HC Deb 01 March 1961 vol 635 cc1577-8
31. Mr. Stonehouse

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what is the result of his inquiries into the incident in which the British ship "West Breeze" was arrested by French warships; and whether this took place in territorial waters.

Mr. C. Ian Orr-Ewing

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey) by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on the 27th February. At the time of the interception the ship was in international waters between Algiers and Spain.

Mr. Stonehouse

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I have that Answer in front of me and that it is wholly unsatisfactory? Why is it that no repre- sentations have been made to the French although this incident took place nearly a week ago? Are we going to allow British ships to be interfered with in this way, and what arrangements is he making for protection to be afforded to our ships?

Mr. Orr-Ewing

As my hon. Friend, I think wisely, made it clear in answer to a Private Notice Question, we could not go any further until we had the full facts before us. Perhaps it would help the House and the hon. Gentleman if I explained the ownership of this ship and under whose charter she was at the time. She is owned by Northern Enterprises Ltd., Hong Kong. She is managed by John Manners and Co. Ltd., Hong Kong. At the time of the incident she was under charter to Far Eastern Enterprises and Co., and that company had sublet her under another charter to "Sino-Fracht", a Chinese Communist organisation.

Mr. Nabarro

Up the Commies.

Mr. Stonehouse

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that we are recognising the Peking regime? We have diplomatic relations with that regime, and surely we can expect our warships and our authorities to give protection to a British ship? Does the Minister now indicate that if a British ship is under charter to an organsation of which he does not himself approve, we cannot afford it protection?

Mr. Orr-Ewing

I was not expressing either approval or disapproval. I was giving the facts. I thought the hon. Gentleman might like to know more facts. We are trying to obtain more facts about this incident, and when we have them no doubt my hon. Friend will consider his position.