§ 26. Sir S. McAddenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost to public funds of the message passed recently from the British Embassy in Prague to London at the behest of the Leader of the Opposition.
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Sir Alec Douglas-Home)Seventy-four pence.
§ Sir S. McAddenDoes my right hon. Friend appreciate that the cheapness of the cost involved is almost equalled by the subsequent antics? Will he confirm that the services of the Foreign Office were confined to conveying the message from the sender to the recipient and that it played no subsequent part in the proceedings?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI shall not comment on the first part of my hon. Friend's question. This service is a normal courtesy offered to senior members of the Opposition when they go overseas, and this is right. There was no leak of the text of the message sent by the Leader of the Opposition or the fact that there had been a message from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and it was not my Press secretary who called the conference.
§ Mr. HefferWill the right hon. Gentleman accept that, although many of us on this side of the House think it is about time this whole business was dropped by the media, the actions of my right hon. Friend were perfectly justified and that he helped in a very difficult situation? It is time that this country accepted the good faith of people when they are trying to do a job on behalf of its citizens.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeIt is high time the episode was closed, but who the media were, and who did the job, I would not know.