62. Lieut.-Colonel SANDEMAN ALLENasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the action of the Argentine Government in sequestering the identity certificate of Mr. Francis Ushuaia Lewis, a Falkland Islander, on the plea that it described him as a British subjest, whereas the Argentine view is that the Falkland Islands are Argentine territory; and whether he will make representations to the Argentine Government with a view to securing the recognition of the Falkland Islands as British territory and the native inhabitants as British subjects, and therefore not liable to serve in the Argentine forces?
§ Mr. EDENThe case of Mr. Lewis and the similar case of Mr. De Boe were reported by His Majesty's Ambassador at Buenos Aires, when they occurred in February of this year. His Excellency raised the matter with the Argentine Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the time, and was informed that the Argentine authorities considered themselves entitled to revoke, for whatever reason, identity cards issued by themselves. I understand that the documents in question, apart from specifying the holders as British subjects, contained an inaccuracy in stating that their place of birth was the United Kingdom and not the Falkland Islands. As regards the second part of the question, I can assure my hon. and gallant Friend that the Argentine Government have never been left in any doubt as to the view of His Majesty's Government that the Falkland Islands are British territory and that persons born in the Falkland Islands have the national status of British subjects and cannot merely by reason of their birth in the Islands be claimed as Argentine citizens.