HC Deb 02 June 1967 vol 747 cc444-6
The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. William Rodgers)

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I wish to make a statement on Miss Winifred Davies.

The House will have seen reports of the tragic death in the Congo of the British missionary, Miss Winifred Davies. While I do not have absolute confirmation of these reports, I regret to say that Her Majesty's Ambassador at Kinshasa believes that there is no doubt that Miss Davies was killed during an engagement between Congolese forces and rebels near Opienge on Sunday, 28th May.

Miss Davies was a medical missionary engaged by the World Wide Evangelical Crusade for service with the Heart of Africa Mission. She was captured by rebels when they overran the mission station nearly three years ago. Since that time, our Ambassador has done all in his power to urge the Congolese authorities to take what steps they could to secure Miss Davies' release.

We have always realised that a military rescue operation could endanger Miss Davies' life, but reports from various sources led us to hope that the rebel leader, Ngalo, might be induced to surrender if a favourable opportunity presented itself.

We could not ourselves, of course, organise a relief expedition, but our Defence Attache at Kinshasa kept in touch with the Congolese military command. On several occasions he offered to arrange the supply of material which was especially required for the particular operations they had in mind; owing to internal difficulties, however, these operations never took place as planned.

Members will wish me to convey their sympathy to Miss Davies' relatives and to the missionary society, with whom we have kept in close touch throughout.

Mr. Eldon Griffiths

On behalf of the Opposition, may I express our sympathy to Miss Davies's family, and her friends in Wrexham, and to all her colleagues in the World Wide Evangelical Crusade? May I also say how much we deplore the continuing violence in the Congo, in which innocent people are caught up, and our regret at the inability of the congolese Government to bring this under control?

Arising from the statement, and from the fact that British citizens have been subject to a great deal of harassment, and not only in the Congo, over recent weeks, may I ask the Minister three specific questions?

First, can the Minister say exactly what steps the British Government took to obtain Miss Davies' release, bearing in mind the fact that this lady was over 50 years of age and had been held for three years in the most difficult and possibly terrifying circumstances? I am sure the House will want to know that the British authorities did their very utmost to obtain release for her. Can he also say what has happened to her body and what steps the Congolese Government are now taking to bring to justice those who killed or murdered her?

Secondly, is it correct that other missionaries are now held in the Congo, and, if so, how many of them are British, and what steps are being taken to ensure their safety?

Finally, what representations have the Government made to the Congolese Government about Miss Davies' death, and what steps is the Minister taking to obtain compensation for Miss Davies' relatives as a result of her untimely murder?

Mr. Rodgers

What I think the House must realise, because it has a great bearing on what the hon. Gentleman has said, is that a large part of the Congo is in a state of chaos. There is very little law and order outside the main centres of population and this means that whatever the Congolese Government try to do they are struggling with a very difficult situation indeed.

In addition, the place where Miss Davies was killed is 600 or 700 miles from Kinshasa, in very inaccessible countryside.

We made representations on every possible occasion that whatever steps could be taken should be taken to ensure her release, but, as I said in my statement, there was always the calculation involved about whether, if we mounted an opera- tion, it would be successful, or result in the sort of outcome which we have now seen. At one stage, we believed that a mercenary operation might come off, but that failed to happen. At the end of the day, it was the Congolese authorities themselves who were doing their best in very difficult circumstances to try and bring Miss Davies out alive.

As I have said, at the moment we only have reports of her death. We have no final confirmation. We believe that her body is where it was at the time that she was killed. Working through the Congolese authorities, we will try to have it brought out. In this respect, however, no blame lies with the Congolese authorities. For this reason, it is not clear at the moment whether the question of compensation arises, but I will look into it closely and find out what is the precise position.

I cannot, offhand, tell the House how many British missionaries there are in the Congo, but, to the best of my knowledge, there are no other British missionaries held by rebels at the present time.

Mr. Dalyell

Is my hon. Friend aware that, in the light of 18 months of correspondence with the Foreign Office on Miss Davies' case, I am convinced that, throughout, the British authorities in the Congo and the Foreign Office have done their best in extremely difficult circumstances to help this brave lady, and that there should be no question of blame?

Mr. Rodgers

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am sure that his sentiments will be appreciated by those in Kinshasa.

Mr. James Griffiths

Is my hon. Friend aware that there is wide appreciation of the action by his Department? Since I gather that he cannot even confirm now that Miss Davies is dead, may I be assured that he will continue his researches to find out what is the position?

Mr. Rodgers

I can certainly give that assurance, but it would be wrong for me to hold out any hope. The fact that we have no real confirmation is, as I have said, because of the nature of the countryside. All that we can do is rely upon reports which we believe to be accurate.