§ Q1. Mr. Pikeasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today.
§ Mr. PikeWill the Prime Minister say why she remained silent about the letter from British Aerospace while the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry misled the House yesterday afternoon?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not accept that my right hon. and learned Friend misled the House. Indeed, he gave a clear explanation. As the hon. Gentleman is aware from answers that have been given many times by me, it is my practice not to publish exchanges with third parties, nor to reveal them, if they are marked "Private and strictly confidential." I hope that if anyone writes a letter to right 919 hon. and hon. Gentlemen which is marked "Private and strictly confidential", it will not be our practice to flaunt either its existence or contents on the Floor of the House.
§ Q2. Mr. Squireasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. SquireI thank my right hon. Friend for the support that the Government gave to me in reducing secrecy in local government. Will she now review the Official Secrets Act 1911 at national level, especially section 2, in the 75th year of its existence with a view to replacing it with a freedom of information Act?
§ The Prime MinisterI congratulate my hon. Friend on the passage of his Bill, which is due to come into effect shortly. As he knows, we had one attempt in 1979 at changing the Official Secrets Act because many people found it not to their liking, but that change did not obtain the consent of the House.
§ Mr. KinnockWill the Prime Minister now publish the Westland documents of 4 and 18 October? Since Sir Austin Pearce has now given his permission, will she also publish the letter that she received from British Aerospace yesterday?
§ The Prime MinisterMy Office has been in touch with Sir Austin Pearce. It is my intention to consult him later today. I recognise the importance that the letter has assumed, and I shall consult him about publication.
§ Q3. Mr. Forthasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. ForthBearing in mind the Government's responsibility for police planning in operational matters, has my right hon. Friend in her quieter moments had time to study the Metropolitan police report on the Tottenham riots? Is she as horrified as I am by the facts in it, and even more horrified at the reaction of mad Bernie Grant and the Haringey council, who accused the police of lying? Will she give the House an assurance that she and her Government will continue to support the police in their work throughout the country in protecting the innocent against the wicked?
§ The Prime MinisterYes. I gladly give that assurance. The overwhelming majority of our citizens suppport the police in their difficult task and the very difficult judgments that they have sometimes to make.
§ Mr. SteelMay I revert to the question asked by the hon. Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire)? Does the Prime Minister remember several highly publicised prosecutions in the past few years of public servants for alleged breaches of section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911? As, in the past few days, there have been massive breaches of section 2 by members of the Government, will they be prosecuted, or will she declare the section dead?
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman is aware that prosecutions are not for me. He is also aware that we tried to amend the Official Secrets Act during 1979–80. It went through considerable debate. Many people wanted change, but we have not yet got agreement on what the changes should be.
§ Q5. Mr. Doverasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. DoverOn the question of the Channel link, will my right hon. Friend assure the House that the Government will make a decision for one of the schemes as put forward, without changing it or the composition of any promoting group?
§ The Prime MinisterNegotiations about the Channel fixed link are continuing. I can only tell my hon. Friend that it is likely that we shall have to consider how far it would benefit users and be able to attract the finance necessary for the link.
§ Q6. Mr. Allen McKayasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. McKayIn reply to my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, the Prime Minister said that she would make public the letter to which he referred. Will she also give an assurance that she will make available to us the letters of 4 and 18 October?
§ The Prime MinisterI cannot necessarily agree to the latter part of what the hon. Gentleman said. I made it clear that my Office is in touch with Sir Austin Pearce. I intend to consult him later today about the possibility of the publication of those letters, because I recognise that they have become a major issue and that the House is likely to wish to see their publication in time for the debate tomorrow.
§ Mr. MoynihanIs my right hon. Friend aware of NALGO's blacking of my constituency correspondence with Lewisham council's housing department whereby an unrepresentative minority trade union clique is abusing its extraordinary power over Lewisham council, completely without regard for the damage to the interests of my constituents? Does my right hon. Friend agree that what is at stake here is a matter of principle, which should be of the utmost concern to hon. Members on both sides of the House?
§ The Prime MinisterI fully agree with my hon. Friend and understand that genuine concern has been expressed in all parts of the House when the matter has been raised before. It is quite wrong for correspondence to be hindered in this way, and fundamentally against democracy. We all wish my hon. Friend well in ending this offence.
