§ Mr. Stokesasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare whether the Hoover Scheme for 1157W sending food to Belgium in 1941 was approved by the Belgian Government; whether the German Government agreed to it in principle involving as it did the sending by Germany of 1,000,000 bushels of grain a month into Belgium; and why His Majesty's Government rejected the proposal?
§ Mr. FootIn March, 1941, the Belgian Government informed His Majesty's Government that they had recently heard from Mr. Hoover that the Germans would be willing to accept a plan by which meat and fats would be imported into Belgium from overseas and cereals from Germany. They invited His Majesty's Government to give this proposal sympathetic consideration. As regards the attitude of the German Government, I have nothing to add to the statement which I made in the Debate on 8th July, The proposal was rejected because it was contrary to the blockade policy of His Majesty's Government.