HC Deb 01 July 1953 vol 517 cc407-19

3.36 p.m.

Mr. Sydney Silverman (Nelson and Colne)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to suspend the death penalty for the period of five years. Under the rules of this House, I can make only a short speech in support of this proposal, and he would be a bold man who would attempt to review the arguments for and against the death penalty within the limits of time that the rules impose. Fortunately, it is not necessary to do that. In 1948 the House had a full opportunity of debating the whole case in a debate which I am sure those who recall it will agree showed the House at its debating and, I think, statesmanlike best.

The Government of the day, to whom we were all grateful, permitted—and I am sure it was right to do so—the question to be decided by the votes of Members guided by their own consciences and judgments and in no way influenced or guided by what we call the usual channels. In a debate conducted in that way and on that basis, the House of Commons decided by a majority of 23 that the death penalty should be suspended for five years. I realise that the House is differently constituted today, but I believe that the House today will not, any more than the House in 1948, allow its judgment on this question to be affected one way or the other by any kind of party political considerations or any considerations of party advantage. I believe that the House will be permitted today, as it was then, to make up its own mind, by each of us voting as we think right in our own consciences and judgments.

The proposal that was carried in the House of Commons then was defeated in the House of Lords. It was then suggested that an attempt might be made to find some sort of compromise in order to meet difficult and exceptional cases raised in their Lordships' House. That attempt was made, and a new Clause was sent up. That Clause was rejected because their Lordships felt that it created more anomalies than it cured. We were therefore brought back to the view that this question could be settled only on the general overall basis— though, indeed, we left out any question of political crimes, limiting it only to the death penalty—by a simple trial, experimental period of doing without this thing in our country for five years, as nearly every country in Europe has done without it for so many years past without any visible or provable harm.

I shall limit myself to one or two short points in support of the proposition that this is an appropriate moment for the House to re-enact that defeated Clause. There are many who say that this is an inappropriate moment in that there is a Royal Commission on the death penalty, and we are awaiting their Report. I gather that their last sitting to hear evidence was nearly two years ago, and that they have since been considering their Report ever since. I can deal quite quickly with any suggestion that we ought not to deal with the matter today, but ought to wait until the Commission report, by reference to the statements that were made by my right hon. Friend who was then Prime Minister when the Commission was appointed.

It is quite clear that the Report of the Royal Commission will be irrelevant to the question which I am inviting the House to decide today, because the question of the abolition or suspension of the death penalty was expressly excluded from their terms of reference. I shall not take up time in reading the terms of reference, but my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Hale) and my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Mr. J. Paton) pressed the then Prime Minister very hard about it. My hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, West said: … may I implore the Prime Minister to reconsider these terms of reference to make it abundantly apparent that the Commission is to have a free vote? The then Prime Minister replied: I am quite sure that is not so. I have made it abundantly clear, as I stated, that it is for Parliament to decide on that issue. I am quite sure that if we put up a Royal Commission with terms of reference to consider abolition, we should merely get majority and minority reports, and I think it is much more useful to set up a Commission with these terms of reference."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 20th January, 1949; Vol. 460, c. 330.] I call the attention of the House to what was then said: I have made it abundantly clear that it is for Parliament to decide on that issue. Therefore, I say that we should not wait for the Commission's Report. That Report has nothing to do with this question. It is for Parliament to decide. Let Parliament decide.

I want to make one reference to the Motion in the name of six of my hon. Friends about the Macnaghten Rules. They are quite right, but I would remind the House that all these questions of diminished responsibility or partial responsibility—or any responsibility less than full responsibility—are difficult only because of the death penalty. Whoever heard of a shoplifter, a burglar, or a blackmailer pleading guilty but insane? The reason is that so long as the man is alive, serving a sentence inflicted by the courts, the Prison Commissioners have full rights, full opportunity and full means to apply such remedies, curative or penal, as they may decide in the particular case. One cannot do it if the man is dead. Therefore, all these questions arise only because we retain the death penalty.

