§ 24. Mr. Bennasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation why he has accepted the findings of the Italian authorities on the Hermes air crash off Sicily.
§ Mr. ProfumoMy right hon. Friend is in general agreement with the findings of the report. The fact that Italian accident investigation procedure does not include a similar provision to that made in Regulation 7 (5) of the United Kingdom Regulations is only relevant in this case to publication.
§ Mr. BennIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the operating company were not allowed to have a representative at the inquiry into one of their own aircraft, nor were the survivors consulted by the Italian Commission in arriving at their conclusion and producing a report which the Minister himself says is a violation of elementary British justice? Is he aware that this cannot be regarded as the end of the matter?
§ Mr. CallaghanIs not the Parliamentary Secretary proposing to deal with this matter?
§ Mr. ProfumoI have nothing to add to what I have just said, and I made a very full statement on the subject the other day during the adjournment debate.
§ Mr. CallaghanWith respect, could the Parliamentary Secretary tell us why he refuses to hold an inquiry himself?
§ Mr. ProfumoI thought I made it very clear the other day in the statement I made to the House. If, on reading it, the hon. Gentleman finds that there is any misunderstanding or anything about which he is not clear, perhaps he will put down a Question.
§ Mr. CallaghanWith great respect, it is precisely because the Parliamentary Secretary did not make this clear that we are now asking him about it. Why can he accept the report of the Italian Government of an inquiry on an aircraft operated by a company in this country?
§ Mr. ProfumoAs I have already said, my right hon. Friend is satisfied with the findings of the report.
§ Mr. SpeakerI would remind the House that this matter was thoroughly discussed on an Adjournment debate. It is unfair to other hon. Members to try to repeat that discussion now.
§ Mr. BennIn view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall seek to raise this matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible opportunity.
§ 25. Mr. Bennasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what representations were made to the Italian authorities investigating the Hermes air crash off Sicily by Her Majesty's Government, either for themselves, or on behalf of the survivors, the crew or the operating company.
§ Mr. ProfumoDuring the investigation a list of representations compiled by a committee representing the surviving passengers was forwarded to the Italian Commission by Her Majesty's Government, but no other representations were made.
§ Mr. BennDoes not the hon. Gentleman feel that the British Government have some responsibility to the operating company regarding this crash, because they were unable to have a representative at the investigation, and that the Government should press the matter? Secondly, may I ask why the Government did not forward to the Italian commission of inquiry the replies to the questionnaire sent to the survivors, until at a late stage they were, in fact, asked for by the Italians?
§ Mr. ProfumoThis matter was entirely in the hands of the Italian Government under International Regulations. Her Majesty's Government feel that everything was done correctly and that nothing has been ignored which our Department should have dealt with during the course of the investigation.
§ Mr. BennIn view of the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I shall seek to raise the matter on the Adjournment.
§ 28. Mr. Bennasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation why he has circulated the Italian report on the Hermes air crash off Sicily to certain survivors of the accident.
§ Mr. ProfumoIt is the normal procedure to circulate copies of unpublished accident reports to those interested parties who ask for them.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonOn a point of order. Is it in order for an hon. Member to address a Question to a Minister when he has previously given notice that he intends to raise the subject of the Question on the Adjournment?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat had occurred to me, but this is a new point, though it should not be followed up by supplementary questions.
§ Mr. BennIs the hon. Gentleman aware that 13 survivors of this aircraft tell me that they regard the position as unsatisfactory and that a further 10, including the inspector of Civil Aviation in the Sudan, have asked me to take the matter a step further? Does he realise that the handling of this matter by his Department is totally unsatisfactory in every way?
§ Mr. SpeakerPerhaps the hon. Gentleman will pursue that in the debate on the Adjournment.