(1) Létter from Sir Frank Soskice to Lord Russell (31/8/65)
"Dear Lord Russell,
You wrote to me on 21st july asking for visas for three persons, Professor Nguyen Van Hieu, Mr. Dinh Ba Thi and Mr. Pham Van Chuong, to come here for discussions and to address public meetings on the war in Vietnam.
I have given careful consideration to this request in consultation with the Foreign Secretary. I have concluded that it would not be in the national interest for me to agree to a visit in present circumstances by © these persons,
Yours etc," (2) Letter from Lord Russell to Sir Frank Soskice (2/9/65)
"Dear Sir Frank,
Thank you for your letter of 31 August in reply to mine of 21 July. Your decision to refuse visas to the spokeman on foreign affairs of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and his two colleagues is a matter of concern, I should wish to request you to receive a delegation drawn from the signatories of the letter to the New Statesman and others, including Members of Parliament, The signatories were: Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Lord Silkin, Archbishop Roberts, the Bishop of Southwark, Professor K.W. Wedderburn, Professor Asa Briggs, Professor David Glass, Dr, Ralph Milihand, Dr. Ruth Glass, Iris Murdoch and Kingsley Martin.
“We shall be organising a nation-wide campaign on this matter and should wish to discuss the reasons for your decision and our view of ite I hope you will receive the deputation at the earliest possible moment and should be glad if you could let me know your decision shortly,
Yours etc,"
(3) Press statement issued by Lord Russell on lst September
I have been informed today in a letter from the Home Secretary that, after long consultations with the Foreign Secretary, my request for visas for the spokesman on foreign affairs of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and his colleagues has been refused on the ground that it is not in the national interest for them to speak in Britain. The Foreign Secretary contradicts his om words at Oxford on the essential need for the people of Britain to
“have the opportunity of having access to news, information, and
comment from all over the world....to form their ow opinions
and to express those opinions freely,"
This decision, which violates British traditions of freedom of speech, flaunts the wishes of a broad section of the British public, We have received requests from socialists at Eton, Oxford, Cambridge, and all parts of Britain to hear the N.L.F. spokesman. We cannot accept this decision as final and shall request the Home Secretary to receive immediately a deputation drawn from the signatories of the letter in the New Statesman, M.P.s and others. We shall seek the reversal of this decision and begin a national campaign to demonstrate the extent of public feeling to this Government until the decision is reversed,