THE BEIRA PATROL (Hansard, 27 May 1971)

§ LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYE
My Lords. I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
[The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will state the present yearly cost rate to Britain of maintaining the Beira patrol and whether, in view of Rhodesia's sufficiency of oil, exemplified by the recent abolition of petrol rationing, Her Majesty's Government will inform the United Nations that Britain is unwilling to continue to bear the cost of the patrol.]

§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, SCOTTISH OFFICE (BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE)
My Lords, as my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy said in another place on May 13, the annual extra cost of maintaining the Beira patrol continues at about £400,000, mainly due to aircraft support costs. With regard to the future of the patrol, the position remains as my noble friend the Secretary of State for Defence stated in his reply to the noble Lord, Lord Shinwell, on March 11, that while the Government are exploring the possibilities of a just settlement of the Rhodesia problem, sanctions, including the Beira patrol, will be continued.

§ LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYE
My Lords, arising out of that reply, may I ask the Minister this question? Quite apart from the question of sanctions, which we shall have to return to when the present Order expires. is not this really rather a silly expenditure, a needless ex- 1286 penditure, and could not the Government put that point to the United Nations? No one can really justify this expenditure, because it does not do any good.

§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE
My Lords, the purpose of the patrol is to prevent oil reaching Rhodesia from the port of Beira, and the patrol has achieved this, because the refinery at Umtali has remained closed. I do not think this is the moment to put anything to the Security Council when we are proceeding with negotiations.

§ LORD PARGITER
My Lords, can the noble Baroness say what would be the cost of maintaining the same aircraft and vessels, as presumably they would not be put out of commission, if they were not at Beira?

§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE
My Lords, my noble friend the Secretary of State has always said that so far as naval vessels are concerned, Her Majesty's Government are involved in no extra cost, as they would in any case be deployed somewhere.

§ LORD BARNBY
My Lords, may I ask the Minister whether it is the intention to charge the United Nations with the costs incurred to date, as it is understood that Portugal are following this practice with regard to the losses sustained by her as a result of this action? Secondly, may I ask the noble Baroness, since a reply on the Beira patrol in the early part of the year contained the words, The Government have already announced their intention of exploring the possibilities of a just settlement with Rhodesia.… whether she is in a position now to state. or hopes that it may be possible for the Government shortly to state, what is the progress of those negotiations?

§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE
My Lords, the answer to the first question is, No. The answer to the second question is, that is another question.

§ LORD BARNBY
My Lords, since I quoted words from a reply by the Government to a Question on Beira, would it not appear that it was an associated point? Secondly, may I ask why we do not bill up to the United Nations what our ally Portugal sees fit to charge in comparable circumstances?

§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE
My Lords, there are many obligations which we undertake on behalf of the United Nations, and we do not give an account for those obligations to the United Nations. As regards the first part of the noble Lord's supplementary question, if he will look at the Question on the Order Paper, he will see that it does not refer to negotiations and, therefore, I could not refer to them myself.

§ LORD WYNNE-JONES
My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that very many of us heartily support the Government in their action in supporting international authority?

§ LORD GRIMSTON OF WESTBURY
My Lords, would not Her Majesty's Government agree that the Beira patrol has not prevented petrol reaching Rhodesia in such quantities that they have even been enabled to give up rationing? Does it really make sense for us to go on spending £400,000 a year on this useless patrol?

§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE
My Lords, my noble friend the Secretary of State for Defence has never said that by having the Beira patrol we could prevent all oil reaching Rhodesia. As I said in an earlier answer, what this patrol has achieved is to prevent oil reaching Rhodesia from the port of Beira.

§ LORD SLATER
My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that it is one of the easiest things, as has been proved, for oil to go in through the back door in various parts of the world in which we have had other commitments. Following what the noble Lord, Lord Wynne-Jones, said, may I say that some of us are pleased to think that the Government are prepared to take that stand in regard to the sanctions already taken by the previous Administration.