§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Defence on what basis the family of Major General Thorne was selected for a Christmas visit to the Falklands; and why he has reconsidered this decision.
§ Mr. BlakerThe normal tour of duty for the Falkland Islands garrison is six months' unaccompanied service. The case for allowing General Thorne's family to visit him in the Falklands was based on the fact that, as commander British forces Falkland Islands, he is serving on a longer unaccompanied tour than any other member of the present garrison, and that for operational reasons he is not in a position to take any mid-tour leave outside his command. It was decided, however, that it would be wrong to allow the visit to go ahead at this time.