HC Deb 06 December 1956 vol 561 cc1445-8
47. Mr. Wigg

asked the Prime Minister why an extract of a speech made by the First Lord of the Admiralty during the Chester by-election was circularised by the Admiralty in a communication, Reference No. 262/56, which invites those wishing to obtain full copies of the speech to apply to the Conservative Central Office.

The Lord Privy Seal (Mr. R. A. Butler)

I have been asked to reply.

The extract from my right hon. and noble Friend's speech which was sent to the Press dealt with the damage done to the Suez Canal and with the technical problems confronting the Admiralty in clearing it. The Press was invited to apply to the Conservative Central Office for copies of the full speech because the speech was made on a political occasion.

Mr. Wigg

If the right hon. Gentleman wanted only to draw attention to the technical aspects of the speech, why did he not use the device of an Admiralty spokesman? The right hon. Gentleman is aware that here was a statement bearing an Admiralty imprint and the occasion was in order to influence votes at the Chester by-election. Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether the cost of this was included in the election expenses of the hon. Member for the City of Chester (Mr. Temple)?

Mr. Butler

I would not be able to answer the last part of that supplementary question without notice, but, in answer to the first part, I have ascertained that a number of Press releases were sent out from the Admiralty at the same time and they did correspond with that portion of the speech issued by the Admiralty which was stated by my right hon. and noble Friend. Therefore, I do not think there has been any abuse.

Major Wall

Is it not a fact that the Royal Navy has done a magnificent job in clearing the approaches to Port Said and that we should give congratulations to the Service?

Mr. Butler

Yes, Sir. I think that the more publicity given to this particular clearance the better.

Mr. Gaitskell

While no one disputes the valuable work done by the Navy, would not the Lord Privy Seal agree that, whatever the contents of a speech made in a by-election, it is most undesirable that it should be circulated on note-paper of a Government Department?

Mr. Butler

This was rather an exceptional case, because the Admiralty did take care to see that the speech as such—that is, the political portions—were issued by the Conservative Central Office. It so happened that there were certain portions relating to the clearance of the Canal which corresponded with the Admiralty releases on clearance and it confined the Admiralty releases to that point. I will certainly see to it that we do not have a similar difficulty in future.

Mr. H. Wilson

Whilst welcoming the last statement of the Lord Privy Seal, may I ask if he is aware that the First Lord was photographed appearing at a Naval establishment in South Lancashire in the afternoon of the day when the speech was made and whether the cost of that journey was borne by the Admiralty or by the Conservative Central Office?

Mr. Butler

I should have to have notice of that question.

Mr. Dugdale

Will the right hon. Gentleman state whether this was done on the direct authority of the First Lord? If so, was it not a gross abuse of his powers, and if not, does it not show that he has inadequate control over his own Department?

Mr. Butler

If any of us knows about my right hon. and noble Friend, we are sure that everything is done under his authority.

Mr. Wigg

Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether the First Lord of the Admiralty is the best one he has got?

Mr. Butler

I should have thought so, yes.

49. Mr. Jay

asked the Prime Minister whether the speech of the First Lord of the Admiralty at Oxford on 30th November represents the policy of Her Majesty's Government.

Mr. R. A. Butler

I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. and noble Friend made it abundantly clear that, far from making a declaration of policy, he was simply endeavouring to give expression to views held by many people—and this he did in his own way.

Mr. Jay

Is it the policy of Her Majesty's Government that senior Ministers should make speeches containing hysterical abuse of the United States?

Mr. Butler

I do not think this abuse was at all hysterical, because my right hon. and noble Friend said he did it—these are his words— simply and plainly as the son of an American mother.

Mr. Jay

As the Lord Privy Seal admits now that abuse was used, can be say whether this was a preamble to the request of the Government for a waiver of the American loan interest?

Mr. Butler

No, Sir, but what I would say is that I think England would be a poorer place if speeches of this quality were not made.

Mr. Gaitskell

Does not the Lord Privy Seal feel that the speech was somewhat at odds with the speech of the Minister of Defence last night when he made a passionate plea for no recrimination against the United States? Is he also aware that the First Lord of the Admiralty also said in the course of his speech that he personally wished they had been able to finish the job? Is that the view of the Government?

Mr. Butler

I think my right hon. and noble Friend has a very right pride in the capability of the Admiralty to clear the Canal. There is no equipment in the world equivalent to what the Admiralty can now put at the disposal of the United Nations.

Mr. Gaitskell

Is the Lord Privy Seal aware that of course the First Lord of the Admiralty was not referring to the clearance of the Canal but to the fact that Her Majesy's Government were stopped from their enterprise by the United Nations?

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