BRITAIN PREPARED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 203, 28 July 1937, Page 9

BRITAIN PREPARED

STATEMENT ON DEFENCE. NO THREAT TO GIBRALTAR. SHIPPING QUITE SAFE. (United Press Association—By Electric T c I egraph.—Copyright.) (British Official Wireless.) Received July 28, 11.55 a.m. RUGBY, July 27.

Careful preparation for the necessary plans for any emergency or situation which might arise in time of danger was described to the House of Commons by th<s Minister for Co-ordination of Defence (Sir Thomas Inskip), who said that plans relating to every possible theatre of operations had been considered by expert committees and had been approved and sometimes revised by the Cliiefs-of-Staff., and in every case except one they bad been approved by the Government itself. The remaining case was now under the consideration of the Government.

Sir Thomas Inskip declared: “No guns have been mounted in the Bay of Algeciras which can in the circumstances be regarded as constituting any threat to Gibraltar. A battery of four large howitzers was mounted overlooking the Straits; two, in fnct, have been removed and the remainder are few in number. “Neither in number nor in size do these guns threaten Gibraltar, nor are they sighted for that purpose. In all cases »th the larger calibre and the secondary guns aro out-powered by tbe Gibraltar artillery. In the circumstances of the Spanish civil war the presence of these guns is quite intelligible.” 1 The Minister said that Ceuta had always been heavily armed. He did not think it could be said that the guns there were a threat to Gibraltar or to its shipping. BRITAiFS~HOPES. . REPLIES BY FRIDAY. (British Official Wireless.) Received Julv 28, 11.7 a m. 'RUGBY, July 27. The result of the discussion of the non-intervention sub-committee is that the 26 Powers will, it is hoped, send in time for the meeting next Friday their views in writing on the questions raised in the nine paragraphs of the British plan.

LABOUR WARNING

NO RECOGNITION OF FRANCO

Received Julv 28, 10 a.m. LONDON, July 27. The National Council of Labour, after a meeting to consider the position in Spain, issued a statement in which it said it would be a grave danger for the Government to take advantage of the holidays and the Parliamentary recess to recognise General Franco.