HL Deb 03 June 1981 vol 420 cc1222-3

2.51 p.m.

Lord Brockway

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 raise with the Government of the Republic of South Africa the case of Mr. Vaughn Webster, a white citizen, who is serving 50 days in a Namibian prison under the terms of the apartheid Group Areas Act for letting two flats to coloured persons in Walvis Bay.

Lord Skelmersdale

No, my Lords. On payment of a fine of 132 rand, Mr. Webster was released on 20th May having served six days of his sentence.

Lord Brockway

My Lords, may I congratulate the Minister on his new appointment and wish him success in it? May I ask him: is it not the case that this prominent white citizen, 62 years old, was released not because of the inhumanity of the charge against him, but because his wife paid the remainder of the fine so that they might celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary together? Is it not the case that Mr. Webster had declined to pay the fine in protest against the discriminatory Group Areas Act which forbade him to provide accommodation for coloured persons? Was he not deported 22 miles into Namibia despite the fact that the Act is not in operation there?

Lord Skelmersdale

Yes, my Lords, it is true, of course, that Mr. Webster's wife paid the fine after he had served six days of his sentence. This was according to South African law, and of course he operates under that law. As far as where the prison was, my understanding is that there were no satisfactory prison facilities in Walvis Bay and so he served his sentence in Namibia.

Lord Brockway

My Lords, may I ask the Minister whether the Government will express to the South African Government the strongest condemnation of this discriminative Act in Walvis Bay and of the imprisonment of this man in Namibia, where the Act does not even apply?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister fully expressed the Government's views when she stated on 26th July 1979 in another place: The policy of apartheid with its emphasis on separating peoples rather than bringing them together and all the harshness required to impose it on the South African population is wholly unacceptable". I think that makes the position crystal clear.

Lord Walston

My Lords, is it not illegal for a British subject to be imprisoned by the Republic of South Africa in a country which is not in fact South African territory? Cannot Her Majesty's Government take steps to remove this illegality, if it is in fact so?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, the South African Government is of course the administering authority in Walvis Bay, and this gentleman, Mr. Webster, who was a local politician there, was not a British citizen.