HL Deb 14 April 1983 vol 441 cc306-8

3.17 p.m.

Lord Jenkins of Putney

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what inquiries and respresentations they have made to the Government of Mozambique concerning the murder in Maputo of Ruth First, a distinguished British subject, and whether responsibility for the murder has been established.

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, our ambassador has been in close contact with the Mozambican authorities about this sad case. The Mozambican authorities are continuing their investigations but have not as yet been able to establish who was responsible.

Lord Jenkins of Putney

My Lords, the noble Lord will agree that this is a very sad business indeed and he will also agree that it is now a very considerable time since the murder took place. Is the noble Earl in a position to bring any further pressure to bear in the matter so that we may know more details of what investigation has taken place and what further steps may be possible?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, as I understand it, our embassy in Maputo is in contact with the Mozambican authorities, who are pursuing their investigations as to how, why and by whom this dastardly act was committed. I am afraid that I cannot give the noble Lord any more details than that.

Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos

My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that grave allegations have been made and have been reported in the British press that this is part of the South African campaign of destabilisation in this area? Of course there are many other cases as the noble Lord is aware. To what extent are Her Majesty's Government making representations to the South African Government about this?—because the consequences, if it increases and develops in that area, could be disastrous not only for the area itself, but for this country and the world at large.

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, if that were so, I should agree with the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition. But I would emphasise his word "allegations". Nothing has so far been proved and it could very well turn out that there was another reason for this sad act.

Lord Milford

My Lords, why look for the answer in Mozambique, in Maputo? Is it not much more likely to find the answer here in England? Are the Government not aware that in 1980 a South African self-confessed spy gave details of accredited diplomats at the South African Embassy who were in fact operatives of the South African National Intelligence Service and were producing files on individuals and organisations opposed to apartheid? Is the Minister aware that the report specifically mentioned a bulging file on Ruth First?

Lord Skelmersdale

No, my Lords, I was not aware of that, although I have no doubt that the noble Lord's information is correct and this was a published fact. However, in the event, I do not believe that any useful purpose would be served by setting up an inquiry in this country, thus cutting across the official Mozambique investigation. And of course the reason for such an inquiry stems from events which took place in Mozambique.

Lord Hatch of Lusby

My Lords, will the noble Lord agree that Ruth First was one of the great herioc figures in the African nationalist movement of this century, and that she was a British citizen simply because she had been incarcerated for 117 days in a South African prison? Is he further aware that she is the fourth of my own personal friends who has been murdered in suspicious circumstances as a part of their life's work against apartheid? Will he give the House an assurance that the British Government are aware of the widespread activities of the South African security and intelligence forces, and that they will accept their responsibility to protect all British subjects against such attacks in the future?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, we can only protect British subjects when we know of their existence; in other words, in this particular case, Miss First was, I am informed, not registered at the embassy in Maputo and nobody knew that she was, in fact, a British citizen. Contrary to what the noble Lord has said, Miss First was born in South Africa and she acquired British nationality, not because she was in a gaol, but when she was resident in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, working, among other things, as a lecturer in sociology at Durham. As the noble Lord says, she was very deeply involved in South African liberation politics. But I must repeat, we do not know who was responsible for her death.

Lord Jenkins of Putney

My Lords, will the noble Lord draw the attention of our ambassador to what has been said in the supplementary questions, ask him for a report and seek to make a statement at a later date?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, I am not quite sure about the propriety of making a statement at a later date, but, as regards the first part of the noble Lord's supplementary question, most certainly I shall do that.

Lord Hatch of Lusby

My Lords, just for the record, would the noble Lord agree that Ruth First was in this country solely because she had been imprisoned in her own country, in South Africa, and had been allowed to leave South Africa in order to come to this country? That was how she acquired British citizenship.

Lord Skelmersdale

No, my Lords, she acquired British citizenship because she was here in this country working for a long enough period to fulfil that particular criterion.

Lord Milford

My Lords, would the Minister not agree that it might be a good idea to vet South African people coming here as diplomats and, if they have a suspicious past, to withhold their visas?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, with respect, that is a totally different question.