HC Deb 26 October 1966 vol 734 cc1012-3
48. Mr. Dickens

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state the number of occasions reported to him on which broadcasting from pirate radio stations has interfered with radio communications between ships at sea.

Mr. Short

If I am correct in assuming that my hon. Friend refers to communications between ships at sea and the shore, 49; the most recent being a letter which I have received today from the Chief Inspector of Lifeboats reporting interference to the Scarborough lifeboat on 2nd October. I have it here.

Mr. Dickens

Does not the Postmaster-General agree that those 49 instances are instances of absolutely the utmost of public irresponsibility, and does he not also agree that they should be brought to the attention of the London offices of the pirate radio stations in order that the public at large may know what their attitude is, if they have one, to this question?

Mr. Short

I agree with my hon. Friend. Of course, it is true that the stations, as I have said before, operate outside the law. The figure is 49, but they have long since stopped reporting individual cases, so that the actual instances are much more than that.

Sir Knox Cunningham

Could the right hon. Gentleman say in what period those 49 instances occurred?

Mr. Short

Pirate radio ships started up with Radio Caroline in March, 1964, when the Conservative Government were in office, and that was when action should have been taken, of course.

Mr. Bob Brown

Bearing in mind the way in which Australia has dealt with her first pirate radio station, will my right hon. Friend consult with his hon. Friend the Minister of Defence for the Royal Navy with a view to some combined operation?

Mr. Short

We have considered many things, of course, but our aim has been to avoid violence and to do this in accordance with the Council of Europe convention.