§ 3.57 p.m.
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I will, with permission, repeat a Statement now being made in the other place on the assassination of Sir Richard Sykes. The Statement reads as follows:
"Honourable Members will have been deeply shocked to hear this morning of the death of our Ambassador to the Netherlands, Sir Richard Sykes, and a member of his domestic staff, Mr. Karel Straub, a Dutch citizen. Sir Richard Sykes was shot while leaving his residence shortly after 9 o'clock this morning and four bullets were fired at the car at short range. According to an eye witness, the shots were fired by two men who have not yet been traced and no organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the incident. We are in close contact with the Dutch Government and with other European Governments.
"I know the entire House will be appalled by this premeditated act of violence and will join with me in expressing our sincere condolences to Lady Sykes and her family and to the family of Mr. Straub.
Sir Richard was an outstanding representative and his death is a great loss to this country, of which he was a distinguished servant; to the Diplomatic Service, of which he was a greatly liked and respected member; 1283 and, above all, to his wife and family, to whom we will all wish to extend our deepest sympathy".
§ Lord CARRINGTONMy Lords, in common probably with a number of your Lordships, I had known Sir Richard Sykes for a number of years, and it was a very great shock to hear the news this morning. He was not just a distinguished member of the Foreign Service, though he was certainly that; he was, too, a distinguished soldier during the war, but he was also one of the nicest and best friends anybody could have. I join with the noble Lord, Lord Goronwy-Roberts, in sending our sympathy to Lady Sykes and her family, and of course to the family of Mr. Straub.
§ Lord GLADWYNMy Lords, once again we must condemn an apparently senseless assassination and mourn the death of a brilliant and devoted public servant, to whose widow and family all our sympathy must naturally go out. What can be done to prevent possible future such outrages will, I have no doubt, be done; and while all necessary precautions will of course be taken, I am afraid that no security can be absolute. The sad fact is that a really fanatical and determined murderer will very often be able to kill, so our long-term hope, I suggest, can only be that the present wave of mad terrorism will subside when it becomes clear that no objective of the terrorist is in practice achieved by useless individual acts of violence.
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, the House will unanimously join the two noble Lords and myself in the expressions of sympathy which have already been extended. In particular I endorse what the noble Lord, Lord Gladwyn, said about the enormity of the problem of achieving absolute security. The situation in this respect is being improved in the light of experience and following innovation, but we must all be most careful as to the possibilities of senseless acts of violence being perpetrated in the future by organisations and individuals over which and whom it is impossible to have total supervision and to exert total prevention.
1284 I was particularly moved by what the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, had to say about Sir Richard himself; I agree with the noble Lord. In peace as in war Sir Richard served this country with distinction and courage, and his death was in the line of duty, as one might expect. I, too, can claim friendship with Richard Sykes, and I know that what noble Lord, Lord Carrington, said about him is certainly true. He was a man who combined integrity and intellect to a remarkable degree.