The only other matter with which I want to deal—a matter which has always influenced thinking on this problem—is the finality of the death sentence. If we make a mistake there is nothing we can ever do to recall our error. I believe that a great many people who otherwise might have opposed the death penalty were influenced in their vote by the view that such a mistake was a virtual impossibility. The right hon. Member who is now the Home Secretary dealt with this express point on the occasion in 1948 to which I have referred. One of my hon. Friends, who was later Solicitor-General, interrupted him when he had said: As a realist I do not believe that the chances of error in a murder case, with these various instruments of the State present, constitute a factor which we must consider, … My hon. and learned Friend interrupted and asked whether there was any possibility that an innocent man might be put to death. He said: Will the right hon. and learned Member say that here is no possibility at all of that? The right hon. and learned Gentleman who is now Home Secretary replied: There is no practical possibility. The hon. and learned Member asks me to say that there is no possibility. Of course, a jury might go wrong, the Court of Criminal Appeal might go wrong, as might the House of Lords and the Home Secretary: they might all be stricken mad and go wrong. But that is not a possibility which anyone can consider likely. The hon. and learned Member is moving in a realm of fantasy when he makes that suggestion."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 14th April, 1948; Vol. 449, c. 1077.] I should like to know from the Home Secretary today whether he still believes that. Was my hon. and learned Friend moving in a realm of fantasy? This week we have had completely established that a case was made against a man on a charge of murder; that it succeeded; that the appeal failed; the application for reprieve failed; the man was hanged, and we know today that he was convicted and hanged on a false case. [HON. MEMBERS: "No."] This morning an experienced, sober and reliable crime reporter—Mr. Stanley Bishop of the "News Chronicle"—reported that Christie had, since his conviction, confessed to the murder of the Evans baby. The Home Office know whether that statement by Mr. Bishop is right or wrong. I say they ought not to allow this House to vote on my Motion today without telling us whether Mr. Bishop's statement is right or wrong.

Mr. Dudley Williams (Exeter)

Surely the important thing is whether Mr. Christie's statement is right or wrong?

Mr. Speaker

There can be only two speeches on this occasion under the Standing Order.

Mr. Silverman

I quite agree that Mr. Christie's evidence on that or any other matter is not conclusive, but I think we are entitled to know now whether he has said it. The Home Secretary is not here. I do not know whether the Home Office are represented at all, although I think they are. If their representatives can tell us whether that statement has been made, I hope they will tell us before we vote, but in any case I think there will be no dubiety or difference of opinion when I say that this matter must be probed to the bottom by a full and public inquiry into the whole case.

But I want to say to the House that such an inquiry would be irrelevant to our present purpose. It might prove that Mr. Evans was entirely innocent or it might prove that Mr. Evans was guilty of the murder for which he was hanged. Even in the latter case, he will be convicted on a case which he has never heard and which he can never hear. He will be convicted on a case which denies the case on which the prosecution relied for his conviction at the trial. It will be an inquiry at which the principal witness will be forever silent. It is not right, even if a man is ultimately proved to be guilty of such a thing, that he should pay for a crime on evidence which everyone now knows is evidence on which no reliance ought to be placed.

I do not want to overstep my privileges. In conclusion, I say to the House that it ought now to agree to my Motion on the ground that we have no right, until human judgment is infallible, to pass and execute an irrevocable doom.

3.53 p.m.

Mr. Hylton-Foster (York)

I entirely agree with the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. S. Silverman) that this is an absolutely non-party matter and I entirely agree with him that it is quite impossible under the Standing Order to go into considerations of capital punishment, aye or no. I ask the House to reject the Motion because I am convinced that this is the wrong time to ask the House to come to a decision upon this extremely important matter. Perhaps hon. Members will allow me to develop that.

I do not agree that the Report of the Royal Commission will be irrelevant to this inquiry—and that is a point which I will develop later. In my belief, the hon. Member is asking the House to make a very grave, important and difficult decision. I am grateful to him for referring to the history of the case—which showed how difficult it is—and to its treatment in 1948 as a question of conscience. After the persuasive—if I may say so—speech of the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne—I did not hear it, but I read it—and the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Mr. Hollis), they got a majority in this House—a small one, with some notable abstensions, and contrary—I speak in the presence of the then Home Secretary—to the advice of the then Government. That is how difficult the problem is. It all ended with this House, after time for consideration, deciding that that was not the time for the suspension of the death penalty.

