HL Deb 01 November 1956 vol 199 cc1366-8

7.17 p.m.

LORD PAKENHAM rose to ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in view of the valuable work done at Wilton Park, as acknowledged by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on 29th October, they will consider the continuance of this most successful Institution on a wider European bas s. The noble Lord said: My Lords, I had put down the Unstarred Question standing in my name before I knew we were going to have this debate of first importance. I attempted to withdraw it, but for one reason or another that did not come about, and therefore I will not, if the House will forgive me, deploy my main arguments on this subject this evening.

I think many of the House are aware that Wilton Park has done a wonderful job in Anglo-German relations. The House is probably aware that the Government has recognised that recently in a statement in another place, or at any rate has paid tribute to the work done. Many of us feel that if this institution is to be brought to an end as a purely Anglo-German affair, it could very profitably be converted into a European institution. I think I am right in saying that at least one European country other than Germany, and I rather think more than one country, has shown interest in Wilton Park with a view to the taking place of some change of that kind. To-night, therefore, I venture simply to put the Question as it stands to the noble Marquess, begging the permission of the House to raise the matter on another occasion when we are fresher and more equipped to deal with the subject, which does not compare with the topic we have been discussing but which, in its own way, is of far from negligible significance.

VISCOUNT ASTOR

My Lords, I should like to back up what the noble Lord, Lord Pakenham has said. I know Wilton Park, as I live quite near it and I have spoken there. I know the remarkable principal it had and the extraordinary work it did for German prisoners, and then the opinion-forming sections of the American nation who were brought over and given education and not propaganda. It is one of the really successful institutions we have had for creating good will and I hope the Government will pay out the very small sums needed to keep this magnificent institution going.

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF READING)

My Lords, noble Lords need make no appeal to me on the basis of the success which Wilton Park has achieved in the past. I am perfectly conscious of it. I have had the privilege of attending Wilton Park myself on more than one occasion and I have great admiration for the work which has been done there and for the enterprise and success with which Doctor Koeppler and his staff have coped with the obviously not very easy situation with which they were faced in the early days.

It has been found necessary, I fear, to bring the existing arrangement to an end and not any longer to conduct the institution as a centre of exchange for Anglo-German relations. That decision has been conveyed to the Federal Government, and though no doubt they regret it they have accepted it. I think it would be the general hope—certainly I know it would be the hope and part of the work of the noble Lord, Lord Pakenham —to see that other exchanges are conducted which are not less conducive to Anglo-German relations. The present proposition is a little different. I cannot say more at the moment than this: that we have had a number of suggestions from different sources as to possible variants on the Anglo-German theme in the method in which we can use Wilton Park in future. The examination of those various suggestions is still in a not very advanced state, and frankly I am not sure at this stage whether, for financial and perhaps other reasons, it will be possible to carry out any new proposal on those lines. The examination will continue, and if the noble Lord likes to raise the matter at some future date I will give him any further information which by then may be in my possession.

LORD OGMORE

My Lords, I rise to support my noble friend Lord Pakenham. Other noble Lords on this side of the House and I feel strongly on the subject. We hope that something can be done to save the work of this valuable institution and possibly, as the noble Marquess has said, to extend it. We are encouraged by the words of the noble Marquess. We hope that the inquiries which are being made will result in a successful conclusion. We reserve the right to come back to this question at a later date, if necessary, when perhaps the position will be clearer than it is at the present time.

House adjourned at twenty-one minutes past seven o'clock.