Lord ST. OSWALDMy 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, in view of the fact that the Red Army Choir was unwelcome in Britain immediately after the invasion of Czechoslovakia, what has taken place in Czechoslovakia since then to make it more welcome in the spring of 1970.]
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, nothing. We have, however, reverted to our normal policy of not interfering with commercial arrangements in this field.
LORD ST. OSWALDMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that reply, may I now ask how he squares it with the observation of the Foreign Secretary made in another place on August" 26, 1968 (col. 1418 of the OFFICIAL REPORT), when he said:
It would be totally wrong for the Red Army Choir to come to this country, and this has been made clear to the impresario concerned.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, that was on August 26, 1968. This is now March, 1970.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, if the noble Lord will read the rest of the speech he will see that earlier in the column my right honourable friend said:
I do not believe that there should be a complete breakdown in these …He was there referring to cultural exchanges. What he was then doing was expressing on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, Parliament and the people our displeasure and abhorrence of what the Soviet Union had done in Czechoslovakia, and was indicating that at that particular time the visit of the Red Army Choir would not be opportune.
§ LORD BLYTONMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that we have admired the impartiality of the Government on this issue because in regard to apartheid we have not interfered with the M.C.C. in bringing the South Africans here. We are taking the same attitude so far as Czechoslovakia is concerned.
LORD ST. OSWALDMy Lords, in view of the inadequate, though well-intended nature of that reply, I give notice that I shall raise the matter again at an early opportunity.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, the noble Lord has referred to the inadequacy of my reply. He made a point in his supplementary question of taking an extract from the speech of my right honourable friend. He did not take into account all that is contained in that speech, and when I refer to that, he merely says that it is inadequate. I do not know how I can satisfy the noble Lord.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, can we take it from that reply, and also from the noble Lord's earlier reply, that the philosophy of the Six Principles in regard to Rhodesia is not thought to be of universal application?
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, again I fail to see how that supplementary question arises out of a Question dealing with the Red Army Choir.
LORD INGLEWOODMy Lords, when the noble Lord referred to the speech of his right honourable friend he talked of "cultural exchanges" and not wishing to see a complete breakdown. When the term "cultural exchanges" was used in that way, did that include cricket and football?