§ 20. Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government have put to the Geneva Disarmament Conference on the inclusion of herbicides in the Geneva Protocol.
§ Mr. George ThomsonNone, Sir.
§ Mr. DalyellIs there not an odd contrast between virtuous statements on biological warfare and remaining silent on certain immediate issues of chemical warfare?
§ Mr. ThomsonNo, I do not think so. I understand and sympathise with my hon. Friend's point of view. This is a difficult matter and it is hard to say the best way of making practical progress. We feel that the best way forward is to concentrate on the biological warfare convention because that form of warfare is at a sufficiently early stage to make good progress possible. My hon. Friend is an expert on the question of herbicides, and he knows that there is a dispute 20 about the existing legal position under customary international law.