§ 3.13 p.m.
§ LORD BIRDWOODMy 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 whether they can give details concerning the Soviet Government's refusal to deny the authenticity of a forged document given publicity in the Soviet Press, which purports to falsify British economic policy in Africa and deliberately to mislead African opinion.]
953THE EARL OF HOMEMy Lords, the document, which is claimed to be the annex to a Cabinet paper, is a forgery and has already been denounced as such on several occasions by official British spokesmen. Nevertheless, on February 8 the Soviet Government News Agency, Tass, and the official organ of the Soviet Communist Party, Pravda, publicised the document as authentic. Her Majesty's Embassy in Moscow were therefore instructed to present a Note to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressing regret at the currency given by official Soviet and Communist organs to this counterfeit and hoping that the Soviet Government would cause a denial of the document's authenticity to be published.
No reply was received until March 7, when a junior official of the Soviet Foreign Ministry replied orally that they were not prepared even to consider our request, and that the Soviet authorities had no right to dictate to the Soviet Press. This evasive reply completely ignores the basis of our complaint, that the document was a blatant forgery.
§ LORD BIRDWOODMy Lords, while thanking the noble Earl very much for that full Answer, I wonder if he would state whether conceivably there is any similar kind of document which might have provided the Soviet with some excuse for confusion of any kind.
THE EARL OF HOMEMy Lords, no. Anybody who had had any experience of Whitehall drafting would know that this document had no relation to anything produced here.
§ THE EARL OF LISTOWELMy Lords, can the noble Earl say whether British representatives in any African countries, where this document has been published, have been instructed to publicise the fact that it is a forgery?
THE EARL OF HOMEYes, my Lords. We have instructed all our representatives everywhere to make quite clear to all authorities in all countries, if this document turns up, that it is a forgery. I am afraid that it has had quite considerable circulation. It was distributed to delegates at the International Labour Organisation Congress held in Lagos in 1960; but we have informed all those Governments, and publicity has been given to the fact that it is a forgery.
§ LORD BIRDWOODMy Lords, might I ask the noble Earl a further question? Would Her Majesty's Government consider the usefulness of making further representations to the Soviet in this matter, not only with a view to their taking action on the lines we desire but to emphasise to them that they themselves are erecting the obstacles to that peaceful co-existence which they say they desire.