Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Supply – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 12 Rhagfyr 1949.
Mr Emrys Hughes
, South Ayrshire
12:00,
12 Rhagfyr 1949
asked the Minister of Supply whether this country is now able to manufacture the atomic bomb.
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
It would not be in the public interest for me to answer this Question.
Mr Emrys Hughes
, South Ayrshire
Could the Minister tell us whether this information was revealed to the Leader of the Opposition in the recent conversation, or is the Leader of the Opposition being left in ignorance, too, for security reasons?
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
That question should be addressed to the Prime Minister.
Mr Frank Beswick
, Uxbridge
Can my right hon. Friend tell us exactly in what way the public interest is served by withholding this information?
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
The development on any defence project is always withheld from public information, I should have thought for obvious reasons.
Mr John Platts-Mills
, Finsbury
Is it a fact that the Americans have told us quite positively that we are not to use the knowledge we have, and are not to be allowed to make the bomb?
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
The hon. Gentleman seems to be better informed than I am.
Captain Albert Blackburn
, Birmingham King's Norton
May I ask my right hon. Friend, with great respect, whether he will review this secrecy provision in relation to atomic energy, because it is the generally-held view among American scientists that to get rid of secrecy would enable us to get on more rapidly with the project?
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
There is no secrecy regarding technical information on basic atomic research. I know that every effort is made to see that that is not secret.
Mr Samuel Silverman
, Nelson and Colne
Since it is known that the United States of America can make it, and since it is also known that the Soviet Union can make it, and since neither country thinks it inconsistent with its public interest to have those facts known, why should it be against the public interest to know whether we can make it or not?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The "Leader of the Opposition" is head of "Her Majesty's Official Opposition". This position is taken by the Leader of the party with the 2nd largest number of MPs in the Commons.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
