§ Lord BROCKWAYMy 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 when the investigation of the Bingham Inquiry into allegations that Shell and British Petroleum have evaded oil sanctions against Rhodesia is likely to be completed, and whether their report will be published.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, FOREIGN and COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (Lord Goronwy-Roberts)My Lords, Mr. Bingham's Inquiry has entered its concluding stages, but we cannot yet predict when he will be ready to submit his report. So far as publication is concerned, the Southern Rhodesia (United Nations Sanctions) (No. 2) Order 1968, 2 under which the Inquiry was established, places certain restrictions on the disclosure of material produced for the purpose of the Inquiry. My right honourable friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary will not be able to reach a decision on this until he has received and studied the report.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I should like to ask the Minister whether, in view of the urgency of the present situation in Zimbabwe, it is not desirable that the report should be published as soon as possible? Secondly, regarding publicity, is it not desirable that the public should be aware of the influence of corporations in applying sanctions which have been enacted by Legislatures?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, my reply to the second point is, Yes, certainly. With regard to the first point—publication—I can only repeat that the order itself contains provision for care to be taken with regard to the disclosure of material produced for the purpose of an Inquiry such as this. I repeat that my right honourable friend will very carefully consider the report from the point of view of how much should be published, and what form publication should take.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, is the Minister able to say whether the terms of reference of the Inquiry cover what has 3 happened since the Inquiry was established? Has he seen the charges by the Haslemere Group—responsible researchers—that sanctions are still being broken privately by subsidiaries of these companies?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I am sure that the terms of reference are wide enough to embrace the sources and the considerations which my noble friend has mentioned.