HC Deb 22 October 1968 vol 770 cc1066-7
3. Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is now taking to reassure Her Majesty's loyal subjects in the Falkland Islands of the continuing determination of Her Majesty's Government to protect their right to continue to enjoy the protection of the British Crown.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Frederick Mulley)

As my right hon. Friend explained to the House on 26th March and on 1st April, and as I said in reply to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 15th October, there will be no transfer of sovereignty against the wishes of the people of the Islands.—[Vol, 761. c. 1458–67; Vol. 762, c. 4; Vol. 770, c. 103.]

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

While welcoming what the right hon. Gentleman has just said, may I ask whether he is not aware that there is anxiety in the Islands in view of the series of transactions with the Argentine? Can he not contemplate an imaginative gesture of arranging either a Royal or a Parliamentary visit or by some method trying to reassure the islanders of our continued interest in our most loyal fellow citizens?

Mr. Mulley

As my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs said in July, we are considering the possibility of a Ministerial visit. I think, however, that the anxiety which, I acknowledge, exists in the Islands comes from misleading Press comment in this country than from anything that arises from the activities of Her Majesty's Government.

Mr. Braine

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House why, if the Government do not contemplate any transfer of sovereignty, the subject of sovereignty still continues to be the subject of discussion and negotiation with the Argentine?

Mr. Mulley

It is not that we have never contemplated the transfer of sovereignty but such a transfer would only be made if it conformed with the wishes of the islanders. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have the problem of the United Nations resolution which we have to try to follow, and we also have the problem of improving relations between the Falkland Islands and the Argentine.