§ 2.36 p.m.
§ LORD REITHMy Lords, I ask leave to make a personal statement. At 7 p.m. last Wednesday the Lord Chancellor's assistant secretary telephoned to my home, where I had just arrived, to inquire where a letter should be sent. I asked that it be read then. In it, the Lord Chancellor informed me that he would probably refer to me next day. I asked that a note might be made that the letter had been read to me, and that I had replied that I could not be in the House because of a board meeting. On Friday, the 27th, two noble Lords were kind enough to tell me that the Lord Chancellor had the day before, referred to an article written by me in June, 1952; they suggested that I should read the OFFICIAL REPORT, and I did so yesterday. It made me regret my absence last Thursday; but there is only one point in the Lord Chancellor's remarks about me to which I wish now to refer. I learned that words used by me seventeen months ago were taken by him to impugn his integrity. They were certainly not intended to impugn the integrity of the Lord Chancellor; it never occurred to me that they could be so interpreted, and I am very sorry that what I wrote should have given that impression.
THE LORD CHANCELLOR (LORD SIMONDS)My Lords, with the leave of the House I will say no more than this: that I am very glad to hear what the noble Lord has said. I understand it to be an apology and, as such, I accept it gratefully; and I can assure him that, so far as I am concerned, bygones shall be bygones.