asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now make a statement on the information he has received from the United Nations as to the points of agreement that have been reached in the truce talks now proceeding in Korea and the points of disagreement that are still under discussion; and what the prospects are of complete agreement being reached at an early date.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to give full details of the issues on which there is still disagreement and which are holding up the signing of an armistice in Korea.

The principle on which the neutral armistice zone shall be delineated has been agreed. The opposing commanders have agreed on a formula for recommending to their respective governments the convening of a political conference to negotiate a Korean settlement within three months after the signature of an armistice. A large measure of agreement has been reached on the arrangements for supervising an armistice and for the exchange of prisoners of war.

Apart from relatively minor points of difference, agreement has not yet been reached on four principal questions:

(i) the repair and construction of military airfields after an armistice;

(ii) the right of prisoners of war to choose whether or not they should be repatriated;

(iii) the nomination by either side of nations neutral in the Korean conflict to provide inspection teams;

(iv) the designation of ports of entry on either side at which neutral inspection teams shall be stationed.

While thanking the Minister for that full answer, may I ask him whether there are any further questions still outstanding in addition to those mentioned in the latter part of the reply?

I think that the latter part of my answer covers the major matters of disagreement at present.

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman think of any precedent for the proposal, which is one of the four matters which he says are now in dispute, where the exchange of prisoners is being negotiated and where one side has sought to put into the negotiations some proposal about consulting prisoners as to whether they wish to be liberated or not?

I should like notice of that question.

Can the Minister say whether it was with the concurrence of our Government that the military made a decision not to accept the Russian Government as one of the neutral observers, and does he not think that, in view of the need to try to get understanding between East and West, this is one of those matters upon which we could give way without in any way conceding any great principle?

The question of the nomination by either side of neutral observers is still in negotiation, and the less we say about it at present the better.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for an assurance that the declaration made by the Foreign Secretary in the House of Commons on 27th March, 1946, regarding the future status of the Sudan still remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend's statement in the House on 15th November, 1951, which sets out the present policy of Her Majesty's Government. There is nothing in that statement which conflicts with the declaration of 26th March, 1946, referred to by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what definition of titular sovereignty has been given to Abdallar Bey Khalil, Leader of the Sudan Legislative Assembly, or to any other party leader in the Assembly; and how far the United States ambassador in Cairo has expressed his Government's support for British pledges to the Sudanese.

The answer to the first part of the Question is: So far as Her Majesty's Government are concerned, none, Sir.

In answer to the second part, it would not be proper for me to answer for the views of the Ambassador of another State.

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman bear in mind that even the titular sovereignty of the King of Egypt as King of the Sudan will be misunderstood in the Sudan as a surrender of the rights of the Sudanese to self-determination?

That is certainly one of the matters which my right hon. Friend will bear in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the question of the unity of the Nile Valley is being discussed in the course of the current Anglo-Egyptian negotiations; what representations he has received concerning the effect on Sudanese opinion of any concession to the Egyptian claim to sovereignty in the Sudan; and if, in view of the apprehension caused by the official statements of the Egyptian Prime Minister on this matter, he will give an assurance that Her Majesty's Government will take no action that might prejudice the right of the Sudanese people to determine the future status of their own country.

Her Majesty's Government are well aware of the current state of feeling in the Sudan. They have made certain pledges to the Sudan, by which they stand. Their policy is clearly set forth in my right hon. Friend's statement of the 15th November of last year in this House, to which I have nothing to add.

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman say whether he has any information yet suggesting that the new Egyptian Government will take a line on this matter any different from that of their predecessors, as expressed in a broadcast by the former Egyptian Prime Minister?

I have not yet any information on that matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what grounds 42 Nazi war criminals, most of whom were members of Himmler's Gestapo guards at the concentration camps, were released in December, 1951, by the British authorities in Germany.

