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‘oe. eel at heat. dees a ete ae po? sve do F cn dulenieeaan 2 AH eet Sreaticer cpr area | a. wed 7 ve: Lt. : . . ’ . SAT ees. S FF eB te 1603 Former FO-cign Office “7 NOVEMBER 195$ Officlals—Disappearance ” 4604. y oe nan 4 , (Mr, RoBens}o «ot -e > | At Gs very importa a ne a for a Communis sympathiser from Ber- have that ¢ carly ino m onde | should <j ee cr Mondsey and another for a Communist think that anything the right hon. Gentle< ot | Yet ep sympathiser from Cambridge University? man said was meant in any way to deay - § te "| These are matters that trouble us and that, but this is something that goes oot a rs ae trouble the general public, and we believe beyond the confines of our discussion, and ho . ; that only inquiries on the Jines that we 1 think that for the reputation of our ~ fees er Faw de have indicated will do anything at all to Service, which is stitt very high in the _. yO see cat allay public disquiet about them. I hope World, we ought to make that absolutely ~! pier ame oad that the Prime Minister will not turn them Plain. If mistakes were made, they were, lightly aside, but will recognise that he 0! that kind of mistake; they were not : 1 if + there. ¥ have known individually, as — Now 1 seturn to the questions I have many right hon. Gentlemen have Known, been asked and to the debate. The ri Bye ey a Many of the leading members of the hon. Member for Lewisham, South said, (See ees ahs has a duty to the House and the country, ‘Mistakes even _ remotely . tinged, with + Nem ee and will be prepared to accept the sug- disloyalty.” Le bee tad at uad quan 4 el. DL ay gestions about inquiries made by the — Before I come to the sudject of the | ay pated Opposition. Jt ms es te debate, ¥ want for a moment ¢o refer ta ; sy. * ape 9.22 pmo Oe what was said by the right hon. Member. | yo = . The Prime Minister (Sir Anthony for Lewisham, South at the beginning of. Bp mre Eh Ede): J can at least ascure the right bon. his spcech. From our side of the House } Lecomte eel Member for Blyth (Mr. Robens) that I I should Sike to say a word about Will Bow we shall not lightly turn aside any suggestions Whiteley, because although he was Chief we - . which have been made in this debate, Whip of the Opposition and earlier Chief REE. - which, I must frankly say, is the one out Whip of the Government, 1 am sure that kl grea Tbe of my thirty years’ experience of the it would be true to say that he had count. j : House of Commons in which 1 take part less friends on this side of the House and eee ere ca with the greatest personal regret. not a single ohemy- it s mea like him ‘ 7 ai it s0 happens thai nearly ali my public oe ah Nuietly owe dou babi to make be tt Bote oe “fe life has Jain in work with the Foreign our Parlinmensary “institutions ossible ? see tt Office. For ten years J was Foreign We should sal te hi ‘mow t Poss! § Soa GE Secretary, which is a long time by any cc 0040 salute his memory from both re iy. standard, Jt was in 1926, just after the sides of the House in that spirit, alee SEOSET Tp Locarno Treaties, that I first worked Parliamentarian though he was silent.;-. Foreign Service. The right hon. Mem- something about the duties of the Foreiga ge eR oe te tt stadia wit eee . seant hee dO ee op clay. ot > But they are heavy in a way somewhat- -T must start by saying that this has different from other Departments of State. been a very sad day for the Foreign Ser. The Foreign Office is essentially a policy vice, and a very sad day for our country, Making Department and therefore the Foreign Service is part of our national cause at any hour of the day and mos reputation. Personally, I think we could hours of the night he may be asked to have done no other than offer and hold make some decision which affects policy. this debate in view of all that bas That does not happen in the same way im. happened,» ut 22: eotcetc ots, «other great administrative Departments. ght | oe ber for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Dalton) Secretary and how heavy they were. -1. oo | Was one of my predecessors as Under- do not at all deny that, How could J? fete nes whine foe F --~ ° | ¥ do not want to stress the personal’: 1 do not think that the right bos. - , eve ae sep gern side of it too much, but I should like to Gentleman meant to give the impression, fpeccasgrars! Uf. say how much I agree with one observa~ —if he did, ¥ should like to correct t—- wo tion which fell from the right hon. Mem- that on that account Foreign Secretaries Peccrrrgerre Per her toy Lewisham, South (Mr. H. do not give pretty close attention to the =}, Pn Morrison), that whatever mistakes there personnel of their office, both at home 4 i eee cr might or might not have been in this busi- . and abroad. They do, and all important} - digceerae ee ness, one thing which is quite certain is appointments both at home and abroad, : — seieatnies: ; that nobody at the Foreign Office at any certainly in my experience, were brought ante | time, no senior official or other official, to me. That brings me to say a word 20 TT pape | tried we cover up any form of disloyalty. oo the subject of the Foreign Service ss A Wore teen TE @ereee J - fo the State, BRLOL of wcopee mee | geet it is now and the teforms -of which the . a oe oo uD» _ wise i