asked the Lord Privy Seal whether it is still the policy of Her Majesty's Government that united Germany should be free to be a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

It is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that Germany should be reunited on the basis of self-determination and become an independent sovereign state, free to join any defensive security pact, or none, if it so wished.

Why do the Government cling to a condition which, as prominent Americans like George F. Kennan and Walter Lippmann have often pointed out, could be imposed only after victory against the Soviet Union? Do they not want negotiations, or are they being blackmailed by the German Government which does think in terms of force to recover its lost territories?

I do not regard this as a condition. Surely it is an opportunity for self-determination and free decision.