I should have thought that if this is now to be treated as a matter of urgency, if the House is to be required to reverse that decision, if possible, as a matter of urgency, then there must be some urgent new factor. Where is it to be found? Some people—I say "some," because I want to state it as fairly as I can—believe that capital punishment is a useful deterrent, not, of course, for all contemplated murders but for some murders.

I look at the criminal statistics but I do not find there a reason for suspending a penalty which some people think is a useful deterrent. I look at the police establishment figures and I do not find any reason there. We all have to form our own view about what public opinion is at any given moment, but I do not believe there is any sudden upsurge of public opinion to show that it is yet attuned to or ready for suspension. Of course, the House must lead. Of course, the House must not drone along in the wake of the opinion of its constituents, but in an important matter like this of the penalties imposed by the criminal law, we must be careful to carry public opinion with us.

What is the new factor suggested? It is the case of the man—it is easier to speak in names—named Evans, who, as the hon. Member is now asserting, is already shown to have been convicted on a completely false case. If I am misquoting him I am sorry, but I think it is a fact that he puts it as high as that. I would beg hon. Members not to jump to that conclusion. It is a little embarrassing to talk about this case, because the case of Evans is tied up with the case of Christie, and although we read in the newspapers that Christie does not intend to appeal, I imagine that it would be wrong and out of order, that not being an irrevocable decision, to say something here and now affecting the case of Christie until the time for appeal has run out.

Perhaps, without offending, I can put the point in this way. We know there are a variety of statements by Evans, mutually contradictory. There are a variety of statements and evidence by Christie, mutually contradictory—and mutually contradictory on oath; and all human experience suggests—

Mr. S. Silverman

rose—

Mr. Speaker

On these occasions it is not customary to interrupt.

Mr. Silverman

I am rising to a point of order. I do not want to interrupt the argument, and I know that it would be quite out of order to do so, but surely it is not out of order to correct an accidental mis-statement of fact. The hon. and learned Gentleman said that Evans' statements were mutually contradictory on oath. I am sure he knows that is not true.

Mr. Hylton-Foster

If I said that, I apologise. [HON. MEMBERS: "You did not."] It is worth while examining all the material carefully before arriving at any conclusion, and it is when we find mutually conflicting statements given by men in varying circumstances, some on oath and some not, that we must be careful. I do not know what material the hon. Member for Kensington, North (Mr. G. H. R. Rogers) has. I merely submit to the House that no one can form a view about the Evans case or try to form a view about the Evans case unless it be a person who has before him the whole of the material at one and the same time.

If there is the slightest shadow of a scintilla of doubt on that case, I hope my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary will have whatever he feels is the right form of inquiry or investigation so that any public doubt about that matter may be completely cured and so that the public may be satisfied that the matter has been probed to the very depths. Until that time and until that is done, I would beg the House not to jump to any conclusion about that case whatever. If we do not, then the only new factor which the hon. Member suggests today does not exist.

The hon. Member was perfectly accurate, of course, in what he said about the terms of reference of the Royal Commission: abolition is excluded from the terms of reference; but the terms of reference comprise—I shall not weary the House by quoting all—how capital punishment, in effect, should be limited or modified, and if so, to what extent. It follows that they can limit it, if they

wish, right down to everything but zero. That is within the terms of reference.

Capital punishment is to be justified, if at all—and I am expressing no view at all about it today—because people believe it to be a deterrent, and I for one, if I were asked to decide about this matter here and now, would urgently want to know what the conclusions of the Royal Commission were about whether it is a deterrent or not. They have been hearing evidence from policemen, from prison officials, from Professor Sellin—those are published things—on the matter whether it is a deterrent or not, which anyone would want to know about before arriving at a decision on this matter.

