made greater exertions than have been made by any country on the European continent—to reconcile that with the fact that there is still an enormous preponderance, on which the right hon. Gentleman has often dwelt, of Soviet divisions in Eastern Europe.
§ Mr. SpeakerI think we had better get on.