In a letter published in the April edition of The Critic magazine, Alistair Lexden corrected an article in the previous month’s edition which had misdated an interview between Harold Macmillan and very respectful press men (who were not uncommon in the 1950s) when he was about to leave on a ministerial visit abroad.
It was not as prime minister, as Paul Goodman asserts, but as defence secretary that Harold Macmillan spoke to deferential journalists before leaving for a Nato meeting in Paris in 1954 (“How the press has changed, and how it remains the same”, March).
He departed on 21 October 1954 for talks to try to end a row over the Saarland. As he recorded in his diary, France which had administered it since 1945 threatened to “bring down the whole fabric” of the Western Alliance at the height of the Cold War if the territory was handed over to West Germany.
By the time Macmillan returned on 24 October, amity had been restored thanks to British diplomacy. He noted: “The Germans and the French came to terms over the Saar, and the full series of agreements were signed yesterday afternoon. It has been a real pleasure seeing England leading Europe.” He slipped away by train to Haywards Heath without encountering any more fawning press men.
Lord Lexden
House of Lords
