§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report the letter of the Minister of State to Mr. J. W. Howell of Torquay of 2 September, on the matter of the Falkland Islands.
§ Mr. OnslowYes. The text of my letter was as follows
I am sorry that you have not had an earlier reply to your letter of 5 August addressed to the Prime Minister and concerning an allegation made by the Sunday Times that French technicians were actively assisting the Argentine armed forces during the Falklands conflict.The allegation that a team of technicians from the French company Dassault helped the Argentine navy fit Exocet missile 65W launchers to Super Etendard aircraft during the early part of the Falklands conflict was taken most seriously by both the British and French authorities. For us the tragic loss of life and serious loss of equipment caused by Exocet missiles was a particularly distressing feature of the conflict. As far as the French Government was concerned, the allegation called into question the effectiveness of their embargo on military assistance and co-operation for Argentina during the hostilities.In these circumstances the Foreign and Commonwealth Office promptly asked the French Government for an explanation, and the French Minister of Defence immediately ordered an urgent investigation. The outcome of this investigation was announced in a joint statement by the French Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs on 27 July. The findings were that the Dassault technicians had properly carried out the French Government's specific instructions not to help the Argentines in the event of an armed conflict between Britain and Argentina. These instructions were issued before hostilities began and are standard French procedure when French technicians are working overseas during periods of tension.As you say in your letter, the Sunday Times article of 1 August complains that the French statement is incomplete. It is fair to say that the French statement does not contain a detailed point by point rebuttal of the 25 July article. But this is not unusual and the Sunday Times must know as much. What the statement does do is to say quite unequivocally that an investigation has shown the newspaper's allegations to be unfounded. We have no reason to question what was said by the two French Ministers: there is no evidence available to us to support a contrary view.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek from the French Government information on the extent to which, during the period of the Falklands war, the French technical team in Bahia Blanca in Argentina assisted in the repair of defective missile launchers of the Argentine Air Force and the dates on which such assistance was given.
§ Mr. OnslowWe have already been in close touch with the French Government about such alleged assistance to Argentina by French technicians.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the light of the letter sent to the Minister of State on 22 October by Isobel Hilton, he will discuss with the French Government the degree of assistance given by the French technical team under M. Herve Colin of Dassault Aerospatiale to the Argentine Navy; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. OnslowWe discussed this in detail with the French Government after the original report appeared in theSunday Times. If the Sunday Times has further information and provides it to us, we will pass it on to the French authorities. I have at present nothing to add to the reply given on this question by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 29 July, when she said:
The French Government communicated to us on 28 July the text of a statement, issued jointly by the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, reporting the findings of their inquiries".This concludes that:The French Government totally fulfilled the obligations imposed on it by its solidarity with its British ally".—[Official Report, 29 July 1982; Vol. 28, c. 616.]