It was decided last December that the period of time spent by war criminals in custody awaiting trial should be counted towards sentence. As a result of this decision, it was found that 42 war criminals had already completed their sentences; they were accordingly released on 22nd December. The prisoners released were all serving comparatively short sentences; 21 of them had been guards at concentration camps.

In view of the leniency and clemency which has been shown to these thugs and murderers, can the Minister now give an assurance that those British citizens who are imprisoned as a result of crimes arising out of the war will now receive the same lenient treatment?

In no case has any man convicted of a war crime of the first order been released. They were mostly accessories to crimes, and the reason for taking this decision was to bring our practice into line with that prevailing in other zones.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman still in agreement with the policy outlined in a reply given by the Under-Secretary on 29th January, 1951, when he said that there could be no question of an amnesty to people convicted of brutal crimes against humanity? Will he see that that policy is practised both in the letter and the spirit?

There is no question of an amnesty in this.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the total sum spent on the pay, allowances and accommodation abroad of British naval, military, air and civil aviation attaches and their staffs and the total number employed; the corresponding figures before the war; and by how much per cent. the totals of expenditure and employment have risen since before the war.

As the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL.REPORT.

Can the Minister of State confirm the statement made to me by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the Government are considering the possibility of reducing the number of Service attachés?

Yes, Sir.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind that, in this respect, the Admiralty are far more economical than are the other two Services?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what decision he has reached on the subject of making a special grant, outside the fixed grant-in-aid from the Exchequer to the British Broadcasting Corporation to cover the current cost of the measures which are being taken, and might have to be extended in the future, to counter the jamming of the British Broadcasting Corporation's East European and Central European transmissions by the Cominform countries.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Lewes (Major Beamish) on 3rd March.

As that answer did not really reply to the Question now on the Order Paper, may I ask the right hon. and learned Gentleman whether he is virtually going to allow the Cominform to restrict our overseas services, owing to the fact that we have to pay for the counter-jamming, which is enormously expensive and has to come out of the ordinary Budget?

The answer to which I referred my hon. Friend stated that no final decision had yet been reached as to meeting the cost of the measures necessary to counter jamming.

Before a final decision is reached, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman look up what his right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary said a year ago about the unwisdom of cutting our foreign broadcast services?

Will my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind that there is a considerable body of opinion that is very uneasy on what looks like being an economy that might be needed from the strictly financial point of view, but which is really penny wise and pound foolish?

That is certainly a matter which will be borne in mind when the final decision is being arrived at.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind the fact that if anything is calculated to encourage the Russians to undertake further jamming, it will be the knowledge that jamming does result in a reduction of the programmes sent out?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that a number of British Broadcasting Corporation's transmissions which are listened to in Eastern Europe and which are not jammed at present, for instance, in English, French and German, will have to be cut because of lack of funds; and if Her Majesty's Government will make available additional funds for the British Broadcasting Corporation's Overseas Services.

My right hon. Friend is aware that there is a limited audience in Eastern Europe for broadcasts in English, French and German. But the cuts in these services will be relatively small. In any case, no additional funds can be made available.

Has the attention of the right hon and learned Gentleman been called to the official statement of the B.B.C. of 9th February, in which they deplore the fact that they have to cut their broadcasts in English, French and German? Is he not aware that that is an extremely serious matter, because once we lose listeners we shall not get them back?

The difficulty about this matter is that it is necessary to make certain cuts, and, in making these cuts, decisions have been arrived at which, in our view, are calculated to interfere to the least possible extent with these valuable services.

May I ask the right hon. and learned Gentleman to recall that the Government which he serves seems to be quite ready to change its mind, even as to the date of the Budget?

Are not these economies entirely due to the mishandling of our affairs by the previous Government?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent other countries from using wavelengths hitherto used by Britain during the hours of the day when overseas programmes previously transmitted by the British Broadcasting Corporation are discontinued as a result of the reduction in broadcasting hours announced recently.

