HC Deb 25 November 1969 vol 792 c194
Q.1. Mr. Henig

asked the Prime Minister if he will invite Herr Brandt to make an official visit to Great Britain.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)

I have invited the German Chancellor to pay an official visit on a mutually convenient date in the first half of next year and Herr Brandt has accepted.

Mr. Henig

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many hon. Members will be delighted to hear that news? Will he convey to Herr Brandt when he comes here the warmest congratulations of many in the House at least that a Socialist is once more Chancellor of Western Germany? Would the time be appropriate when Herr Brandt visits this country to consider the possibilty of some kind of Anglo-German declaration of friendship, perhaps along the lines of the Franco-German declaration a few years ago?

The Prime Minister

While Herr Brandt is a very old personal friend of mine, my relations with him are strictly official. What I welcome, and what the whole House, regardless of party, welcomes, is that the Chancellor of Germany is a very good friend of this country, and in our discussions we shall start from that position. I was asked about a declaration. That can be considered at the right time. There was a very important declaration between the previous Chancellor and myself last February about the widening of the. Common Market. If Herr Brandt and I mutually felt that any declaration would help our common purpose, no doubt we could make one.