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1487 | Former Sin Office” Aah fee buen FORMER FORCIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS (DISAPPEARANCE) ., Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn, (Mr. Buchan-Hepburn] © * - 334 pm ‘The Secretary of State Sor Foreign Affairs (Mr. Harold Macmillan): It can rarely have happened in our long Parliamentary history that the political pov head of a Department should have had be to unfold to the House of Commons so tee painful a story as that which it is our ad duty fo consider today. To understand— . though not, of course, to excuse—this ran i story it is necessary to cast our minds back to the 1930s and to recall the kind a of background against which the two Principal characters grew up. ~ At that time all kinds of violent opinions were being expressed. The circumstances of the Spanish Civil War, with Fascists and Communists backing the rival forces, divided British and, in- deed, European opinion acutely. This had a particularly disturbing effect upon oung people, many of whom, we remem- ber, thought it their duty actually to take part in these fierce revolutionary siruggles. 1. bad o, 5, When Hitler had made his pact with Stalin and the Second World War began, some of those who had espoused extremist _ views found that their ideological beliefs exerted a pull which was to prove stronger than their patriotism. is clash of loyalties was buried in 1941 by our alliance with Russia. But, when the war ended and there came an estrange- > meat between this country and Com- _ apunist Russia, it revived. * Thus it was that men could be found ”. “jn Britain who could put the interests of another country before those of their own, and could commit the horribte crime of treachery. This occurred not only among criminals and degenerates, but io amen holding bigh technical and scientific ts, among men of philosophic and Brerary attainments, and, finally, in these two cases, the subject of this debate, ia the Foreiga HO ee There are many on both sides of the House who, as Ministers of as private - Members, have seen the work of the wt 20 G “ 7 NOVEMBER 195S Offcials—Disoppearance 1488 Foreign Service at home and abroad.’ E know they will agree with me when 1 say how fortunate we are in this country to have a Foreign Service of the highest quality, giving the: most loyal and de voted service to the Crown und to the nation. 1 think that all of us today are feeling how severe is the blow that has ¢ been struck against its reputation, Our | Foreign Service regards this case as @ -, rsonal wound, as whea something of the ; ind strikes at a family, or a ship, or @ regiment. We must recognise, too, that this case has caused a profound shock to Parliament and to (he genera} public, both at home and abroad. jai. by seat 1 * Before dealing with the actual handling of this affair, [ want to say a few we on the subject of ministerial responsi- bility. When what is known as the Maclean and Burgess case was entering its fina) phase, with the findings of the Aus- ~ tralian Royal Commission and the publi- cation of the White Paper, 1 made it clear that full ministerial responsibility must be taken by those Ministers, past and present, who presided over or were connected with the foreign Office during all this period. This was not a mere act of quixotism or chivalry; it is 8 plain constitutional truth. Et will} be a sorry day when we try to elevate something called the Foreign Office or the Treasury or any ~ other Department of State into a separate entity enjoying a kind of life, respon- sibility and power of its own, not con trolled by Ministers and not subject to full Parliamentary authority. i Piterd ee ee “ee oe Pia ema a4 ~ Ministers. aod Ministers alone, mm bear -the -responsibility for. what goes wrong. -Afier all, they are not slow $0 -, take credit for anything that goes right. This does not mean that they have to accept responsibility for wrongful acts on. } the part of wbeir officials of which they ave no prior knowledge. But in dis- cussing this case it is quite wrong to assert that the Foreign Office, if by that ~ is meant “ officials” made decisions of ~ their own. Ministers are responsible and, in fact, took all the important decisions. ~ Moreover, they took those decisions im full knowledge of afl the refevant facts $0 far as they were known at the time. . The House will realise that both the Opposition and the preseat Government share thé responsibility. The main acts in the drama took place while the Op; sition were in power. The investigation .- sean sso Pree See ee oe eal beat i 4 x