None. The permanent use of a wavelength can only be ensured by constant transmission on it. The British Broadcasting Corporation will naturally make every effort to maintain in operation the most effective wavelengths at the best listening times.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that by instituting these cuts this year it may very well be impossible to restore them in any subsequent year? Could he make representations to his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who so strongly criticised similar cuts last year, with a view to getting the decision altered?

There is no question of giving up any wavelengths. With regard to ensuring that a wavelength which is not in permanent use is not taken over by somebody else, that is no new problem, because few of these wavelengths have been used all the time.

Does not the Minister realise that there is a sort of squatters' right in the air on this matter and that if one stops using channels they are permanently lost? Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman say how many we are in danger of losing in this way as a result of the cuts?

The answer is none. The amount of the cut is extremely small. As I said, the problem of ensuring that people do not squat on a wavelength which is no longer being used is not a new problem.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to which European countries no indigenous language broadcasts will be directed and which European countries will suffer a curtailment of such services as a result of the proposed reductions.

As certain languages are indigenous to more than one country in Europe, I will, if I may, answer this Question in terms of language services instead of countries. The weekly broadcasts in the Luxembourg dialect and special supplementary service to Belgium will be discontinued. These are at present broadcast for a quarter of an hour per week and half a hour per day respectively. The French and Dutch language services will continue to be available to listeners in Belgium. Language services to Europe which are being curtailed are Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Norwegian and Portuguese.

Does the Minister realise that the net saving on these drastic reductions is only £68,000 and that to reduce the services so drastically for so niggling a saving is not worth while?

Although these reductions are not very great, would not my right hon. and learned Friend agree that as our foreign policy and our rearmament policy are primarily directed to avoiding another war, it is equally important for us to maintain our psychological striking force as it is to maintain our military striking force?

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that it is most important that we should keep in touch with Eastern Germany, because the loss of Eastern Germany from the point of view of loyalty to democracy might eventually cost us far more in military preparations than any relatively trifling sums that would be saved by stopping the German broadcasts to these people?

Will the Minister take steps to assure himself that these cuts are all necessitated by the comparatively small and most justifiable reduction in expenditure?

I would again emphasise that it is quite untrue to describe these as drastic cuts. They are comparatively small cuts, and, in our view, they have been made in the best possible way.

Does the Minister consider that the reduction of 32 hours a week in the projection of Britain abroad over the B.B.C. is not a drastic cut?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs which of the British Broadcasting Corporation's foreign services are now being jammed; and what action is being taken to counter such jamming.

The British Broadcasting Corporation's Russian, Polish and Finnish services are now being jammed, and special schedules have been introduced involving the use of multiple transmission by batteries of transmitters. There is also some evidence of partial jamming of other B.B.C. programmes to Eastern Europe. This is being watched, with a view to suitable action in case of need.

In view of the extension of this jamming, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman press upon his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to meet the cost of these counter measures? Does he realise that there is a dual victory for the U.S.S.R. in the propaganda war, in that if they succeed in jamming our broadcasts they not only jam our broadcasts to Eastern Europe but, on the present basis, compel us to cut down our broadcasts to Western Europe?

No final decision has been made on the cost of jamming and, of course, the effect of losing services through jamming will be certainly borne in mind.

When can we have a final decision? The B.B.C. are in a difficulty at the present moment about the services they must cut in order to counter jamming.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend be very careful that the impression does not go out that his motto is "Always jam today."

Cannot the right hon. and learned Gentleman see that the entire House is against the Government in this matter and that the Government are hopelessly insensitive to the feeling of the whole country?

The difficulty with economy is that nobody wants to make the economy. In this instance we are accepting a cut on expenditure on this service, or rather we are avoiding an increase in our expenditure on this service. And we are doing our best to give the best service within our financial limitations.

Who is in fact paying for counter-action against jamming at the moment until the final decision is taken?

The anti-jamming measures are being paid for out of the grant-in-aid.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the wharves, railways and airports at Massawa are being destroyed by British authorities.

