British Defence Policy To Be Reappraised

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28766, 11 December 1958, Page 17

British Defence Policy To Be Reappraised

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright)

(Rec. 8.45 p.m.) LONDON, December 9. The biggest shake-up in Britain’s defence policy since the war has begun after the opening up of America’s nuclear secrets to Britain under the agreement signed last August, according to the “Daily Express.”

The Cabinet’s Defence Committee—which the Prime Minister, Mr Macmillan, leads—has decided there must be a complete reappraisal of Britain’s long-term plans for meeting a nuclear war. Cabinet Ministers and defence chiefs were delighted by the wealth of information which the British and American agreement opened up, the newspaper said.

They considered that new secrets in their possession on rockets and every kind of nuclear research and development created an entirely new situation.

Money spent on Britain’s own research could be held down drastically and duplication with America’s defence effort could be avoided. The Defence Committee was considering whether Britain’s land based missile requirements should be scaled down, or cut out altogether. The newspaper said that a possible result of the reappraisal was that Britain would continue to rely on inanned bombers for several years and then would switch straight to Polaris—the submarine' carried missile—as a longterm answer. It was also understood that the defence committee had decided on a new supersonic plane as a replacement for the Canberra bomber. SOVIET WRITER DEFECTS Former Winner Of Stalin Prize BERLIN, December 9. A Soviet writer, Alexander Tcheyshvili, the 1951 Stalin Prizewinner, has fled to the West, an anti-Communist Russian refugee organisation reported in Berlin today, according to the American Associated Press. A spokesman of N.T.S., the refugee group, said Tcheyshvili crossed from East into West Berlin some eight days ago and asked for political asylum. Dr. Adenauer’s Health (Rec. 9 p.m.) BONN, December 10. The condition of the West German Chancellor, Dr. Adenauer, who has been kept at home by a feverish cold since Monday, was improved today, a Government spokesman said. Dr. Adenauer’s cold led to cancellation of a visit which he planned to make to London on Friday. According to usually wellinformed sources it was now unlikely that Dr. Adenauer would visit London before Christmas.

Frigate’s 40,000 Miles Voyage.— The British frigate, Scarborough, returned yesterday after a 10month voyage. She steamed 40,000 miles, taking part in the Christmas Island nuclear tests and visiting Australia and New Zealand.— Portsmouth, December 9.