1. Miss WARDasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of serving British consuls not of British birth; the proportion drawing remuneration; and the total sum involved?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir John Simon)As my hon. Friend is no doubt aware, His Majesty's Consular Service consists of, first, established salaried consular officers, and, secondly, honorary officers. There are at present 366 established officers, all of whom are British subjects. There are in addition 447 honorary officers, of whom 340 are of British nationality and 107 of foreign nationality. None of these receives a salary, but they are granted allowances towards their consular office expenses. I may add that foreign nationals are not appointed to British consular posts unless no suitable British subject is available.