HC Deb 12 February 1958 vol 582 cc361-2
1. and 2. Mr. Hale

asked the Minister of Defence (1) the present duration of the agreement permitting the stationing of foreign troops in Great Britain;

(2) what period of notice is necessary and what steps need to be taken to terminate the agreements permitting the stationing of foreign troops in Great Britain.

The Minister of Defence (Mr. Duncan Sandys)

Permission for the establishment of American air bases and forces in Britain was given by Mr. Attlee's Government. There was no formal agreement and no precise conditions were laid down for the termination of this arrangement.

Mr. Hale

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that, welcome as our American friends are on our ground, the presence in this country of forces which carry thermo-nuclear weapons for training, and the establishment in this country of missile bases over which we understand they will exercise some control, make it increasingly difficult to maintain a separate foreign policy and quite impossible to maintain a separate atomic and thermo-nuclear policy? As the presence of our own troops on the Continent is permitting France to pursue a foreign policy of which we actively disapprove, has no[...] the time come for a little rethinking?

Mr. Sandys

The time has long ago passed when one could pursue an entirely independent foreign policy. The American forces will remain here so long as both Governments feel that it is in the common interest for the purpose of common defence that they should do so. We certainly have no intention of asking them to leave. I am convinced that they are making an important contribution to peace.