The House will remember when this was debated before, what stress was placed on what would be the proper alternative punishment, on what we should do with a murderer if we did not hang him. There was discussion on solitary confinement in Belgium, and the rest of it. Those surely are matters about which the House will want, before arriving at a decision, to know what the Royal Commission's answers are, and that is expressly within the terms of reference of this Royal Commission.

It is my belief that if we had now a Second Reading debate and a decision on this problem, there would be hon. Members, no doubt, whose minds are so made up one way or the other about this that they would say that nothing the Royal Commission would say would affect them, but I believe most of us would regard that as wasting time seriously, and would be saying: Before I am called upon to vote about this, I should like to know what the Royal Commission we have appointed have found.

Question put, pursuant to Standing Order No. 12.

The House divided: Ayes, 195; Noes, 256.

Division No. 209.] AYES [4.2 p.m.
Acland, Sir Richard Baxter, A. B. Bowden, H. W.
Albu, A. H. Bence, C. R Bowles, F. G.
Allen, Scholefield (Crewe) Benn, Hon. Wedgwood Boyle, Sir Edward
Anderson, Alexander (Motherwell) Beswick, F. Brockway, A. F.
Anderson, Frank (Whitehaven) Bevan, Rt. Hon. A. (Ebbw Vale) Brook, Dryden (Halifax)
Awbery, S. S. Bing, G. H. C. Brown, Rt. Hon. George (Belper)
Bacon, Miss Alice Blackburn, F. Brown, Thomas (Ince)
Baird, J. Boardman, H. Burton, Miss F. E
Balfour, A. Bottomley, Rt. Hon. A. G. Butler, Herbert (Hackney, S.)
Callaghan, L. J. Hughes, Emrys (S. Ayrshire) Reid, William (Camlachie)
Carmichael, J Hughes, Hector (Aberdeen, N.) Robens, Rt. Hon. A.
Champion, A. J. Hyde, Lt.-Col. H. M. Roberts, Goronwy (Caernarvon)
Chapman, W. D Hynd, H. (Accrington) Robinson, Kenneth (St. Paneras, N.)
Chetwynd, G. R Irving, W. J. (Wood Green) Rogers, George (Kensington, N.)
Clunie, J. Janner, B. Ross, William
Coldrick, W. Jeger, George (Goole) Royle, C.
Corbet, Mrs. Freda Jenkins, R. H. (Stechford) Shackleton, E. A. A.
Cove, W. G. Johnson, James (Rugby) Short, E. W.
Craddock, George (Bradford, S.) Jones, David (Hartlepool) Shurmer, P. L. E.
Crosland, C. A. R. Jones, Frederick Elwyn (West Ham, S.) Silverman, Julius (Erdington)
Cullen, Mrs. A. Jones, T. W. (Merioneth) Simmons, C. J. (Brierley Hill)
Daines, P. Key, Rt. Hon. C. W. Skeffington, A. M.
Darling, George (Hillsborough) Lee, Miss Jennie (Cannock) Slater, Mrs. H. (Stoke-on-Trent)
Davies, Ernest (Enfield, E.) Lever, Harold (Cheetham) Smith, Ellis (Stake, S.)
Davies, Stephen (Merthyr) Lewis, Arthur Smith, Norman (Nottingham S.)
da Freitas, Geoffrey Lipton, Lt.-Col. M. Sorensen, R. W.
Deer, G. MacColl, J. E. Soskice, Rt. Hon. Sir Frank
