6 DECEMBER 1963, Page 9

Private Meeting : Public Apology

What Mr. Brown did or did not say on tele- vision matters little. Whether his manner was or was not appropriate to the occasion is no doubt debatable. But there can be no two / opinions about Mr. Wilson's behaviour. In 1, humiliating his lieutenant Mr. Wilson acted shabbily and with incredible clumsiness. What ' George Brown had said and the way he said it could have been forgotten and forgiven. Mr. Wilson's part in this cannot.