HC Deb 16 March 1955 vol 538 c1269
4. Mr. Dodds

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty in view of the importance for the economic life of Gibraltar that an allocation of oil bunkering tankerage should be made for commercial peacetime purposes, what consideration has been given to this matter by his Department; and when a decision can be expected.

Mr. Digby

The Admiralty has been considering recently, in conjunction with the various interests concerned, whether and in what way it can help towards the provision of additional commercial bunkering facilities in Gibraltar. I hope that it will be possible to reach a decision in the near future.

Mr. Dodds

I thank the Civil Lord for what he has just said, but can he assure the House that the Admiralty is seized of the need, in connection with this intensely loyal community, to do everything possible to mitigate any hardship caused by outside interests, and to show them and the rest of the world that it pays to be British?

Mr. Digby

We are very anxious to do anything that we can to help the Colony, and that is why we have looked at this question sympathetically, but it is a highly technical question.