No wharves of railways at Massawa have been destroyed. There is no airport, only a landing-strip, and it is not being destroyed.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that there are many buildings and establishments in this port and in the adjoining naval base which have been handed over or sold to the French or Egyptian authorities and which are now being destroyed? Before he permits any other demolition, will he consult the Ethiopian Government with a view to avoiding such destruction, as there is already much destruction going on in many directions?

The Question on the Order Paper refers solely to railways, wharves and airports, and I have answered with regard to them. So far as the demolition of the naval base is concerned, that was a decision taken long ago, and that is the decision which has been implemented.

But will the right hon. and learned Gentleman not consult the Ethiopian Government with a view to avoiding any further demolition in the naval base which serves no useful purpose?

No further demolition will be authorised except in exceptional circumstances.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman not aware that Ethiopia was the loyal ally of this country from the beginning of the war? Would it not have been a gracious act on our part to have left these things or to have handed them over to the Ethiopian Government?

The decision to abolish the naval base was taken a long time before the United Nations decision that Eritrea should be federated with Ethiopia.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for a statement on the Persian oil position.

Hon. Members will recall that the International Bank has for some weeks been considering whether it could in some way assist towards a solution of the present deadlock over Persian oil. Mr. Garner, one of the Bank's Vice-Presidents, recently spent some two weeks in Teheran discussing with the Persian Government what form that assistance might usefully take. He has since been in London, where he has had talks with Ministers and two meetings with my right hon. Friend.

In these talks Mr. Garner conveyed to Her Majesty's Government, as he had already conveyed to the Persian Government, the Bank's proposals for seeking an interim settlement of the Persian oil dispute. Her Majesty's Government gave Mr. Garner their views on these proposals. Mr. Garner is now in Washington, but one of his colleagues, who has accompanied him on his travels, has now returned to Teheran to resume discussions with the Persian Government.

In all his talks on this matter, Mr. Garner has made it clear that the Bank is acting as an impartial international body, whose sole interest is to use its good offices to assist in settling a dispute which has arisen between two of its members.

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman say whether there is likely to be some successful or material result from these negotiations in the near future in view of his conversations with the Vice-President of the International Bank?

I certainly hope there will be a successful result to these negotiations.

Will the Minister assure the House that any negotiations between the International Bank and the present Persian Government will not in any way prejudice the rights of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company under the old treaty?

That is a matter which certainly has to be borne in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will bring the situation in the Kentung Province of Burma to the attention of the Security Council under Article 35 (1) of the United Nations Charter.

No, Sir.

Does not the Chiang Kai-shek administration occupy a seat on the Security Council, and is it not therefore a matter of concern when it is alleged that a member of the Security Council is maintaining and reinforcing its troops on the territory of a member State of the United Nations?

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made the position of Her Majesty's Government quite clear in his speech on 5th February. These troops are said to be on the territory of Burma and it is considered just as well to let Burma have an opportunity of expressing an opinion on the matter.

Is it not a fact that Burma asked at the General Assembly that action should be taken to secure the withdrawal of these troops and are we satisfied that members of the United Nations have done everything they can to persuade the Chiang Kai-shek Government that their troops must be withdrawn?

As far as I can recollect the proceedings of the Assembly, the Burmese representatives were particularly anxious that these matters should not be brought before the United Nations. The question of persuasion or representation is another matter.

Is it not a fact that the Burmese declared—

We have to pass on. We cannot waste too much time on one Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress he has made this year with the policy of closer association between Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland; what preparations he has made for the forthcoming conference on the subject; where and when it will be held; who will compose it; and what will be its agenda.

I have nothing to add to the information on these matters given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary for Commonwealth Relations and myself in yesterday's debate, except that the composition of the various delegations has not yet been decided.

As to the preparations for the forthcoming conference, is the Minister aware that the recent interviews in London, at which the Africans were not represented and at which an agenda was prepared behind their backs, have caused great suspicion on the part of Africans? What is he doing to reassure Africans on that point?

