HC Deb 27 November 1974 vol 882 cc438-40
35. Mr. Jay

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what grant the Government propose to make to the European Movement during the financial year 1974–75; and for what purpose.

37. Mr. Skinner

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money has been allocated to the European Movement in the current year.

38. Mr. Raphael Tuck

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the size of the United Kingdom contribution to the European Movement in the current financial year.

Mr. Hattersley

The grant in aid to the British Council of the European Movement for the 1974–75 financial year has been reduced to £20,000. The grant is made on the strict understanding that its use is limited to a programme of exchanges and visits with countries in Western Europe as a whole.

Mr. Jay

Is my hon. Friend aware that some of us are not impressed by the doctrine that all this public money is spent only on educational visits? We believe that organisations engaged in political propaganda in the internal affairs of this country ought to finance themselves and not rely on the taxpayer.

Mr. Hattersley

I am well aware of my right hon. Friend's views, and I assure him absolutely that when this reduced grant was made to the European Movement, I, on the Foreign Secretary's instructions, saw the president and secretary of that movement and made clear to them that the money available from the Foreign Office could be used only for what I must describe as non-propaganda purposes, and that we should want to keep an extremely close watch on how that money was spent to ensure that our requirement was met.

Mr. Rost

Is the Prime Minister, together with the Leader of the Opposition, still officially a patron of the European Movement?

Mr. Hattersley

Yes, Sir.

Mr. Skinner

Will the Minister look at the more sinister question of the source of the European Movement's massive finances? Does be know that over the past several years the European Movement has been financed in part by the CIA, as disclosed in an article commissioned for The Sunday Times, which was then suppressed and stopped by the editor, and will he give a guarantee that in the forthcoming referendum campaign there will be no use of CIA money?

Mr. Hattersley

I have no information that the European Movement is financed by the CIA, nor do I invariably rely on the accuracy of The Sunday Times, and, I suspect nor does my hon. Friend. To deal with the serious point of the question—and, if I may say so, I think there was one—there is, I feel, an obligation on all of us to make sure that, when the British people's will is determined, no matter how we choose to determine it through the ballot box, there are a number of alternatives and it is determined in a way which ensures that both sides of the argument are fairly presented and neither side of the argument can produce so much funds that it has an unfair advantage over the other. I do not disagree with my hon. Friend about that.

Mr. Russell Johnston

Does that answer mean that the Government are seriously considering offering some financial assistance to both sides of the argument, accepting that the financing of political objectives is a major problem? Speaking as a long-standing supporter of the Community, I accept that it would be wrong that the balance should be unfairly tilted.

Mr. Hattersley

It means two things. First, the Government are considering how the people's will should best be tested. That means a number of alternatives, one of which may not be a referendum. But it also means that the Government are determined to ensure that, whether it is determined by a General Election or a referendum, our commitment is to the ballot box. However the ballot box is used to decide the direct view of the British electorate, there is an obligation on us to make sure that both sides of the argument are presented fairly and equally. The Government entirely accept that view.

Mr. Raphael Tuck

Further to what the hon. Member for Inverness (Mr. Johnston) said, if my hon. Friend is so keen on giving money to an organisation that is avowedly in favour of Britain's being in the Common Market, will he be even-handed and redress the balance and give a similar amount to an organisation, the address of which I can supply—the Common Market Safeguards Committee?

Mr. Hattersley

I am enthusiastic about giving what Government money is available to organisations that promote exchanges between various countries. The British Council of the European Movement has traditionally promoted exchanges between Britain and Western Europe, and I am enthusiastic about giving it money to make that possible.

I am not remotely enthusiastic, at this point, about giving Government money to promoting propaganda on either side of the EEC argument. Therefore, our grants must be restricted very firmly to the purpose for which they were intended.