Mr. Jomo Kenyatta (Hansard, 8 December 1960)

§ 35. Mr. Stonehouse
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give an assurance that Mr. Jomo Kenyatta will be released in Kenya.

§ 30. Mr. Fell
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give an assurance that Jomo Kenyatta will not be released in Kenya.

§ Mr. Iain Macleod
No, Sir.

§ Mr. Stonehouse
Before I ask my supplementary question, Mr. Speaker, will the Colonial Secretary say which was the Question to which he replied "No"?

§ Mr. Macleod
The hon. Gentleman is not at his brightest today. He asked me for an assurance, and my hon. Friend the Member for Yarmouth (Mr. Fell) asked for an assurance in precisely the contrary sense. I am not prepared to give either assurance.

§ Mr. Stonehouse
I thank the Colonial Secretary for that clarity. Is he aware that he is flying in the face of reality in this matter, and that there is an overwhelming mass of people in Kenya who want Mr. Kenyatta to be released and they will express their will after the elections in March? 1430 Would it not be better if Mr. Kenyatta were released and allowed to return to political life before the elections?

§ Mr. Macleod
If I may say so, I do not agree with that analysis. It is easy to find people who take different points of view on this question in every single race in Kenya. I am certain that we should leave it, as we have done in the past, to the decision of the Governor, although, naturally, in a matter of this importance the Governor would not act without the full accord and support of Her Majesty's Government.