§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 8 February,Official Report, column 123, when was the last occasion that Ministers or officials of his Department discussed with members or officials of the appropriate foreign Government the problem of British paedophiles visiting (a) Sri Lanka, (b) Thailand and (c) the Philippines to abuse children.
§ Mr. GoodladWe have a regular dialogue with Thailand and the Philippines on the problem of the sexual abuse of children.
Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health discussed the problem when she visited Thailand in September 1993. Her Majesty's chargé d'affaires in the Philippines raised the issue with the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Manila on 21 January 1994.
We last discussed the issue with the Sri Lankan authorities in 1987—the year in which the latest known case involving a British citizen occurred.