§ 97. Mr. Woodburnasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it was with his approval that the British delegation to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe rebutted and minimised the Report published by the Economic Commission for Europe that European prices for oil are arbitrarily kept exorbitant for world cartel purposes; and upon what information available within his Department these instructions were based.
§ Mr. TurtonThe right hon. Gentleman is misinformed of the nature of this Report, which was a factual study. The United Kingdom delegation to the Economic Commission for Europe did not question the accuracy of the Report but pointed out that the picture given bythe Report was incomplete and that therefore it was impossible to draw any effective conclusion from it. I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the speech of my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Board of Trade, in the Adjournment debate on 18thMarch, which explained the attitude of Her Majesty's Government to this Report.