§ Q3 Mr. A. Hendersonasked the Prime Minister (1) whether he will propose to President Kennedy and Mr. Khrushchev the publication of their recent exchange of letters;
(2) whether he will now state the new proposals to be put to the Geneva Conference on nuclear tests with a view to ending the present deadlock.
§ Q5. Mr. Dribergasked the Prime Minister if, in view of the readiness of the United States Government, as now revealed by the publication of the testimony given on 26th February before the Senate Armed Services Committee by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering at the Pentagon, to accept only six on-site inspections after disturbances possibly caused by nuclear tests, he will make a new approach to Mr. Khrushchev and President Kennedy in an endeavour to secure a test-ban agreement.
§ Q6. Mr. M. Footasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the latest British proposals for securing an agreement banning nuclear tests.
§ Q13. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Prime Minister if he will now indicate the nature of the reply received by himself and Mr. Kennedy to their letter to Mr. Khrushchev regarding the stopping of nuclear test explosions; and what policy Her Majesty's Government will now adopt in order to reach an agreement.
§ The Prime MinisterAs my right hon. Friend the First Secretary told the House on 23rd May, President Kennedy and are still considering what our next step should be in the light of Mr. Khrushchev's reply to our communication. Our correspondence with Mr. Khrushchev was confidential, so that it would be inappropriate for me to say anything more at this stage.
§ Mr. HendersonIn view of the fact that it is now estimated that there are 20 countries which soon will be able to manufacture their own nuclear weapons, does not the whole problem become one of considerable urgency? Would the Prime Minister consider in his consultations with President Kennedy the desirability of renewing the offer made some time ago to Mr. Khrushchev for immediate banning of all atmospheric and sea-water tests pending the solution of the problem of underground tests? If Mr. Khrushchev refuses, would the right hon. Gentleman consider consulting President Kennedy on the making of a unilateral moratorium on the part of the two countries in respect of these tests?
§ The Prime MinisterI have great sympathy, of course, with the right hon. and learned Gentleman, as he knows. We would be ready at any time—we have made it quite clear—to agree to a general ban on atmospheric tests. That has not been acceptable so far to the Soviet Government. Therefore, we are still pressing on with the hope of getting a total ban. I hope within a very few days to agree with the President on the reply which we are making to Mr. Khrushchev, and I think that it would be better to leave it there for the moment.
§ Mr. DribergWith regard to the testimony referred to in Question No. Q5, may 1117 I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he would agree that this statement, made under conditions of secrecy by a senior expert adviser to the United States Administration, represents one step forward on the American side? Would the right hon. Gentleman do his best to take advantage of this slightly increased flexibility?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. I am sure that we would try to find every possible means to reach an agreement, but I hope that the hon. Gentleman will not press me. Within a day or two I hope to agree to the reply we propose to make and I hope that that will lead to some forward step.
§ Mr. M. FootDoes the Prime Minister agree with the statement made by the Foreign Secretary in Ottawa last week that the United States at present possesses a very great superiority in nuclear weapons and nuclear strength over all other Powers? Does the right hon. Gentleman not think that a Power in such a position has a special obligation to make concessions to try to secure a general test ban agreement, and does he not think that that would justify the British Government m putting forward proposals of this nature to try to secure agreement?
§ The Prime MinisterI think that the course I have been pursuing for the past three months is the one most likely to lead to some settlement. It is quite easy to make a unilateral statement, but that does not necessarily lead to the result we want. I hope very much that the procedure upon which we are about to engage will be the most fruitful.
§ Mr. Frank AllaunSince the differences are manifestly so small, what is really preventing agreement? Is it that neither the American nor the Russian Government genuinely want it and that our Government will not give an independent lead?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir; that is a quite wrong account of the situation. There are two problems still to be resolved, both the number of inspections and their character.
§ Mr. LongdenWill my right hon. Friend in the meantime make clearer to the world in general, since some American senators and a lot of people in this country 1118 do not seem to understand, that for very many months now the British and the Americans have offered to ban all tests everywhere, except underground, without any verification whatever?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. That has always been our position. I am glad that this has been brought out. The Soviet Government are not ready to agree to a partial ban and, therefore, we are still trying to get a total ban.
Mr. H. WilsonIt is understandable that these discussions must for the moment continue most helpfully on a confidential basis, but is the Prime Minister in a position to say whether the reply from Mr. Khrushchev showed that he was to any extent forthcoming about suggestions for a high-level meeting between Heads of Government to discuss the final differences which still stand in the way of a test ban agreement?
§ The Prime MinisterI think that I ought not to answer that question. We have made a number of proposals, and in the light of Mr. Khrushchev's reply, we are hoping to make an answer which may take up at least one of them. Then we shall, perhaps, make a little progress.