HC Deb 15 June 1964 vol 696 cc916-7
16. Mr. Oram

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on recent developments in Anglo-German relations.

Mr. Mathew

Our relations with the Federal Republic of Germany are excellent. The recent announcement that Her Majesty The Queen intends to pay a State Visit next year has been warmly welcomed in the Federal Republic. A successful "British Week" was held in Düsseldorf at the end of May. An agreement providing for the compensation of British victims of Nazi persecution was signed on 9th June.

Mr. Oram

The House will welcome the favourable developments to which the hon. Member has referred, but can he say what effect the speech of Herr Seebohm, to which my hon. Friend referred, has had on Anglo-German relations? What was the reaction of Her Majesty's Government to that speech? Was any protest delivered about its objectionable character?

Mr. Mathew

I should require notice of that question.

Mr. Warbey

In such discussions and exchanges on the matter, will Her Majesty's Government suggest to the German Government that any participation in a multilateral nuclear force would be a breach of the spirit and intentions of the Paris Agreement and the Brussels Treaty, and would relieve us of our obligation to protect Germany against armed attack?

Mr. Mathew

No, Sir. Her Majesty's Government's position on the question of a mulilateral nuclear force and the non-dissemination of nuclear power has been made clear on a number of occasions.

Mr. Swingler

Do Her Majesty's Government agree with Chancellor Erhardt in repudiating the views of his Minister of Transport?

Mr. Mathew

This is surely a matter for the German Government.