§ 1. Mr. Dobsonasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will recommend to the Lord Chancellor that papers relating to the imposition of oil sanctions on Rhodesia during the period of illegal government should be released under section 5(1) of the Public Records Act 1958.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Richard Luce)No, Sir. It is not the practice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to release official papers less than 30 years old.
§ Mr. DobsonThe lamentable amnesty for sanction busters announced by the Attorney-General on 19 December 1979 makes it clear that no one risks prosecution if his traitorous and illegal activities are revealed. Why do the Government persist in covering up this information when it would be useful in future to know who was involved in these operations and what they were doing, bearing in mind that the Government are committed to the likelihood of mandatory sanctions against South Africa?
§ Mr. LuceI am surprised that the hon. Gentleman thinks that it was wrong to create an amnesty when it was right to create amnesties in so many other areas as part of the spirit of reconciliation in the new Zimbabwe. We decided that it was not in the public interest to disclose these documents.
§ Mr. StokesIs my hon. Friend aware that the supplementary question of the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras, South (Mr. Dobson) was, if not actually activated by malice, not meant to be helpful? Does he agree that the fiasco of oil sanctions should be left in a decent privacy and that no good purpose will be served by raking over these dead embers?