§ LORD RUSSELL OF LIVERPOOLasked Her Majesty's Government with reference to the answers given to his previous questions on. Dr. Naumann on 15th December, 1954:
- (1) Whether the documents seized when Dr. Naumann was arrested, when investigated, produced additional evidence of a conspiracy against either the Occupying Powers or the Federal Government;
- (2) If they did, why Dr. Naumann was not prosecuted;
- (3) If they did not, why Dr. Naumann was not released instead of being handed over in custody to the German authorities.
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF READING)The answer to the first part of the question is, Yes. As regards the second part of the question, Dr. Naumann and his associates, together with the documents and evidence collected during the investigation, were handed over, at the Federal Chancellor's request, to the German authorities for whatever action might be considered appropriate by them in the German courts, In the event the German Federal Supreme Court decided that the prosecution should not proceed, The ground for this decision is reported to have been lack of evidence that Dr. Naumann had succeeded in founding an effective association hostile to the constitutional order, as must be shown to the satisfaction of the court in a case of this kind under German law. The third part of the question does not arise.
House adjourned at twenty-five minutes past six o'clock.