§ 4.1 p.m.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR AIR (LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEY)My Lords, by leave of the House I should like to make a statement similar to one which has been made by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister in another place, in answer to a Question on the Order Paper. It relates to the shooting down of the Lincoln aircraft. The statement is as follows:
"No new facts about the shooting down of the Lincoln aircraft in Germany on March 12 have been revealed since I described this matter to the House a week ago. The House will have noted, however, that General Chuikov, the head of the Soviet Control Commission in Germany, has sent a Note to the United Kingdom High Commissioner in which the Russian authorities have expressed regret at the death of the Lincoln's crew. But they have not yet replied to Her Majesty's Government's request for the punishment of those responsible for this outrage and for due reparation to be made for the loss of life and property. General Chuikov has also proposed a conference of Russian and British representatives to discuss measures to avoid further events of this kind. Her Majesty's Government are giving urgent consideration to this proposal in consultation with the United States and French authorities, to whom General Chuikov sent copies of his Note."
§ LORD HENDERSONMy Lords, I should like to thank the noble and gallant Lord for the statement which he has just made. I think he will agree with me that the Note sent by General Chuikov to the British High Commissioner was couched in very conciliatory terms. There are two points which I should like to put to the noble and gallant Lord, arising out of his statement. The first is this. There still appears to be a discrepancy between the evidence advanced by the British Government and that advanced by the Soviet authorities. 272 General Chuikov, in his Note to Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick, refers to the aircraft in question as a York. I imagine that he is referring to the other 'plane concerned. I understand from the noble and gallant Lord, however, that the second 'plane was also a Lincoln. Is he in a position to answer that particular point?
§ LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEYMy Lords, the noble Lord is perfectly right. General Chuikov's Note to Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick referred to an aircraft of the York type, but we know of no York aircraft in the vicinity of the zonal border on that date. On the other hand, there was a second Lincoln aircraft of Flying Training Command which, as the noble Lord says, was "buzzed" soon afterwards. I have no doubt that there was some confusion over the identity of this aircraft.
§ LORD HENDERSONThe second question I should like to put to the noble and gallant Lord is this. His statement deals with two quite separate points, the first being the question of reparations, and so on, in respect of the Lincoln bomber which was shot down. This, I take it, will continue to be dealt with as a separate issue. The second point is the Russian suggestion of a conference to discuss measures to avoid further events of this kind. I can well understand the need for consultations to take place between the British authorities and the authorities of the United States and France. I hope that there will be no doubt that it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to go into the conference.
§ LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEYMy Lords, again the noble Lord is right; there are two separate points. We are quite clear about our claim for compensation or reparations. Clearly, too, it is a matter of the highest importance that we should try to achieve a viable system to prevent any repetition of infringement of frontiers. I am not going to say any more about the matter at the moment, except to repeat that we are giving it urgent consideration, in consultation with the United States and France.