HC Deb 24 June 1963 vol 679 cc935-6
37. Mr. P. Noel-Baker

asked the Lord Privy Seal what new proposals Her Majesty's delegate has laid before the Committee of Eighteen Nations for breaking the present deadlock in the discussions on the United States and Russian draft treaties for general and complete disarmament; and whether he will make a statement.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Joseph Godber)

I have nothing to add to what I told the House on 29th April. The United Kingdom's policy remains to seek to draw the Soviet Union into serious and detailed discussion of the plans already on the table and to try to reach areas of common agreement.

Mr. Nod-Baker

Am I right in understanding that Answer to mean that there have been no new British proposals to bridge the gap between the Soviet and the Western proposals? Would I also be right in endorsing the view expressed by the non-aligned members of the Committee—in the minutes that I have been able to see—that on the subject of general disarmament the Committee is in total deadlock?

Mr. Godber

I do not think that it would be right to say that the Committee is in total deadlock. The difficulty is to get serious and detailed consideration of most of these proposals. I recently tried to lead the Committee into a discussion of fresh aspects of the problem in order to get fresh thought on the matter. The difficulty has been that almost all the thought, energy and effort have been devoted to the question of nuclear tests.