I have nothing further to add to what I said yesterday.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that closer association may have been dealt a disastrous blow last night by the decision of the Opposition to vote against it, a decision which will further encourage those people who are always trying to inflame the minds of a primitive people?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will consider appointing a Parliamentary Commission to visit Central Africa and investigate African opinion upon the question of the Federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

In view of the invitations to the two African representative bodies to come here shortly for consultation my answer is "No, Sir."

Would the Minister not agree, particularly in view of yesterday's debate, that such a mission would be at least helpful to him?

I think not at the moment. Naturally, I would always consider it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will publish as a White Paper the criticisms and objections of the Governments of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland regarding the proposals for Central African Federation; and the conclusions reached in the recent discussions with the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia and the Governors of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

No, Sir. The hon. Member will have seen the communiqué published on the conclusion of the recent informal talks with the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. I will circulate a copy of it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

As I told the House yesterday some, but not all, of the criticisms of certain aspects of the proposals contained in the Officials' Report have now come in from the Central African Governments. They will be discussed with the African representatives and subsequently at the April Conference.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the phrase "criticisms and objections" is quoted from the official Government communiqué. Were these criticisms and objections actually discussed at the recent conference and are they to be published so that we and the African population may be aware of them before the April conference?

While I do not concede the criticisms, I am perfectly prepared to consider putting them in a White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the loss of £70,215 during 1950–51 on the 11 residences for overseas students administered by the British Council for the Colonial Office, including a loss of £27,483 in six months on the residence in Hans Crescent without any amortisation of £78,598 spent on adapting the building; and if he will close these residences.

During 1950–51 the British Council administered seven (not 11) residences for Colonial students on behalf of the Colonial Office and the loss on these residences was £56,751. The net operating loss of £27,483 at Hans Crescent includes overhead charges of £7,922 for the first six months of the year when, because of adaptation work, no occupation was possible. For the remaining six months only partial occupation was possible for the same reason. Three of these residences have been closed. I do not propose to close the remaining four residences, which play a useful part in the welfare of the increasing numbers of colonial students in this country, but I shall try to ensure that they are run with all reasonable economy.

Is the Secretary of State aware that the figures in my Question are quoted from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to this House?

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind there is also a need for increasing the number of places available to colonial students in hostels of some kind, which are preferable to the type of lodgings which are often provided?

The hon. Member is asking me another question, but in any case I have no intention of closing any more.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is now able to make a statement about further constitutional changes in the Gold Coast.

Yes, Sir. In the light of the working of the present constitution and on the advice of the Governor, Her Majesty's Government have decided that the Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Assembly should disappear from the constitution and that the office of Prime Minister should be formally recognised. The Governor will consult the Prime Minister before submitting to the Assembly the names of persons whom he proposes for appointment as Representative Members of the Executive Council, or Cabinet, and before allocating to them portfolios.

The Prime Minister will rank in precedence in Cabinet immediately after the Governor, or Officer Administering the Government as the case may be, and before any of the three ex officio Ministers, whose position in other respects will remain unchanged. The necessary amendments to the constitutional instruments to give effect to these and other consequential changes will be made very shortly.

Does not this prove that there is no permanent half-way house between bureaucracy and democracy?

I think the question is too wide to be dealt with at Question time.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many Attacker aircraft have crashed recently; and if the causes have been established.

I regret that it would be contrary to long established policy to give the information for which the hon Member asks.

If we take the trouble to go through the newspapers we shall be able to add them up ourselves. Cannot the right hon. Gentleman save us a little trouble by doing it for us? As the newspapers have published that an Attacker class of aircraft had crashed recently, will he consider issuing a statement whether there are any related causes which connect these crashes one with another?

I do not think that information can necessarily be obtained from the newspapers. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that there is no undue cause for alarm, in view of the number of flying hours, and every accident is very carefully investigated. If the hon. Gentleman would like to talk to me on the subject I should be happy to see him.