§ 76. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now make a statement on the progress of Her Majesty's Government in promoting a conference of the relevant powers to find a way of resolving the problems concerning North and South Vietnam.
§ Mr. George ThomsonAs the House is aware, Her Majesty's Government took two initiatives of an exploratory nature, the first being Mr. Gordon Walker's tour of the Far East and the second the message addressed to members of the Geneva Conference and the International Control Commission, asking for their views on a peaceful settlement. On 13th May my right hon. Friend informed the House of the results of Mr. Gordon Walker's tour. With regard to the other initiative, we have so far received direct answers by four of the Governments to 153W whom our message was addressed, two of which were wholly negative. We must unfortunately accept that the Communist powers have not yet responded to any efforts to promote discussions, whether by ourselves, or by other Governments and world leaders. We refuse to be discouraged and my right hon. Friend has made, and will continue to make, every effort to explore ways to a settlement.
§ 84. Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the result of the inquiry he has conducted into the statements of the British police officers employed in Vietnam.
§ Mr. PadleyHer Majesty's Ambassador at Saigon has looked into the matter and has talked to all the police advisers concerned. He has reported that the journalist whose story appeared on the 11th of May spoke to members of the Advisory Mission on a number of occasions, but they have all emphatically denied that they made any statements consistent with what was published or that they agreed to his writing a story about them.
§ 86. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government propose to make, in their attempts to reach a settlement in Vietnam, to the United States policy as officially stated by President Johnson on 25th March and 9th April; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. George ThomsonI do not think that there can be any doubt about the United States Government's policy towards a peaceful settlement of the problems of Vietnam. President Johnson, as recently as the 13th of May, reaffirmed his readiness to enter into unconditional negotiations to settle the problems of the area and to make a major contribution towards the economic development of South East Asia. We are discussing with the United States Government how President Johnson's plans for economic assistance could be put into effect. Her Majesty's Government are continuing their efforts to persuade the Communist Powers to agree to negotiations.