§ Q2. Mr. Martenasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his talks with King Faisal.
§ The Prime MinisterI would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 6th June to a Question by the hon. Member for Shrewsbury (Sir J. LangfordHolt).—[Vol. 747, c. 789–91.]
§ Mr. MartenDoes not the Prime Minister agree that much of the good will engendered by this State visit has been lost by the unfortunate timing of remarks by Government spokesmen, including the Prime Minister, about the closing of the Gulf of Aqaba? What firm proposals does the Prime Minister have for mending our fences with our Arab friends?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman will recollect the deep division at the time of King Faisal's visit, even before the problems of the Gulf of Aqaba became real, but when we debated this issue, before the fighting began, the vast majority of hon. Members—there were one or two exceptions on both sides of the House—felt that what the Government had said about the Straits of Aqaba represented the views of the majority of the House.