§ 28. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any specific agreements reached at the Bermuda Conference are to be published
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydI would ask the hon. Gentleman to await the reply to Questions Nos. 45 and 46 for answer by the Prime Minister.
§ Mr. SorensenDo I understand that these Questions will be reached today? If not, can I have an answer now?
§ 29. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent the proposals made by President Eisenhower in his recent speech in respect of a new approach to the perils of atomic warfare were the result of prior consultation at the Bermuda Conference
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydI would ask the hon. Gentleman to await the forthcoming foreign affairs debate.
§ Mr. SorensenIn view of that debate and in order to furnish hon. Members with information which would be very valuable for that debate, cannot the right hon. and learned Gentleman give a general reply to my Question, especially as the Press stated that there was a conference immediately before President Eisenhower made his speech to the United Nations?
§ Mr. LloydI do not think that the course of the debate would be much helped by a further statement. I think that my answer is the appropriate one in all the circumstances.
§ The following Questions stood upon the Order Paper:
§ 45. Mr. A. HendersonTo ask the Prime Minister, whether he will make a statement on the Bermuda Conference.
§ 46. Mr. WyattTo ask the Prime Minister, whether he will issue a White Paper covering the decisions made and the conversations which took place at the recent meetings at Berumda between himself, the Prime Minister of France and the President of the United States of America.
§ Later—
§ Mr. CallaghanWhen we dealt with Question No. 28 we were told by the Minister of State that if we waited we should get a reply on Questions Nos. 45 and 46.
§ Mr. LloydWhat I did say was that I would ask the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Sorensen) to await the reply which the Prime Minister was to give to Nos. 45 and 46, but I was not then aware that 21 they would not be answered until tomorrow. I apologise to the hon. Gentleman for misleading him.
§ Mr. CallaghanIs it not possible now to have a straightforward answer to Question No. 28? Surely there is no difficulty.
§ Mr. CallaghanIs there really any justification for the Minister not giving an answer on this matter now which, unless he had relied upon the fact that the Prime Minister was going to answer it later today, he would not have been able to avoid? What is the difficulty about telling us whether any specific agreements reached at Bermuda are to be published?