§ 2.48 p.m.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their intention, as reported in the Guardian on 25th February, to withdraw a brigade from the British Army of the Rhine this year.]
§ THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE FOR THE ROYAL AIR FORCE (LORD SHACKLETON)No, my Lords. We have currently No 1ntention of withdrawing a brigade as suggested in the newspaper article to which the noble Earl referred.
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his reply, and I am very glad to hear it. Can he assure us that, if any reduction is proposed in the future, Parliament will be informed well in advance of the Press; and can he also assure us that if any such step were contemplated that Her Majesty's Government would scrupulously respect our treaty obligations to our Allies?
§ LORD SHACKLETONMy Lords, I do not quite know what the noble Earl 1027 means in his reference to the Press, because the Press certainly has not been told anything on this subject, although it may have misled the noble Earl. Any question of a change of policy of this kind must be a subject for agreement with our Allies. The Government have made it clear that they accept their responsibilities under the Brussels Treaty, as modified, and they have no proposals, other than those provided for in an emergency or such-like, for abandoning that obligation. The question of an announcement to Parliament, I think, is too hypothetical for me to answer. Clearly, if any change were made, it would be a matter for proper discussion with our Allies, and then for an announcement.