§ 5. Mrs. Castleasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the attack on the Peking Government in the current issue of "British Opinion," published by the British Information Services in Tokio, was made with his approval.
§ Mr. TurtonI would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Warbey) on 25th April.
§ Mrs. CastleIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the reply given by his right hon. Friend rather regrettably seemed to condone this article, an article which was described by the diplomatic correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian" as a slashing attack on the Chinese Government? That correspondent also described it as hardly calculated to have a useful effect on the peoples of South-East Asia, or indeed anywhere else. Can we have a repudiation of that policy by the Government?
§ Mr. TurtonIf the hon. Lady reads my right hon. Friend's reply, she will see that he put this article in its proper perspective.
§ Mrs. CastleOn the contrary, is the hon. Gentleman aware that his right hon. Friend went out of his way to say that he thought that the article was very small beer? Does he not realise it has caused a good deal of uneasiness in South-East Asia, where we are trying to win support for our view that we stand for peaceful coexistence?
§ Mr. TurtonI refer the hon. Lady to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, which in fact she has quoted quite incorrectly.