Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNESIDEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the book entitled A Man Called Intrepid (Macmillan, London, 1976) was submitted to them in advance of publication, and whether they consider that it contained official secrets which should not have been published.
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, the author of A Man Called Intrepid is a Canadian subject and the book was first published in the United States of America. It was not submitted in advance of publication in the United States. The answer to the second part of the Question is, No. The book appears to be based on the recollections of individuals and on material already published.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNESIDEMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. I am not aware whether he has read it, but it is a magnificent book and well worth reading. May I ask the noble Lord whether he is aware that the story of Noor lnayat Khan, about that very brave George Cross girl, is given in detail and that the author of the book called Madeleine—her field name—was never even asked whether she would allow most of her book to be published? I am wondering whether there is any way, except by asking this Question, of letting it be known that she was not asked, which I think was regrettable. May I also ask the noble Lord whether he is aware that all the girls who were so brave in SOE, and so many of whom gave their lives for freedom, were all trained in this country? This also ought to be on the record.
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, that is another question. In passing, may I say that I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for referring to me as her noble friend. But we are not discussing the alternatives. We are discussing only this single book which was not published in this country.