HC Deb 11 July 1966 vol 731 cc970-2

The following Question stood upon the Order Paper:

64. Mr. ROBERT HOWARTH

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what information, supplied by his Department, Mr. M. R. D. Foot, in his book "S.O.E. in France", based his references to Mrs. Odette Hallowes and the late Mrs. Violette Szabo.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Mrs. Eirene White)

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I will now answer Question No. 64.

I would draw the attention of my hon. Friend to a letter by Mr. Foot to The Times, published today.

Mr. Foot makes it absolutely clear that it was not his intention to cast any doubt whatsoever on the worthiness of the awards of the George Cross to Mrs. Hallowes and the late Mrs. Szabo.

The book is Mr. Foot's and Her Majesty's Government are not responsible for any statements or expressions of opinion which appear in it, but as the publishers of the book they welcome this opportunity of associating themselves with Mr. Foot's letter by making it clear that they, of course, had no intention of casting any doubt, any more than Mr. Foot did, on the awards made to these two gallant ladies. Nor, of course, was any slur on their reputations intended.

Mr. Foot has expressed his regret for the distress which has been caused to Mrs. Hallowes and to the relatives of Mrs. Szabo by misunderstandings on this point, and I should like to add that of Her Majesty's Government.

Mr. Marten

While I appreciate the hon. Lady's statement, may I ask her whether she is aware that the book gives an entirely warped impression of the very gallant actions of Odette Hallowes and Violette Szabo? Does it not show up the absurdity of publishing a book which was based on only partial records without checking the text with those who were still alive and available to check the text?

Mrs. White

As the hon. Gentleman is aware, Mr. Foot has made his apology in The Times this morning. He checked with a great many people. It was not possible to check with every person mentioned in the text. I would hope that, as these explanations have been made and as the text will be corrected in a reprint which is shortly to be made, we might perhaps leave the matter there.

Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Is it not right that the Government, being responsible for the publication of the book, should make sure—there is an obligation on them, is there not—that the author of the book should consult the people to whom he refers in his book? Is it not grossly unfair that statements should be made about them without their having any chance of corroborating or refuting the statements?

Mrs. White

With great respect to the right hon. Gentleman, he must appreciate that with a book which names an enormous number of individuals, it is clear that it would have been quite impracticable to have consulted every single one of them. [HON. MEMBERS: "No."] I think that this is true. Consultations were made by the author of the book with persons who were directing the operations concerned. He very much regrets, as we have already made clear, any mistaken impression which may have been given by what he said about any individuals.

Mr. Paget

Would my hon. Friend make it clear that the author was free to consult these people? What has been said is that he was confined to his sources and was not allowed to consult the broad range of people whom he was talking about. If that is not true, that should be stated.

Mrs. White

It is the case that he was asked to look at the papers first before consulting individuals, but after that he was able to consult whom he pleased.

Mr. Ronald Bell

Is not the true lesson to be learnt from this that official histories are a bad thing, since it is desirable that authors should retain freedom to express opinions and to revise journalistic assessments in the light of scholarship?

Mrs. White

The book was, in fact, very well reviewed by serious reviewers and historians. It is regrettable that one or two incidents were misdescribed, but I do not think that that detracts from the general value of the book.