§ Q1. Mr. Martenasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Government's action to forestall attempts to cause disruption to the economy in the coming months.
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. George Brown)I have been asked to reply.
I have nothing to add to the Answers given to earlier Questions on this subject by my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour.
§ Mr. MartenMay I express deep regret at the tragic reason which takes the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition away from the House today?
Does the Foreign Secretary recall that the Prime Minister said in the House that he had abundant evidence of a specific plot by the Communists to make this a winter of disruption? In view of the country's economic difficulties, would it not be sensible for the Government to tell the country quite frankly where this so-called plot is to strike next? Why are the Government so coy about this?
§ Mr. BrownThere is no coyness about this. In the statements to which I have referred and in the reports of Lord Devlin and Lord Cameron of specific instances, the case is well set out and the evidence is clearly available. What my right hon. Friends were hoping for and what I hope for is that industry, the trade unions and all the rest of us will take the appropriate action as a result of the position having been made clear.