§ Mr. Redmondasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the kidnapped Mr. Geoffrey Jackson; and what action the captors are demanding for his release.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeSince my right hon. Friend the Minister of State made a statement in the House on 13th January, the Uruguayan Government have maintained their intensive search for Her Majesty's Ambassador. But there is still no information on his whereabouts.
A further terrorist communiqué, issued on 26th January and believed to be authentic, repeated an earlier statement that Mr. Jackson and the other hostages were in good health. The communiqué 357W contained no specific terms for the release of the hostages.
Mr. Oliver Wright and a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Security expert recently returned from their visits to Montevideo and other posts in Latin America. While in Uruguay Mr. Wright had talks with the President and with other members of the Uruguayan Government, who assured him that they would continue to make every effort to locate Mr. Jackson and to secure his release unharmed.
Her Majesty's Government are considering possible means of intensifying security precautions in posts where a kidnapping threat exists.