§ Mr. Roebuckasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the last two paragraphs of the letter concerning Great Britain's approach to the European Economic Community which was sent by the then Minister of State at the Foreign Office to the hon. Member for Harrow, East on 24th November last.
§ Mr. William RodgersThe paragraphs in question, in which my hon. Friend the then Minister of State was commenting on a letter to my hon. Friend from Mrs. Hansen, one of his constituents, read as follows:—
I think the answer to Mrs. Hansen might be that, as you know, our policy on this question was quite clearly set out in our218Welection manifesto where we said 'Labour believes that Britain, in consultation with her EFTA partners, should be ready to enter the European Economic Community, provided essential British and Commonwealth interests are safeguarded.'The latest position as announced in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister on 10th November is that, after having made a deep and searching review of the whole problem, the Government have decided to take a further step forward in their approach to the European Economic Community. After talks with our partners in the European Free Trade Area, we are going to explore the ground further with the individual governments of the E.E.C. But it is only after that—after we have a clearer idea of whether or not our interests and the those of the Commonwealth can be properly safeguarded if we were to accept the Treaty of Rome—that we shall take a decision whether or not to negotiate with the Six. So Mrs. Hansen will be able to see that, so far from rushing headlong into any commitment, we are going about this whole process with due caution: only if we are reasonably certain that we can safeguard our essential interests will we try to enter the European Economic Community.