§ 1. Mr. SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when was the last time that direct information was received about the condition of the British hostages in Kashmir; and if he will make a statement. [683]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Sir Nicholas Bonsor)I apologise for the absence of my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary, who is accompanying Her Majesty the Queen on the state visit to Thailand.
We are deeply concerned about Keith Mangan and Paul Wells. The last proof of life we received was on 29 August 1995. We continue to work closely with all the countries concerned, in a joint attempt to find the kidnap victims.
§ Mr. SimpsonThis is the 485th day that my constituents, Paul Wells and Keith Mangan, have been in captivity. Will the Minister explain why, in all that time, no Minister has come before the House to give us a detailed statement on the Government's knowledge on the hostages' state of health or state of existence? Why has no information been given to the House about the organisations with which the Government are working, about the nature of their contacts with the Kashmiri community and about the specific action that is being taken to secure the hostages' prompt release? Will the Minister assure us that—before the hostages reach an anniversary of 500 days in captivity—a Minister will come before the House to give us an opportunity to know in detail what the Government are doing to secure the hostages' safe release?
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorI am extremely surprised to hear those comments from the hon. Gentleman. My office has made every effort to keep him fully informed of our efforts to find out about, and, we hope, obtain the release of, the hostages. It would not help the hostages if we were to release all the information available to us. I have told the hon. Gentleman and the House that we have had no proof of life since August 1995. We are making every effort—with other members of the G4, our allies—to find the hostages. We have kept constantly in touch with the families, who know absolutely what the Government are doing. We are working to the best of our abilities with America, Germany and Norway to find the hostages, and the hon. Gentleman is being extremely unfair if he is implying that there is something that we should be doing that we are not doing. It is open to him, or to anyone else who has a suggestion, to make it.
§ Mr. DevlinI thank my hon. Friend for that suggestion, because there is a feeling on Teesside that Keith Mangan has been neglected. Although I know that my hon. Friend and his colleagues have made great efforts to keep me informed of the efforts that are being made in Kashmir—for which the Mangan family and I are deeply grateful— 632 the public perception is increasingly that more could be done. Now that we have reached the 485th day, I should very much welcome an opportunity to visit the Minister and his officials to discuss specific measures—before we reach the two-year mark, when it will be even more difficult to find those people.
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorMy right hon. Friend the Minister of State has frequently been in touch with the families, and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary met them last week in India. There is no question of any members of either family being unaware of the Government's efforts. We keep in touch with them arid listen carefully to what they have to say to us. We have also kept my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton, South (Mr. Devlin) fully informed. If he wishes to come to see me or any of my ministerial colleagues, as he knows, our doors are always open.
§ Mr. MaddenWill the Minister confirm that well-known Kashmiri political leaders have condemned hostage taking and have demanded the immediate release of hostages alive and well? Those concerns have been reinforced by numerous public demonstrations by the people of Kashmir against hostage taking. Will the Minister explain why several offers by Kashmiri political leaders to mediate and to attempt to locate the hostages have not been taken up?
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorI am not aware that any such offer that could be taken seriously has not been taken up. The Government are in close contact with Kashmiri leaders. We have had unsubstantiated reports of sightings of the hostages. We have also had unsubstantiated reports of their death. It is difficult to get to the truth in that troubled province of India. We have made every effort to find the hostages and we shall continue to do so.