HC Deb 01 March 1954 vol 524 cc820-1
17. Lieut.-Colonel Hyde

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will state the reasons for the withdrawal of Her Majesty the Queen's Exequatur from Senor Leopoldo Alguero, Consul-General of the Republic of Panama in Belfast.

Mr. Nutting

The decision to advise the withdrawal of the Queen's Exequatur from Senor Leopoldo Alguero as Consul-General of Panama at Belfast was taken in the light of an official report regarding his association with a recent case involving the attempted smuggling of watches into the United Kingdom. In these circumstances, Her Majesty's Government have informed the Panamanian Government that they can no longer regard him as a person in whom they can continue to repose confidence as the consular representative of his country.