Delay in Announcement

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 114, 16 May 1941, Page 7

Delay in Announcement

JUSTIFIED BY PREMIER

LONDON, May 15

Replying- today in the House of Commons to questions about Kudoif Hess, the (Jet-man Deputy Fuhrer, ■the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, announced that he will take the iiivst opportunity of making a statement, but the time he chose must be governed by the public interest.

Mr. Churchill was replying lo a question why. if Hess landed in Scot-j land some lime during Ihe night of j May 10-11. die Ministry of [nforma-j lion did not take steps lo anticipate! the German broadcast suggesting that Hess was mentally unbalanced. i Mr. Churchill replied: "It may be just as well that the Ministry of Information did no such thing, since the suggestion has been repudiated by later and fuller contradictory German explanations." Pressed to admit that the 48 hours' delay was. unfortunate, Mr, Churchill replied: "It certainly was not unfortunate. If it had been, it would have been unavoidable, because first of all we had to establish the identity of the injured German airman who had landed. We only had evidence which, while it was very interesting, could not be considered conclusive in view of the surprising character of the information. I did not believe the news myself when I was told it in the course of Sunday, but I sent immedately an officer who knew the Deputy Fuhrer and who was able to speak with him x in good and fluent German. While this was still proceeding, the German announcement came out of the insanity of the Deputy Fuhrer and his night to Scotland. In these circumstances, what had hitherto been a surmise merged into definite certainty."' DUKE'S VISIT TO HESS. It is now known that the Duke of Hamilton saw Herr Hess within 48 hours of Hess's arrival. The Duke made the visit on instructions from j London. The motives which brought Hess to" Britain are still occupying the attention of commentators all over the world. Some of the suggestions are that Hess escaped after a quarrel with Hitler or other Nazi leaders, that he was appalled by the horrors of the war and thought he could patch up a peace of his own, and that Hitler sent him on some desperate peace mission. Mr. Ernest Bevin, British Minister of Labour and National Service, supports the view that Hitler is behind Hess's flight to this country. Speak-

ing today in London, he said: "I do not believe that Hitler did not know Hess intended'coming here." 1 He declared that Hess was a man he would not negotiate with, and added that they could understand his feellings when he told them that it was JHess who had collected every index 'card of the German trade unionists land German Social Democrats, whom, | when the time came, he caused to be •sent to concentration camps or rauridered. Mr. Bevin said he had had to ideal with these totalitarian gentlemen •and Communists before, and he was mot going to bo deceived by any of j them. I HITLER AND GERMAN PEOPLE. I The German news service announces jthat Hitler does not propose to speak !to the German people in the near ( ) future about the flight of his Deputy i ! Fuhrcr. i I Berlin has denied reports that aj house-to-house canvass is to be undertaken by the Nazis to reassure the people about the Hess affair, but officials admit that a few members of the party may have talked the matter over with their neighbours. j The 8.8.C. broadcast in German to-j i day a record of Hitler's speech made :on September 1. 1939. when he said: j j-'Should anything happen to me in the iwar. my first successor is party memjber Goering. (Applause.) Should anyj thing happen to Goering, then my next j 'successor is party member Hess. (Prolonged applause.) And if anything I should happen to me, you will give to (these two men exactly the same loyalty, I fidelity, and- duty as you do to me." ((Fanatical applause.)