§ Q14. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his inquiries into the circumstances in which British passports may have been issued to terrorists acting against the illegal regime in Rhodesia.
§ The Prime MinisterAs the House knows Rhodesians of all races are United Kingdom nationals. It follows that, provided applicants can prove Rhodesian citizenship, our posts abroad have authority to issue British passports to them—and several thousand have been so issued since the illegal declaration of independence. These passports, which are made valid for six months at a time are not, of course, issued to people known to be terrorists; nor, if it subsequently came to light that a passport had been issued to a terrorist, would that passport be renewed when it expired. I am satisfied that our posts have been following their instructions correctly.