§ LORD WEDGWOODMy Lords, I beg to ask the first question which stands on the Paper in my name.
§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government, whether any, and if so what steps have been taken to bring to justice those who defaced Lenin's bust, what steps to restore and cleanse the memorial, and what reply has been sent to the Ambassador's protest.]
VISCOUNT CLIFDENMy Lords, in the absence of my noble friend Lord Munster, I have been asked to reply to the noble Lord. As the outrage was committed during black-out and in an unfrequented square, it is a matter of some difficulty to trace the offender. The investigations are still proceeding and I should prefer not to prejudice them by entering into details at the moment. I can, however, assure the noble Lord that every possible step is being taken to identify and to bring to justice the person or persons responsible for this deplorable piece of vandalism. I understand that the Committee by whom the memorial was erected is considering whether it should be repaired and cleansed, or whether it should be removed and a new monument erected in its place.
As regards the third part of the question, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in replying to a communication received from the Soviet Ambassador, has requested the latter to express to the Soviet Government the profound regrets of His Majesty's Government at this act of vandalism, and has drawn the attention of the Ambassador to the fact that an inquiry is being instituted by the Home Secretary, as a result of which it is hoped 111 that the criminal or criminals will be discovered and punished.
§ LORD WEDGWOODMy Lords, we must all agree that the time was ill-chosen for this disgusting insult to the Russian people, and that the inscription "Perish Judah" marks it as the work of the British Union of Fascists, now reincarnated as the British National Party. What I want to know is why that Party is still permitted. Have its members been interrogated? Have its books been searched? Why has no reward been offered for evidence leading to a conviction? The police know the names of the 8,000 members of the British Union of Fascists. Why this tenderness to men who disgrace us?