asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what grounds the application of the Bizonal Economic Office at Minden for permission to prepare a whaling fleet has been turned down; and whether, in the light of the acute food shortage in Germany, he will reconsider this decision with the object of reversing it.

Mr. McNeil:

For security reasons, the Potsdam protocol prohibits the construction in Germany of sea-going ships; the considerations which led to this decision still hold good. The British authorities in Germany and their American colleagues accordingly agreed to reject this German proposal. The answer to the second part of the Question is. "No, Sir."

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the fact that it is inconsistent to allow Japan to operate a whaling fleet and to deny, at the same time, similar facilities to Germany?

Is it not quite absurd to continue wallowing in the Potsdam Agreement in view of the attitude recently adopted in Paris by one of the signatories to it?