§ Q7. Mr. Flanneryasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. FlanneryIf the Prime Minister has now been given permission to publish the contents of the letter from Sir Austin Pearce and British Aerospace, why does she need to have any further conversations with him? Is she worrying about something? Is there something that she has to hide? Why does she not publish the letter, having been given permission? There is no need for further discussion when the whole House—even those crowing behind her—want to know what is in the letter.
§ The Prime MinisterWith respect, I think that I have probably answered this question several times, but let me repeat the reply. The letter was marked "Private and strictly confidential". It is my invariable practice not to reveal publicly such correspondence without the permission of its author. It will continue to be my practice, because I think that that is the right procedure. I hope that it will be the practice of other right hon. and hon. Members. I therefore indicated—I have not yet replied to the letter, my Office has been in touch with Sir Austin—that it is my intention to consult Sir Austin later today about the possibility of publication. I know that the House will wish to have it published by tomorrow. It is my intention to be in touch about that.
§ Mr. WhitfieldDoes my right hon. Friend agree that perhaps the most encouraging aspect in the otherwise sorry state of the Westland helicopter company is the fact that she and her right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry regard letters that are marked as private and confidential as being private and confidential? Will she also agree with me that, if the right hon. prima donna Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine)—[Interruption.]—had understood the meaning of the words private and confidential, his political career would not be in the ruins which it is today?
§ The Prime MinisterWith regard to what my hon. Friend said about the letter, I have made clear my past practice, and I have made clear what I consider will be my future practice, because it is, I believe, the correct one.
§ Mr. D. E. ThomasWill the Prime Minister take this opportunity unreservedly to condemn the excessive use of force by a member of a private security firm apparently to be funded by the Home Office, against the non-violent person, Sue Pitman, at Carmarthen last Saturday?
§ The Prime MinisterIn general, of course, one always will condemn the use of unwarranted force. The only exception is self-defence. I do not know about the particular case and I am not able therefore to comment in detail on it. Perhaps the hon. Member will be in touch.
§ Q8. Mr. George Robertsonasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. RobertsonIs the Prime Minister aware that nine men have spent the last 10 days marching from Gartcosh steel mill in Scotland? Why will the Prime Minister not have the decency to meet them now that they are in London?
§ The Prime MinisterAs the hon. Gentleman is aware, I met the representatives of the Scottish TUC when I was in Glasgow last autumn, and also the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke). In addition, both the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister for Trade have offered to meet the people from Gartcosh. I do not see any further purpose in meeting them again.
§ Sir Kenneth LewisWill my right hon. Friend be replying to the letter that she has received from British Aerospace, and can she promise that, short of a simple acknowledgement, she will reply in public and not have it marked private and confidential?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is one of the reasons why I am consulting before the reply goes.
§ Q10. Mr. Wareingasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. WareingIn view of the fact that the letter from Sir Austin Pearce was marked "Private and confidential", will the Prime Minister tell the House why she made the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry aware of the letter before he arrived at the House? Will she say at what time yesterday she received the letter and at what time the Secretary of State was made aware of its contents?
§ The Prime MinisterI saw the letter shortly before I came to the House—
§ Mr. SkinnerTime.
§ The Prime MinisterWell, shortly before. I had been presiding over an official lunch, of which the hon. Gentleman may well know, and it was not until that had finished and I had said farewell to the guests that I was made aware of the letter and so came to the House very quickly.
§ Q11. Mr. Amessasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. AmessIs the Prime Minister aware that out of the 12 local authorities whose rates have been capped, five have not appealed against that decision? Does she agree that by not appealing against its rates being capped Basildon district council is admitting that it is extravagant in its expenditure?
§ The Prime MinisterI believe that is so. I also believe that many ratepayers will be very grateful for the rate-capping legislation that has passed through this House, which has curbed the level of rates that ratepayers would otherwise have had to pay.
§ Q14. Mr. Neil Thorneasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 January
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. ThorneWill my right hon. Friend take the opportunity to consider the possibility of making an official visit to the Kingdom of Nepal within the next 12 months?
§ The Prime MinisterI should very much like to do so.