§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to seek to establish a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation goal of standardisation of recruitment policies and procedures in relation to equal opportunities and positive discrimination in favour of ethnic minorities.
§ Mr. FreemanThese are matters for decision by individual member states. Her Majesty's Forces are equal opportunity employers under the terms of the Race Relations Act 1976 and recruitment and promotion are on merit alone. Discrimination in selection to achieve racial balance is not allowed under that Act.