I must tell the House quite frankly that if I were confronted with a Japanese at this present moment and were asked to tell him that I believed that he was wrong in the treatment of those British prisoners in his hands, I could not but accept a similar criticism from him on the question of the atom bomb. I should be quite unable to avoid it. I am afraid I must say on the question of principle here involved—this question of moral principle—that I believe it to be humbug, when so many people, women, children, old folk, were killed by the atom bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima . For every individual photograph that could be produced of a wounded and battered British prisoner of war in Japanese hands, I think one could find an equally horrible photograph of a victim of the atomic bomb. [Interruption.] An hon. Friend of mine says that the two things are not comparable. I do not myself believe that it is possible to draw any distinctions in war between the brutalities on both sides.

Author: Tony Benn
Year: 1951
Year evidence: Speech in the House of Commons (10 May 1951)
Source: Quotes / 1950s — Speech in the House of Commons (10 May 1951)
Source links: https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1951/may/10/ex-prisoners-of-war-japan-compensation-1#S5CV0487P0_19510510_HOC_418
Wikiquote: https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Tony+Benn&oldid=3929903
Attribution: Wikiquote contributors, Tony Benn; history: https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Tony%20Benn&action=history
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