Delargy, H. J. McGhee, H. G. Steele, T.
Dodds, N. N. McGovern, J. Stewart, Michael (Fulham, E.)
Donnelly, D. L. McInnes, J. Stokes, Rt. Hon. R. R.
Driberg, T. E. N. McLeavy, F. Strauss, Rt. Hon. George (Vauxhall)
Dugdale, Rt. Hon. John (W. Bromwich) MacMillan, M. K. (Western Isles) Stress, Dr. Barnett
Edwards, Rt. Hon. John (Brighouse) McNeill, Rt. Hon. H. Swingler, S. T.
Edwards, W. J. (Stepney) MacPherson, Malcolm (Stirling) Sylvester, G. O.
Evans, Albert (Islington, S. W.) Mallalieu, J. P. W. (Huddersfield, E.) Taylor, Bernard (Mansfield)
Evans, Edward (Lowestoft) Mann, Mrs. Jean Taylor, John (West Lothian)
Fernyhough, E. Manuel, A. C. Thomas, David (Aberdare)
Finch, H. J. Marquand, Rt. Hon. H. A. Thomas, George (Cardiff)
Follick, M. Mason, Roy Thomas, Ivor Owen (Wrekin)
Foot. M. M. Messer, Sir F. Thomson, George (Dundee, E.)
Forman, J. C. Mikardo, Ian Thornton, E.
Fraser, Thomas (Hamilton) Mitchiton, G. R. Timmons, J.
Freeman, Peter (Newport) Mcnslow, W. Ungoed-Thomas, Sir Lynn
Gaitskell, Rt. Hon. H. T. N. Morley, R. Usborne, H. C.
Gibson, C. W. Morris, Percy (Swansea, W.) Viant, S. P.
Glanville, James Mulley, F. W. Weitzman, D.
Greenwood, Anthony (Rossendale) Nally, W. Wells, William (Walsall)
Grenfell, Rt. Hon. D. R. Noel-Baker, Rt. Hon. P. J Wheatley, Rt. Hon. John
Griffiths, David (Rother Valley) Oliver, G. H. Wheeldon, W. E.
Griffiths, Rt. Hon. James (Llanelly) Oswald, T. White, Mrs. Eirene (E. Flint)
Griffiths, William (Exchange) Paget, R. T. White, Henry (Derbyshire, N. E.)
Grimond, J. Paling, Rt. Hon. W. (Dearne Valley) Wigg, George
Hale, Leslie Paling, Will T. (Dewsbury) Wilkins, W. A.
Hall, John T. (Gateshead, W.) Palmer, A. M. F. Willey, F. T.
Hamilton, W. W. Pargiter, G. A. Williams, Rev. Llywelyn (Abertillery)
Hannan, W. Parker, J. Williams, Ronald (Wigan)
Hastings, S. Paton, J. Williams, W. R. (Droylsden)
Hayman, F. H. Pearson, A Williame, W. T. (Hammersmith, S.)
Herbison, Miss M. Peart, T. F. Wilson, Rt. Hon. Harold (Huyton)
Hobson, C. R. Popplewell, E. Winterbottom, Richard (Brightside)
Hollis, M. C. Price, Joseph T. (Westhoughton) Wyatt, W. L.
Holman, P. Proctor, W. T. Yates, V. F.
Holmes, Horace (Hemsworth) Pryde, D. J. Younger, Rt. Hon. K.
Holt, A. F. Rankin, John
Hubbard, T. F. Reeves, J. TELLERS FOR THE AYES:
Hudson, James (Ealing, N.) Reid, Thomas (Swindon) Mr. Blyton and
Mr. Sydney Silverman.
NOES
Aitken, W. T. Braithwaite, Sir Albert (Harrow, W.) Digby, S. Wingfield
Allan, R. A. (Paddinglon, S.) Braithwaite, Lt.-Cdr. G. (Bristol, N. W.) Doddt-Parker, A. D.
Alport, C. J. M. Brooke, Henry (Hampstead) Donaldson, Cmdr. C. E. McA.
Anstruther-Gray, Major, W. J. Brooman-White, R. C. Doughty, C. J. A.
Arbuthnot, John Browne, Jack (Govan) Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Malcolm
