HC Deb 10 May 1976 vol 911 c30W
Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are his latest estimates of the number and main countries of residence of British protected persons who are not patrial and have no other citizenship.

Mr. Luard

There are about 184,000 British protected persons in the Solomon Islands, which is the sole remaining British protectorate. Numbers of British protected persons residing elsewhere are not on record, but the total for all other countries including the United Kingdom, but excluding those in Brunei who are Brunei nationals, may be in the region of 350,000.

No British protected person can be patrial unless he also has the status of Commonwealth citizen. Several hundred British protected persons in the Solomon Islands are believed to possess other citizenships, but very few of them are likely to be patrial. It is not known how many British protected persons elsewhere have other citizenships, but the proportion who are patrial is small.