§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Macmillan)With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I desire to make a short statement.
The House will wish to know that, as is being announced simultaneously in the United States, President Eisenhower and I are to meet from 21st March to the 24th. At the suggestion of the President, the meeting will take place in Bermuda.
918 The Prime Minister of Canada and I have decided that it would be valuable if we also could meet at this time to discuss matters of common concern to the United Kingdom and Canada. Mr. St. Laurent will, therefore, join me in Bermuda for talks on the 25th and 26th March.
§ Mr. GaitskellWhile welcoming the Prime Minister's announcement, may I ask him whether he can give us some idea of the scope of the talks, and whether he will go alone or will be accompanied by some of his Ministerial colleagues? Can he also say whether there will be any discussions within the Commonwealth before the meeting takes place?
§ The Prime MinisterOn the first point, I have no doubt that the scope will be a very wide one, because there are very large questions, covering many parts of the world, which we ought to discuss.
With regard to Ministers who will be accompanying me, my intention is that the Foreign Secretary should go with me. [Interruption.] I have no doubt that the President will wish his Secretary of State to go with him.
With regard to prior consultation with the Commonwealth, it would not, of course, be possible to have a Commonwealth conference before that date. We are in very close touch with the Commonwealth, and I am hoping that it might be possible to organise a meeting afterwards in the course of this year.