GUNS ON STRAITS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 245, 28 July 1937, Page 5

GUNS ON STRAITS

NO DANGER CONSTITUTED.

PLANS FOR EMERGENCIES.

MR CHURCHILL’S VIEWS

(United Press Association—Copyright.) (Received This Day, 11.25 a.in.) LONDON, July 27.

The careful preparation for the necessary plans for any emergency or situation which might arise in time of danger was described in the House of Commons by the Minister for the Co-ordina-tion of Defence (Sir Thomas Inskip). He said that plans relating to every possible theatre of operations bad been considered by expert committees, bad been approved, sometimes revised by the chiefs of staff, and, in every case except one, bad been approved by the Government itself.

Sir Thomas Inskip declared: “No guns have been mounted in the bay of Aigeciras 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 fact have been removed and the remainder are few; in number. ' Neither in numbers nor; size do these guns threaten Gibraltar, nor are they sighted fqF ‘that purpose." —British Official Wireless.

Mr Winston Churchill said that lT the world could have ten, ..eight or - even seven years of peace he would hazard the opinion that the; ground would master the aii-and -the problem of the marauding aeroplane, the slaughtering of civil population and the seeking to blackmail nations out of their liberties by mass .terrorism would be-sol-vecl. Sir Thomas Inskip answered that the Government was engaged in devising air defence measures which he hoped would secure immunity in even a less period than that mentioned by Mr Churchill.