VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government when the text of the Corfield Report on Mau Mau will be available in this House; and whether any summarised version will be circulated.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COLONIAL AFFAIRS (THE EARL OF PERTH)My Lords, the Report will be published as a Command Paper, which I hope will be available by the end of the month. Copies will be placed in the Printed Paper Office. I understand that Mr. Corfield has summarised his conclusions in the last chapter of the Report.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, may I ask whether there is any truth in the rumour that this Report has in some way been censored or bowdlerised by someone dealing with the Report?
§ THE EARL OF PERTHMy Lords, no; there is no truth in the rumour that it has been censored. What happened 735 is that Mr. Corfield himself thought it advisable to do some editing in relation to matters of public interest which are not generally disclosed, such as intelligence work and that sort of thing.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, are we to understand from that reply that the policy has been settled? Would the Government have approved of the statement which appeared in two columns of The Times on Tuesday?
§ THE EARL OF PERTHMy Lords, I do not think that the statement to which the noble Viscount is referring, which was a statement of the Governor, has anything to do with the Corfield Report. At the same time, I would certainly say that the general lines of what has been said by the Governor are obviously the policy of Her Majesty's Government.