I explained to Mr. Noel-Baker last evening that my Minister had directed me to draw his attention to the report in the Irish Times of yesterday of Sir Basil Brooke's 'Not An Inch' speech in Belfast on the 8th February.¹

Saying that he had not seen the report before, he read it carefully and then asked, with a somewhat indifferent air, 'What about it?'

I read out the following paragraph, emphasising, of course, the last eight words:-

'Sir Basil said that negotiations had taken place between himself and Mr. Attlee recently; and, although he could not tell them the contents of the measure that was shortly to be introduced at Westminster, he could say that he was satisfied that the position of Northern Ireland was maintained, retained and reserved as never before.'

Surely he would see that my Government's deep concern at so extraordinary a statement was both immediate and obvious. Clearly we had a right to know what grounds Brooke had for so serious an assertion.

Noel-Baker said he did not see anything new in what Brooke said.

I rejoined that to argue there was nothing new in the position in face of Brooke's own positive, not to say exultant, declaration - 'as never before' - was to contend that his language had no meaning. To this Noel-Baker made no reply.

Because of his seeming unconcern, I pressed him to say whether there had been any change in the position of the Six Counties since our Ministers last con-ferred with him together with his Colleagues and certain of the Commonwealth Representatives.

He would recall that when I saw him on the 17th January² about an article in 'The Observer', he had suggested our meeting again in a week or ten days when he might be in a position to say something definite. Was it not possible now to give some indications, even in general terms, of the main provisions of the Bill to which he had then referred.

He said he did not think he could do this because even yet finality had not been reached about the Bill. Further, the deferring of the appointed day for our Republic of Ireland Act to Easter Monday had made an alteration in their Parliamentary Time Table and he could not, at the moment, say when the Bill would have its first reading.

I felt all through the conversation that his attitude was deliberately unresponsive but he did conclude by saying that Brooke was in the middle of an election and that he - Noel-Baker - could not be held responsible for what he said.