Ashton, H. (Chelmsford) Buchan-Hepburn, Rt. Hon. P. G. T. Drayson, G. B.
Assheton, Rt. Hon. R. (Blackburn, W.) Bullus, Wing Commander E. E. Drewe, Sir C.
Baker, P. A D. Burden, F. F. A. Dugdale, Rt. Hon. Sir T. (Richmond)
Baldwin, A. E. Butcher, Sir Herbert Duncan, Capt. J. A. L.
Banks, Col. C. Butler, Rt. Hon. R. A. (Saffron Walden) Duthie, W. S.
Barber, Anthony Campbell, Sir David Eccles, Rt. Hon. Sir D. M.
Barlow, Sir John Channon, H. Elliot, Rt. Hon. W. E.
Bartley, P. Clarke, Col. Ralph (East Grinstead) Evans, Stanley (Wednesbury)
Beach, Maj. Hicks Clarke, Brig. Terence (Portsmouth, W.) Fell, A.
Beamish, Maj. Tufton Cole, Norman Finlay, Graeme
Bell, Philip (Bolton, E.) Colegate, W. A. Fisher, Nigel
Bennett, F. M. (Reading, N.) Conant, Maj. R. J. E. Fletoher-Cooke, C.
Bennett, William (Woodside) Cooper, Sqn. Ldr. Albert Ford, Mrs. Patricia
Bevins, J. R. (Toxteth) Cooper-Key, E. M. Fort, R.
Birch, Nigel Craddock, Beresford (Spelthorne) Fraser, Hon. Hugh (Stone)
Bishop, F. P. Crookshank, Capt. Rt. Hon. H. F. C. Fraser, Sir Ian (Morecambe & Lonsdale)
Black, C. W. Crosthwaite-Eyre, Col. O. E. Galbraith, Rt. Hon. T. D. (Pollok)
Boothby, Sir R. J. G. Crouch, R. F. Galbraith, T. G. D (Hillhead)
Boyd-Carpenter, J. A. Crowder, Sir John (Finchley) Gammans, L. D
Braine, B. R. Darling, Sir William (Edinburgh, S.) Garner-Evans, E. H.
George, Rt. Hon. Maj. G. Lleyd Low, A. R. W. Renton, D. L. M.
Godber, J. B. Luoas, Sir Jocelyn (Portsmouth, S.) Robertson, Sir David
Gomme-Duncan, Col. A. Lucas, P. B. (Brentford) Robinson, Roland (Blackpool, S.)
Gough, C. F. H. Lucas-Tooth, Sir Hugh Rodgers, John (Sevenoaks)
Graham, Sir Fergus Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. O. Roper, Sir Harold
Gridley, Sir Arnold McCallum, Major D. Russell, R. S.
Grimston, Hon. John (St. Albans) McCorquodale, Rt. Hon. M S Salter, Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur
Grimston, Sir Robert (Westbury) Macdonald, Sir Peter Sandys, Rt. Hon. D
Harden, J. R. E. Mackeson, Brig. H. R. Scott-Miller, Cmdr. R.
Hare, Hon. J. H. McKibbin, A. J. Shepherd, William
Hargreaves, A. Mackie, J. H. (Galloway) Simon, J. E. S. (Middlesbrough, W.)
Harris, Reader (Heston) Maclay, Rt. Hon. John Smithers, Peter (Winchester)
Harrison, J. (Nottingham, E.) Maclean, Fitzroy Snadden, W. McN.
Harrison, Col. J. H. (Eye) MacLeod, Rt. Hon. Iain (Enfield, W.) Spearman, A. C. M.
Harvey, Air Cdre, A. V. (Macclesfield) MacLeod, John (Ross and Cromarty) Spence, H. R. (Aberdeenshire, W.)
Harvey, Ian (Harrow, E.) Macmillan, Rt. Hon Harold (Bromley) Spens, Rt. Hon. Sir P. (Kensington, S.)
Harvie-Watt, Sir George Macpherson, Niall (Dumfries) Stevens, G. P.
Hay, John Maitland, Comdr. J. F. W. (Horncastle) Steward, W. A. (Woolwich, W.)
Head, Rt. Hon. A. H. Maitland, Patrick (Lanark) Stewart, Henderson (Fife, E.)
