811.34544/13

The British Ambassador (Lothian) to the Secretary of State

Aide-Mémoire

In his Aide-Mémoire of August 29th, 1940, the Secretary of State enquired whether the Prime Minister’s statement in Parliament on June 4th, 1940, regarding the intention of His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom never to surrender or sink the British Fleet in the event of the waters surrounding the British Isles becoming untenable for His Majesty’s Ships “represents the settled policy of His Majesty’s Government.”

His Majesty’s Ambassador is instructed by the Prime Minister to inform Mr. Secretary Hull that this statement certainly does represent the settled policy of His Majesty’s Government. Mr. Churchill must however observe that these hypothetical contingencies seem more likely to concern the German fleet or what is left of it than the British Fleet.