MR BELCHER RESIGNS

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25679, 16 December 1948, Page 7

MR BELCHER RESIGNS

Evidence Ended At Tribunal LETTER WRITTfiW TO MR ATTLEEi (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON. Dec. 18. Mr J. W. Belcher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, has sent a letter to the Prime Minister (Mr Attlee) announcing hie resignation, which Mr Attlee hae accepted. Mr Belcher wrote: “I have completed my evidence before the tribima.l, and have had an oppar tunity of repudiating the weplions which have been made against my probity. To you. wha have trusted me, I know it is not necessary to repeat that mv decisions have never been influenced in any way by any gift or promise. I have, however, realised that my acceptance of gifts and hospitality was conduct incompatible with the maintenance of the high respect for His Majesty's Ministers which is an essential part of. Britain’s political life. “I cannot fully ewress the regret I feci that indiscretions of mine should have done harm to the party to which I have been so proud to belong and whose interests I hope io serve in the future.” Mr Attlee, in reply, said: “I am certain you have taken the right course in offering to resign. I greatly regret the circumstances which have made it necessary for you to do this and for me to accept your resignation.” At yesterday’s sitting of the Board of Trade tribunal, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr William George Glenvil Hall) said that at a meeting of Ministers at No. 10 Downing Street on September 13, he had a personal talk with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr J. W. Belcher) and said he understood that Mr Belcher knew Stanley. Mr Hall said: “I said Mr Belcher should be on his guard, and Mr Belcher said. ‘Oh, yes, I know a good deal about Stanley I have known him for some time now, and you need not warn me.’ or words to that effect.” ' Mr Hall added : “As far as I knew then, there was nothing very criminal in what Stanley had tried to do. It was more an attempt to bounce the Treasury and get something through than anything else, but it startled me considerably.” Dr. Dalton’s Evidence The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Dr. Hugh Dalton) was the fifty-fourth witness. Dr. Dalton said he first met Stanley at a dinner on March 23 to mark the appointment of Mr George Gibson (a director of the Bank of England) as chairman of the North-west Electricity Board. When leaving the dinner he was followed into the street by Stanley, who said he had a great admiration for Mr Gibson and represented himself to be an active supporter of the Labour Party. Dr. Dalton said that in all he had met Stanley only four times. On one occasion Stanley had said to him: “We would like you to join us in the G.U.S. now that you are no longer a member of the Government.” Dr. Dalton said he did not know what G'.U.S. was (G.U.S. stands for Great Universal Stores of which Mr Isaac Wolfson is the head). When the Attorney-General (Sir Hartley Shawcross) asked if Stanley had told him anything about assisting in a recent by-election, Dr. Dalton replied: “This was one of the points that I counted most in his favour at this time. He said he had sent a large number of cars to the Gravesend byelection. He also said that he had sent a similar number to the North Croydon by-election. This predisposed him in my favour.” Dr. Dalton said he understood that Stanley was either a director of the Great Universal Stores or some prominent person in an executive position. He added that he could not remember any director’s fee being ;nentioned, but he told Stanley that such an arrangement was not desirable from his point of view, and brushed it aside. “I said that this was not in my line, and was thoroughly discouraging throughout the interview.” said Dr. Dalton. “I further said that in any case I was too busy to take on any further commitments that would take my time.” Opinion of Stanley Dr. Dalton said that he saw Mr Wolfson on April 16. Nothing was said about the possibility of his joining the board of the Great Universal Stores. At Mr Wolfson’s office Stanley was “treated with slight regard.” “I formed the view that Stanley was, in fact, a contact man of low repute, and I had no wish to have anything more to do with Rim.” said Dr. Dalton. In answer to Mr E. S. Montagu, K.C. (for Mr Wolfson), Dr. Dalton said: “I well believe that both Mr Wolfson and I were temporarily deceived by Stanley.” The reason he had agreed with Stanley’s suggestion and had seen Mr Wolfson was that Stanley emphasised that the G.U.S. had built factories in development areas. He had always been interested in development areas, and this had finally turned the scale, and decided him to see Mr Wolfson. Replying to Mr H. V. Lloyd-Jones (for Stanley). Dr. Dalton denied that he was on first-name terms with Stanley. Dr. Dalton was asked by Mr Justice I Lvnskey (chairman of the tribunal): • “Has anyone.. either Stanley or any- . body else, ever approached you in rei lation to misusing your powers either . as an M.P. or K as a member of the Government?”

Dr. Dalton replied: “No. I can think of no such occasion.’’

Company Director Heard Mr Isaac Wolfson, the next witness, said he was chairman and managing director of Great Universal Stores. He first met Stanley at a dinner in June, 1947. Stanley came to him with “all sorts .of propositions.” but they had nothing to do with Ministers of the Crown. Nothing ever came of the propositions which Stanley put up. Mr Wolfson said that Stanley was not a contact man for his organisation. He denied that he had asked Stanley to bring Mr Gibson, the Minister of Works (Mr Charles Key), or Mr Belcher to his office. Mr Wolfson denied that the £lOOO he paid Stanley for expenses included recompense for Stanley’s introduction to Mr Key. Mr Belcher. Mr Gibson, and Dr. Dalton. He agreed that he had told Mr Belcher that he was the type of man who would fit into his organisation. ‘T had a very high regard for Mr Belcher as a very capable person,” Mr Wolfson added. Mr Wolfson said that Sir Stafford Criops had asked him to get in touch with him about matters of major importance. Mr Montagu (for Mr Wolfson): So you don’t need the Stanleys and Gibsons of this world? Mr Wolfson: No. Tn reply to Mr Justice Lynskey, Mr Wolfson said that he had no objection to the tribunal’s inspecting the books of his companies. Mr Justice Lynskev added that he would like the Treasury solicitor to have an opportunity of seeing the books and trying to trace the identity of a person whose initials. "R.H.5..” appeared on one of three receipts covering pavment of £lOOO to Stanley for his services. Mr Wolfson said that had a certain store purchasp deal gone through he would have been prepared to have paid Stanley £35.000.