HC Deb 22 April 1969 vol 782 cc234-5
10. Mr. Onslow

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will set up a committee to advise him on the erection of a public memorial in London to President Eisenhower.

Mr. Mellish

I think the first thing to establish is whether there is broad public support for this proposal, and I am sure we are all grateful to the hon. Gentleman for stimulating interest in it.

Mr. Onslow

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind when considering this matter, that action of this kind might do something to wipe out the unhappy memory of the Government's mishandling of this country's representation at President Eisenhower's funeral?

Mr. Mellish

That is a regrettable supplementary question. The hon. Gentleman could not be more wrong if he thinks that special regard for President Eisenhower is had only on the benches opposite. His supplementary is not worth a reply, and I shall not give one.

Mr. Lipton

Would it not help to widen the choice of suitable sites for this and other purposes if some of the horrible statues which are now cluttering up Central London were thinned out a little?

Mr. Mellish

My hon. Friend may have been a little late in entering the Chamber. We dealt with that question earlier.

As my hon. Friend asked a serious supplementary question, unlike the one asked by the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow), it might help if I indicated that my Ministry will do all it can to promote the installation of a statute of President Eisenhower. We will do what we can to find a suitable site, and I am at the disposal of the authorities of the House in this matter.