§ 82. Mr. E. L. Mallalieuasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs over what parts of the English Channel lying more than three miles from British territory does Her Majesty's Government claim sovereignty.
§ Mr. TurtonHer Majesty's Government claim no sovereignty over the waters of the Channel beyond the three-mile limit.
International law permits a State to lay claim to the sea-bed and subsoil around its coastline covered by a depth of water up to one hundred metres. The English Channel is nowhere deeper than one hundred metres and the division of the sea-bed outside normal territorial waters would therefore be a matter for agreement between Her Majesty's Government and other interested Governments.