§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will arrange for Parliament to be supplied with a copy of the Pearce Commission's Report on Rhodesia and the Government's views on the same before they are given to the illegal Smith régime.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-Home:I cannot give any undertaking not to show the report 29W to Mr. Smith in confidence in the course of formulating my views on its consequences.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has received in the last two weeks from emissaries of Mr. Smith of the illegal regime in Rhodesia, or from intermediaries making suggestions for the abrogation of the fifth principle; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-Home:I made clear to those from Rhodesia whom I have seen recently that I had no knowledge of what the report would contain and that policy decisions would not be taken until the report had been received and studied. I also told them, as I have told the House, that I had no intention of pretending that a "No" is a "Yes ".