Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home declared today in the House of Commons that the British Government had no evidence that either Israel or Egypt was trying to produce nuclear weapons or was likely to have such weapons soon.
He made the statement in reply to questions from Arthur Henderson, Labor MP.; Harold Wilson, Labor Party leader; and Jo Grimmond, Liberal MP. The discussion was the first on the issue since reports developed, in connection with the CENTO Council of Ministers meeting in Washington last week, that Egypt was developing nuclear warheads for its missile program with the aid of West German scientists.
“An agreement to ban the dissemination of nuclear weapons is important for the security not only of the Middle East but the whole world, ” the Prime Minister said: “We are trying to achieve such agreement at the Geneva disarmament conference.” He added that recent anti-British speeches and declarations by President Nasser of Egypt “inevitably caused at setback to our efforts, but we will not be diverted either from our peaceful purposes or our duty to protect friends to whom we have treaty obligations.”
WORK OF GERMAN SCIENTISTS IN EGYPT CONSIDERED ‘REAL DANGER’
Mr. Henderson suggested, in the debate, that the real danger was in the fact that West Germany scientists were working in Egypt on the development and production of rockets and other missiles. He said this could only lead to the intensification of the “missile race” between Israel and Egypt, and upset the balance and stability of the Middle East. He then asked the Prime Minister: “Would you not agree that this underlines the urgency of President Johnson’s proposals for securing an agreement on freezing production of nuclear delivery weapons?”
The Prime Minister replied that “it may be more important to get a non-dissemination agreement, but we have no evidence that Israel or Egypt is trying to produce weapons of this kind.”
Liberal leader Grimmon said that, while those countries were not producing weapons now, they would soon be in a position to do so. He asked whether this situation did not make it necessary for Britain “to look at the Tripartite Declaration about arms in the Middle East.” He also asked the Prime Minister whether he would consult with the other signatories to that declaration-the United States and France-“to see if it can be made a reality.”
The Prime Minister said that conditions in the Middle East “do not depend on our good will alone. There must be reciprocity, and we have seen precious little of this. It is not at present the Government’s view that Israel or Egypt is likely to get nuclear weapons soon.”
Mr. Wilson reminded the Premier that the Labor Party had warned the Government two years ago about the dangers inherent in West Germany scientists working in Egypt, and that the Labor Party had asked the Government to take up the matter urgently with Bonn.
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