Secret Agreements (Publication)

45.

Lieut.-Colonel Lipton
asked the Prime Minister whether he will now publish all secret agreements with other countries made by Her Majesty's Government during the Second World War.

The Prime Minister (Sir Winston Churchill)
No, Sir; unless I believe it to be in the public interest—

Mr. Dodds
Tory Party interest.

An Hon. Member
Almost the same thing.

The Prime Minister
On occasion the two may be identical—No, Sir; unless I believe it to be in the public interest, and the consent of the other parties concerned has, where necessary, been obtained in each case.

Lieut.-Colonel Lipton
The Prime Minister having referred to the public interest as the over-riding consideration, is he willing to give an assurance that the future publication of these agreements, subject to the conditions he has mentioned, will be motivated solely by consideration for public interest and not for the purpose of promoting sterile squabbles of a purely party political nature?