§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Mr. Peter Penfold sent any message during 1997 to London from any German or US diplomatic premises in Africa. [75801]
§ Mr. Tony Lloyd[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Mr. Penfold was consulted about the answer to a previous question from my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay), 26 January 1999, Official Report, column 149, and had said it was not necessary for him to use the communication facilities at the German Embassy to communicate with London. A commercial fax facility was available at his hotel and allowed him to communicate with London directly. This answer was incomplete.
Mr. Penfold has been consulted again, and has again confirmed that he did not use classified communication facilities at the German Embassy to send messages to London. He has added that some of his and the other British High Commission staff's messages were, however, sent by fax from the commercial fax machine in the German Embassy in Conakry. Mr. Penfold believes he did on occasion also use the telephone at the German Embassy to communicate with London.
Other than the unclassified messages sent on commercial channels from the German Embassy in Conakry, Mr. Penfold has said he did not, to his best recollection, use German or US diplomatic premises in Africa in 1997 for sending messages to London.