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3523 Former Mr, Morrison.) , a * ‘The question I want to submit for the consideration of the Prime Minister and Government--1 was involved in earlier arguments about it—is based on the fact that the Foreign Scrvice is separate from the home Civil Service. It is separately recruited, it maintains its own life and, I think my right hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Dalton) will agree, it is not as much sub- to Treasury co-ordination as is the ome Civil Service Uiuerruption J My right hon, Friend ¢hinks it is much the same. The point I want to raise is whether it is right that the Forcign Service should be entirely separate from the home Civil Service? ve In the Home Civil Service there are trans- fers between one Department and another. It is a very good thing that there should be transfers between Department and De- partment. That gives men a varied ex- perience, and their knowledge becomes Ticher and more varied in knowledge. I teadily concede the point that we must have a substantial proportion of Foreign Office people who are to be in the Foreign Office for life. There is some dilution now, however, in respect of the labour attachés, who are recruited through the Ministry of Labour, but J am not at all sure that it would not be a good thing for men from other home Departments to be transferred to the Forcign Office and for men from the Foreign Office to be transferred to home Departments in order that they might get a wider variety of ex- perience through the collective experience ¢ the Foreign Office and the home Civil rvice. . “ ee bees 1 suggest to the Government that in these circumstances, and in the light of these unhappy and beastly incidents, there is a case for an inquiry. 1 still think, in view of public apprehension, or even mis- understanding, that there should be an inquiry into recruitment to and promotion in the Foreign Office and into the ad- ministration of the Foreign Office. That should include the problem of the very - beavy burden which falls on the Secret of State in modern times. It is m heavier than it used to be, and has bad grave effects on the health of more than one Secretary of State. I think that aspect ought to be looked into to see whether there is any delegation to existing junior Ministers and for Parliament to be told about Ht or. e t: » © ane + Pea ik enna *) | peenen alba Reade Fo Office, T NOVEMBER 1955 Official -oppearance 152, Such an inquiry would do no harm < if the Foreign Office emerged well out & such an inquiry that would be for th’ good of the Foreign Office, and, if th: were improvements to be made, would be for the good That task could be done by a Select Com mittee or some other suitable body. ‘ I think the Foreign Secretary 18 wrong in resisting any inquiry into that mat Borden on the Foreign Sonciany. it wurden on ‘oreign . Wt almost impossible for him to devote the attention to administrative details and; personal questions ia the Depariment which is possible for a Minister in charge; of a home Department. The Departments knows that, with the consequence that it: is quite possible for the Department not aS B, “40 take to the Secretary of State or one- of the other Ministers matters which in a home Department would be taken to the - Minister. That is not because the Depart. ment is trying to dodge the Minister, but because it knows that the Secretary of State is so heavily burdened that it must “chance its arm™ a bit. J think these matters need looking into. Otherwise we shall have trouble over the health of : future Foreign Secretaries, as we have | had over the health of past Foreign Secre- Mares wn eet SM Secondly, there is a case for looking into security, partly in the light of the circumstances of Burgess and Mac- Jean case, and partly in order to be satisfied that the Security Services are good. Here we are dealing with a dif- ferent story altogether. It is much more difficult to have an inquiry into the security services. It clearly cannot be @ ‘diout prblic inquiry ; that would be ridi jor can u be an inquiry with a public teport; that, I think, is out of the ques- tion. We cannot expose to the public view the security machine of our own of other countries. We cannot risk a divulg- ing of the secrets cither of espionage or counter-espionage. On that matter there should Rad investigation by a judge or judges in private, a private re; i made to the Prime -Minisier, tal think that step ought to be taken. I bope that the Prime Minister, in his reply can give us and the country some comfort about that matter. - ...- nich ote hon! my Friends will take this view, but both fields might be covered by a Committee m