HC Deb 02 February 1954 vol 523 cc202-3
47. Mr. Warbey

asked the Prime Minister whether the official speech of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the Berlin Conference on 27th January, in which he opposed the idea of a Five-Power Conference to discuss any or all of the situations which are at present causing international tension, represents the present policy of Her Majesty's Government.

The Prime Minister

Everything which the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has said in the course of these difficult negotiations which he has been conducting with so much skill and experience, reflects the policy of Her Majesty's Government. The Foreign Secretary's speech to which the hon. Member refers, dealt with Mr. Molotov's proposal that a Five-Power Conference should consider any or all of the problems which were the cause of international tension, and the Foreign Secretary said that Her Majesty's Government did not consider that that was the best way to resolve the tension. He advocated dealing with Germany and Austria in Berlin, with the Korean questions at the Korean Political Conference, and with disarmament within the framework of the United Nations Organisation. The question of a Five-Power Conference is to be further discussed in restricted session later this week.

Mr. Warbey

Does that reply mean that the Prime Minister has completely run away from the proposals he made in his speech on 11th May last year when he called for a conference of leading Powers to discuss world problems without a rigid agenda, and is he content to see the Foreign Secretary consigning his grand design to the dustbin of history?

The Prime Minister

No, Sir. I am watching with great interest the developments, which contain many hopeful features, now taking place in Berlin. I think it would be a great mistake to plunge into the midst of these very intricate and delicate discussions with statements of sweeping character made in the House of Commons.

Mr. Noel-Baker

In view of the Government's opposition to the Indian Government's proposal for a meeting of the Assembly of the United Nations, what steps are Her Majesty's Government taking to secure a political conference on Korea?

The Prime Minister

I think I might ask for notice of that question.