§ Q1. Mr. Donald Stewartasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 6 December.
§ The Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. John Biffen)I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend is returning from a meeting of the European Council in Athens.
§ Mr. StewartIn the light of the virtually unanimous expression of opinion from every part of the House yesterday on the Lebanon, and in view of the suggestions of a joint Israeli/United States attack on Syria, IA ill the right hon. Gentleman represent to his right hon. Friend the Prime Minister that the whole issue could be defused and people brought to their senses by the immediate withdrawal of the British force from the Lebanon?
§ Mr. BiffenI shall do as the right hon. Gentleman suggests and draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to his point. I am sure he will appreciate that at Athens one of the topics covered was the Lebanon, and that will feature in the report that my right hon. Friend will be making to the House tomorrow.
§ Mr. KinnockIs the right hon. Gentleman aware of the obvious concern that exists in all parts of the House over the fact that our troops are being unjustifiably endangered in Beirut because of American policies which Her Majesty's Government cannot control, influence, or, it appears, agree with? Will he, from his position of influence, work to ensure that British troops are home from the Lebanon by Christmas?
§ Mr. BiffenNo one who was present in the House yesterday afternoon could not be aware of the widespread anxiety that exists about our troops in the Lebanon. That is something that does not need to be represented to the Government because the Government share that anxiety, sharing as they do the responsibility for the presence of our troops in the Lebanon. The position of the troops is under constant review and that review will take account of the events that happen day by day, including recent events concerning the Americans and the Syrians. As I have said, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will be reporting to the House tomorrow following the Athens discussions. As they covered the Lebanon, I think that it will be appropriate for us also to have in mind my right hon. Friend's report.
§ Mr. KinnockI am encouraged by the news that there is a review, which represents a significant shift from the position that was taken by the Under-Secretary of State yesterday. Will the right hon. Gentleman assure me that, in the course of the review, due weight will be attached to the attitudes of the British people on this matter, as they are widely represented in the House? I remind the right hon. Gentleman of his words to me last Tuesday, in the hope that they will assist with the review. He said:
It is in the nature of our authority"—that is Britain's authority—that we have to secure it largely through influencing the alliances to which we belong." — [Official Report, 29 November 1983; Vol. 49, c. 762.]If the review does not conclude with the withdrawal of the British troops, what authority, what influence, and, in terms of the Lebanon, what real alliance?
§ Mr. BiffenThis is a serious matter, which commands attention throughout the House. I am certain that the right hon. Gentleman would not wish to make mischief over it, because there is nothing in what I have said this afternoon that is in contradistinction to what was said yesterday afternoon by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Public opinion is one of the factors that must influence any Government. I am certain that the sombre mood in the House yesterday afternoon was but a dimension of public opinion.
§ Mr. HoltDid my right hon. Friend hear the report this morning by the BBC correspondent, Christopher Drake, who has had more first-hand experience of the Lebanon during the past few months than any hon. Member? He said that it would be an utter disaster for the British forces to be withdrawn at this stage and that their continued presence in the Lebanon was the most stabilising factor in keeping the peace in that area.
§ Mr. BiffenI did not hear that radio report, but it is true that the modest British force has a responsibility to protect the Ceasefire Commission, and it has been discharging that duty with great distinction. It has earned the support of many countries in the middle east, including Syria.
§ Q2. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 6 December.
§ Mr. BiffenI have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. HughesHas there been any change in Government policy regarding American bases in this country? I heard a report that parts of cruise missiles were 158 coming into Britain via Barry docks for storage at Caerwent. When I took this matter up with the Ministry of Defence I was informed by Lord Trefgarne that he could not even attempt to answer the question. Previously, we were reassured that there was no nuclear presence at Caerwent. Will the Lord Privy Seal shed some light on the matter, as it is causing anxiety?
§ Mr. BiffenI am not sure what the hon. Gentleman wants illuminated, but I assure him that British policy over the bases of our NATO allies remains unchanged, as does our desire that this country should remain a part of NATO and our determination that we should not succumb to the blandishments of the unilateralists and the neutralists.
§ Mr. TraceyDid my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal hear, or read the transcript, of the interview yesterday with the editor of The Sunday Times on BBC radio about the arm-twisting employed by the National Graphical Association on that editor's newspaper over the weekend? Does he agree that the cuts imposed on the editorial in that newspaper represent a serious threat to freedom of speech, and where will it all end?
