§ Q4. Mr. Rifkindasked the Prime Minister whether he will seek to pay an official visit to Moscow.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Blaker) on 8th November.
§ Mr. RifkindAs the Prime Minister is not actually going to Moscow, will he now take the opportunity to answer my hon. Friend's question whether he agrees with the Foreign Secretary's remarks in Moscow about the interests of the Soviet Union being the same as those of the United Kingdom?
§ The Prime MinisterThe Soviet Union, as a member of the Security Council, did not cast a vote against the Anglo-American initiative. That was very helpful, and it was that to which my right hon. Friend's remarks were related. I should add that before the initiative was taken I corresponded with General Secretary Brezhnev on the issue, explained to him that it was a serious initiative, and asked that the Soviet Union should consider it in that light and not as a propaganda device.
I believe that as a result of that correspondence the Soviet Union took what was perhaps the unusual course of not opposing the intiative and of allowing it to go forward. Therefore, I feel that my right hon. Friend was quite right to express his appreciation of that decision.
§ Mr. Greville JannerWill my right hon. Friend protest to the Soviet authorities at 1750 the continued detention of Yuri Orlov, Anatoli Sharanski, and of all those others detained for their attachment to human rights, and at the treatment of Academician Sakharov, one of the greatest leaders in the world today?
§ The Prime MinisterThe policy of Her Majesty's Government on that matter has been made very clear by the Foreign Secretary on numerous occasions. The policy remains the same as it was.
§ Mrs. ThatcherWill the Prime Minister give the House an assurance that there can be no successful conclusion to the Belgrade review of the Helsinki Agreements until those in Russia whose only offence was to monitor the agreements are released from detention?
§ The Prime MinisterI share the concern, which is widely felt throughout the House and the country, about certain cases. The Government have made a number of representations on the matter from time to time. At the Belgrade meeting the Western Powers as a whole made their position clear. It has not been met by an adequate response from the Soviet Union, and we shall continue to make representations in the way that we think is likely to be most effective. As I explained to the right hon. Lady on previous occasions—I think she accepts this—for the Government to make public denunciations is not always the best way to secure the release to which my hon. and learned Friend refers. Sometimes that can be helpful; at other times it is better to do it privately. But that is no reason why any private citizen in this country should restrain himself from making his position clear.
§ Mr. KinnockDoes my right hon. Friend accept that a good definition of the word "treacherous" might be "an hon. Member who goes to Rhodesia and gives aid and comfort to an enemy of the Crown, Ian Smith", as did the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton)?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I hope that we can use Question Time constructively, rather than throwing accusations from one side to the other on this matter. I pulled up the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Churchill) and I hope that the hon. Member for Bedwellty (Mr. Kinnock) will remember what I said.
§ Mr. KinnockMy point was entirely constructive—I assure you of that, Mr. Speaker. May I ask my right hon. Friend clearly to demonstrate-—hether it is to be in public or in private—that we on the Government side of the House do not discriminate in the cause of human liberty between those who abuse it in Rhodesia and those who subordinate it in Russia, and that consequently the proper posture for the Foreign Secretary of this country, the people of this country and the democratic Socialist movement of this country to adopt is to assert that cause of freedom anywhere in the world, in any country and against any tyrant?
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend and many others of my hon. Friends on the Back Benches have made their position clear on many occasions in relation to the situation in the Soviet Union and in Chile, Rhodesia and South Africa. I am not aware of any distinction. I hope that Opposition Members will make their position equally clear in relation to Rhodesia, in respect of which they seem to be extremely tender.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I ask you to ask the hon. Member for Bedwellty (Mr. Kinnock) to withdraw the accusations that he made against me in respect of the visit that I paid to Rhodesia.
§ Mr. SpeakerIf the hon. Gentleman had identified any hon. Member I would most certainly insist on the accusation being withdrawn. I understood that he was using his words in a general argument. But the hon. Member for Bedwellty (Mr. Kinnock) can clear the matter up in a second, if he makes it clear that he is not accusing anyone in this House of treachery.
§ Mr. KinnockIn one second. I was using a definition of the word "treacherous", and there appeared to be a practical example at hand.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. This is not a matter for argument across the Floor. The hon. Gentleman is not entitled to accuse anyone in this House of being treacherous, and if he has done so I shall request him to withdraw his accusation.
§ Mr. KinnockIn matters such as this, Mr. Speaker, I am sure that you would 1752 acknowledge—[Interruption.]—the defenders of free speech—
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Gentleman must be allowed to make himself clear, but I hope that he is not going to pursue an argument on the matter.
§ Mr. KinnockI think the best guide for my conduct on this subject, Mr. Speaker—though I would not dream of suggesting it to you—is that if caps are felt to fit, it is not an abuse; if they do not fit, the allegation is inaccurately made. If the cap does not fit, I withdraw the offer of the cap.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I accept the hon. Gentleman's withdrawal.