§ Mr. Pitmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of his Foreign Service personnel overseas having diplomatic immunity and the number of their dependants overseas also having diplomatic immunity.
§ Mr. Ian HarveyThe extent to which diplomatic immunity is granted varies from place to place and from time to time and exact figures are not available; approximately 1,536 officers employed by Her Majesty's Foreign Service overseas enjoy diplomatic immunity together with about 970 wives and other dependants. There are in addition a number of domestic servants of Her Majesty's representatives abroad who enjoy diplomatic immunity to an extent which varies in accordance with the requirements of local law and practice.
§ Mr. Pitmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the number of persons having diplomatic immunity in this country, showing the number of diplomats, and the number of wives, dependants, etc., respectively, having such immunity.
29W
§ Mr. Ian HarveyThe number of persons officially regarded as entitled to claim diplomatic immunity in the United Kingdom as accredited diplomatic representatives of foreign States, the diplomatic and clerical staffs of their Missions and servants employed in the households of Heads of Missions or in the Chanceries of their Missions, at present recorded in the list maintained in the Foreign Office under Statute 7 Anne Cap. 12 is 3,148. This figure includes 465 servants and 925 wives of members of the diplomatic and clerical staff of such Missions.
I have no information concerning the number of dependants other than wives since (apart from 37 unmarried daughters whose names are separately recorded for social purposes) their names are not returned to my Department for the purposes of the statutory list.
In addition to the foregoing, there are 252 members of the clerical staffs of foreign diplomatic Missions and 154 domestics employed by Heads of Missions whose immunity is subject to the restriction contemplated in the Diplomatic Immunities Restriction Order, 1956 (S.I. 1956 No. 84), made on the 25th of January, 1956, under the Diplomatic Immunities Restriction Act, 1955 (4 Eliz. 2 Ch. 21). The immunity of seven wives 30W of members of diplomatic staffs and 109 wives of members of clerical staffs is subject to a similar restriction.
A like immunity from suit and legal process as is accorded to an envoy of a foreign Sovereign power accredited to Her Majesty is also conferred upon the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of Western European Union and the Chief Representative in the United Kingdom of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community by Orders in Council made under the International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges) Act, 1950 (14 Geo. 6 Ch. 14) and the European Coal and Steel Community Act, 1955 (4 Eliz. 2 Ch. 4).
Immunity is also enjoyed, in accordance with the provisions of the Diplomatic Immunity (Commonwealth Countries and Republic of Ireland) Act, 1952 (15–16 Geo. 6 and 1 Eliz. 2 Ch. 18) by High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries in London and the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland and their official and clerical staffs, numbering in all 1,715; by 873 wives and members of families of the foregoing; and by 16 servants employed by High Commissioners and the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland.