§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reverse the decision made by his Department to prevent the transmission of radio messages between Her Majesty the Queen and President Carter, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Marconi's first two-way commercial transmission between Great Britain and the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThis issue arose out of a request to Her Majesty the Queen from the Cornish Radio Amateur Club for permission to transmit a message from Her Majesty to President Carter to commemorate the anniversary in question. This invitation was declined. One consideration was that the International Radio Regulations forbid the use of amateur stations for transmitting international communications on behalf of third parties except in emergencies. I have, however, authorised the setting up of a special amateur station in Cornwall which will form part of the celebrations commemorating the occasion.