§ Q10. Mr. Grimondasked the Prime Minister what instructions he has given to industries which the Government controls, or in which it holds a controlling interest, over co-operation in the sanctions on Rhodesia.
§ The Prime MinisterNo special instructions have been given. Such industries co-operate in carrying out the measures announced by the Government in the same way as do other British concerns.
§ Mr. GrimondIs the Prime Minister aware that the company now immediately concerned is the British Petroleum Company? Can he say why, if any attempt to enforce the United Nations Resolution on oil sanctions is likely to cause hardship to Zambia, we voted for it? Having voted for it, can the right hon. Gentleman say whether we intend to put it into force and also whether any preliminary arrangements were made in Zambia to increase oil stocks in that country against a possible emergency?
§ The Prime MinisterThis was fully debated the other evening. The Question relates to British Petroleum and in my view there is no difference whether this shipment is being carried by a ship of a company in which the Government have a shareholding or by any other British ship. In either case we would expect them to carry out British Government policy but, as I have made clear, we would have to be certain before we introduced the general embargo envisaged by the United Nations that it would be multilateral and fully effective and not 604 just a meaningless gesture. We have had to take account of the situation in Zambia. We have had a great deal of planning with Zambia to try to help them to improve their position in face of possible action by Rhodesia, but we are not in a position to say that we have reached that situation yet.