Heald, Sir Lionel Manningham-Buller, Sir R. E Stoddart-Scott, Col. M.
Heath, Edward Marlowe, A. A. H. Storey, S.
Henderson, John (Cathcart) Marples, A. E. Strauss, Henry (Norwich, S.)
Higgs, J. M. C. Marshall, Sir Sidney (Sutton) Stuart, Rt. Hon. James (Moray)
Hill, Mrs. E. (Wythenshawe) Maude, Angus Studholme, H. G.
Hirst, Geoffrey Maudling, R. Summers, G. S.
Holland-Martin, C. J. Maydon, Lt.-Comdr. S. L. C. Sutcliffe, Sir Harold
Holmes, Sir Stanley (Harwich) Medlicott, Brig. F. Taylor, Charles (Eastbourne)
Hope, Lord John Mellor, Sir John Taylor, William (Bradford, N.)
Hopkinson, Rt. Hon. Henry Molson, A. H. E. Thomas, lorwerth (Rhondda, W.)
Hornsby-Smith, Miss M. P. Moody, A. S. Thomas, Rt. Hon. J. P. L. (Hereford)
Horobin, I. M. Moore, Lt.-Col. Sir Thomas Thomas, Leslie (Canterbury)
Horsbrugh, Rt. Hon. Florence Morgan, Dr. H. B. W. Thompson, Lt.-Cdr. R. (Croydon, W.)
Houghton, Douglas Morrison, John (Salisbury) Thorneycroft, Rt. Hn. Peter (Monmouth)
Howard, Hon. Greville (St. Ives) Mort, D. L. Thornton-Kemsley, Col. C. N.
Hudson, Sir Austin (Lewisham, N.) Nabarro, G. D. N. Thurtle, Ernest
Hudson, W. R. A. (Hull, N) Nicholls, Harmar Touche, Sir Gordon
Hurd, A. R. Nicholson, Godfrey (Farnham) Turner-Samuels, M
Hutchison, Lt.-Com. Clark (E'b'rgh W.) Nield, Basil (Chester) Turton, R. H.
Jenkins, Robert (Dulwich) Noble, Cmdr. A. H. P. Tweedsmuir, Lady
Jennings, R. Nugent, G. R. H. Vaughan-Morgan, J. K.
Johnson, Eric (Blackley) Nutting, Anthony Vosper, D. F.
Jones, A. (Hall Green) Oakshott, H. D. Wakefield, Edward (Derbyshire, W.)
Jones, Jack (Rotherham) Odey, G. W. Wakefield, Sir Wavell (St. Marylebone)
Kaberry, D. Ormsby-Gore, Hon. W. D. Ward, Hon. George (Worcester)
Keeling, Sir Edward Orr-Ewing, Sir Ian (Weston-super-Mare) Ward, Miss I. (Tynemouth)
Keenan, W. Osborne, C. Waterhouse, Capt. Rt. Hon. C
Kerr, H. W. Partridge, E. Watkinson, H. A.
King, Dr. H. M. Peake, Rt. Hon. O Webbe, Sir H. (London & Westminster)
Lambert, Hon. G. Perkins, W. R. D. Wellwood, W.
Lambton, Viscount Peto, Brig. C. H. M Williams, Rt. Hon. Charles (Torquay)
Lancaster, Col. C. G. Peyton, J. W. W. Williams, Gerald (Tonbridge)
Law, Rt. Hon. R. K. Pickthorn, K. W. M Williams, Sir Herbert (Croydon, E.)
Legge-Bourke, Maj. E. A H. Pilkington, Capt. R. A. Williams, Paul (Sunderland, S.)
Lennox-Boyd, Rt. Hon. A. T. Pitman, I. J. Williams, R. Dudley (Exeter)
Llewellyn, D. T. Powell, J. Enoch Wills, G.
Lloyd, Rt. Hon. G. (King's Norton) Price, Henry (Lewisham, W) Wilson, Geoffrey (Truro)
Lloyd, Maj. Sir Guy (Renfrew, E.) Prior-Palmer, Brig. O. L. Wood, Hon. R.
Lloyd, Rt. Hon. Selwyn (Wirral) Profumo, J. D. York, C.
Lockwood, Lt.-Col. J. C. Raikes, Sir Victor
Logan, D. G. Rayner, Brig. R. TELLERS FOR THE NOES:
Longden, Gilbert Redmayne, M. Mr. Deedes and Mr. Hylton Foster
Remnant, Hon. P