HC Deb 20 December 1960 vol 632 cc1066-7
44. Mr. Wyatt

asked the Prime Minister whether he will discuss with Senator Kennedy, at their forthcoming meeting, the extent to which British firms are partly or wholly owned by United States interests, and the consequent effect on British industry and Anglo-American relations.

The Prime Minister

No meeting with Mr. Kennedy has yet been arranged. If, as I hope, such a meeting takes place, I will bear this matter in mind, should it seem worth while to discuss it.

Mr. Wyatt

Although the Prime Minister no doubt thinks it very funny—[HON. MEMBERS: "No—we do."],—is he not aware that quite apart from the Ford affair, which was not so significant to our economy, there is, for example, the American-owned Standard Telephone Company, which is the largest single supplier in the ring that supplies telephones to the Post Office, and that it is thought by many concerned in the industries connected with telecommunications that that firm is now advising Her Majesty's Government not to have their own communications satellite system, but to wait for the Americans to provide the equipment—so that the Americans can make all the money out of it, and we shall lose a great deal? Will the Prime Minister look into that?

The Prime Minister

This is a question of the free interchange of capital. On the whole, I think that the fact that there is a free movement of capital is a sign of a progressive economy in the world, and a good thing, and if we in this country were to be examined as to our capital investments all over the world—including the United States—we might find ourselves embarking on a very perilous journey if we were to question them.