§ 8. Mr. Raymond Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will consider the progressive abolition of the Diplomatic Service, and its replacement by a purely consular service, in view of the declining importance of ambassadorial functions and duties.
§ Mr. MulleyNo, Sir.
§ Mr. FletcherI thank my right hon. Friend for that slap in the face. May I suggest to him that our right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary might not run into the difficulties that he had with the previous Question if my suggestion were adopted? Secondly, does not he realise that behind the rather exaggerated language of this Question lies a real concern that our Foreign Service should be more geared to commercial activities of a kind that produced the magnificent Rolls Royce coup this weekend, rather than to diplomatic activities, in the traditional sense of the term?
§ Mr. MulleyIt would be an extreme act to abolish the Diplomatic Service in order to avoid my right hon. Friend's having to answer Questions about appointments to it. As to the second point, I entirely agree that priority in the Diplomatic Service lies in the commercial field. That is our policy. There has been a substantial increase in the amount of commercial work. What I cannot agree is that this can be done without any diplomatic activity to support it. The direct contact that we have through our diplomats, with Heads of Government and civil servants in other countries, has not only political but, in my judgment, commercial value.
§ Mr. David SteelIn considering the cuts in public expenditure will the Minister undertake to prune some staff, particularly non-diplomatic staff in our embassies? Is he aware that sometimes the proportion between technical supporting 11 staff and diplomatic staff is quite unreasonable?
§ Mr. MulleyWithout notice I would not be able to go into detail, but obviously, if the hon. Gentleman is concerned with non-diplomatic staff he should address his questions to the Ministers responsible for the people he has in mind.