HL Deb 08 November 2000 vol 618 c156WA
Lord Moynihan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have sought an explanation from the Cuban Government for its failure to allow officials from the British Embassy immediate access to the seven detained Britons in Cuba; and, if so, what was the response. [HL4451]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal

My honourable friend Peter Hain MP summoned the Cuban Charge d'Affaires on 25 October and requested an explanation for the lack of consular access. The Charge said that the British Embassy in Havana had applied for access through the normal channels of Protocol Division of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs but that such applications took time to process. He claimed that it had not been clear that immediate access was sought.

Mr Hain told the Chargé that this explanation was not satisfactory and that lack of consular access was in breach of the Vienna Convention.