§ Mr. BiffenAgain, I must disappoint another of my hon. Friends by saying that I did not have the opportunity of hearing that broadcast. Any attempt to impose cuts on editorials would be deprecated throughout the House.
§ Mr. BarnettDo the Government still hold the view that the Americans in Beirut are acting in self-defence?
§ Mr. BiffenAs my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday, the recent attack on the Syrian positions was deemed to be an act of self-defence on the part of the Americans.
§ Mr. BeithDo the Government intend to ignore the defeat that they suffered yesterday in another place on an amended motion declaring that the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983 did not meet the requirements of the European Court of Justice or the European Community?
§ Mr. BiffenThat action will be considered along with the Government's other pressing problems.
§ Mr. BiffenI have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. StrawI return to the subject of Lebanon. Have the British Government been informed of the nature of the agreement made last week between the United States and Israel? If so, what are its terms?
§ Mr. BiffenI am not in a position to answer that question, and therefore will not seek to do so.
§ Mr. SoamesIn view of the objections to the use of self-defence by the Americans, will my right hon. Friend confirm that, in the event of our troops being attacked, air power will be available to us?
§ Mr. BiffenMy hon. Friend makes a fair point that needs to be made.
§ Mr. FauldsIs any Member of the Government in a position to say whether the British Government were consulted before the Americans drew up their new strategic agreement with Israel?
§ Mr. BiffenI have no doubt that the normal arrangements that exist between the allies were pursued, but, as I said to the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw), I am not in a position to answer that question and will not, therefore, attempt to do so.
§ Mr. AmeryDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the murder of nearly 300 American marines by forces supported by the Syrian Government left the Americans no alternative? Will he also assure the House that if British forces suffer any casualties we will hit back just as hard? [Interruption.] Does he agree that any talk of withdrawing from the multinational force at this stage would create a gratuitous rift in the only alliance on which peace depends?
§ Mr. BiffenAny retaliatory action undertaken by British forces in that part of the middle east must be related to the military potential at their command. We would be unwise to think otherwise. The wider issue of the multinational force must be under constant review and consideration by the allies working in concert. The meeting on Thursday of the Foreign Ministers involved with the multinational force will be the occasion for the next exchanges.
§ Q4. Mr. Marlowasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 6 December.
§ Mr. BiffenI have beenasked to reply.
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. MarlowWill my right hon. Friend advise the Camden Women Against Cruise who decided recently at a meeting of the Kentish Town Women's Workshop that it would ambark upon a policy of flashing at Greenham Common, not to bother and to watch instead the film "The Day After" so that it might realise that the main reason why such a disaster has not been inflicted on these islands during the past 40 years is that we have had an independent nuclear deterrent?
§ Mr. BiffenMy hon. Friend's advice is well-directed. I am sure that there would be much merit in those women watching "The Day After", as they would then realise what 160 we are seeking to deter, and would conclude that in the post-war generation the world had been preserved from nuclear warfare.
§ Mr. LeadbitterIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the trial for high treason in South Africa of Commodore Dieter Gerhardt is being held in camera on the pretext that what will be revealed will be embarrassing to certain Western countries? Is he further aware that the commodore visited Gibraltar, had contacts with naval intelligence personnel and had considerable influence in Simonstown, where our naval vessels were being refuelled? Is the right hon. Gentleman further aware that at the height of the Falklands incident Exocet missiles were being transported from Cape Town to Argentina? Given the United Kingdom's interest in this matter, will the right hon. Gentleman discuss with the Prime Minister the need to refer it to the Security Commission?
§ Mr. BiffenThe hon. Gentleman makes a detailed allegation which deserves to be treated seriously. I understand that it was concluded that the gentleman in question was in possession of only very low grade information, but I shall refer that point to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.
§ Q5. Mr. Foxasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 6 December.
§ Mr. BiffenI have been asked to reply.
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. FoxIs my right hon. Friend aware that CND has re-stated its policy of British withdrawal from NATO? Does he agree that that is just the sort of action calculated to give aid and comfort to its friends in the Communist countries?
§ Mr. BiffenI entirely agree with my hon. Friend. If CND's policy goes beyond weapons and to the wider foreign policy issues and seeks to take Britain out of the Alliance, which has been the cornerstone of security for the post-war generation, the public will realise that CND means neutralism and unilateralism.