§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Maltese Government about the decision of their air traffic control to refuse permission to the British Overseas Airways Corporation VC10, when under duress to land by the Libyan authorities, to return to Rome.
§ Mr. GodberAs I told the House on 22nd July, we have been seeking to obtain the fullest possible facts of the matter in this case. We therefore asked our High Commission in Malta to contact the Maltese authorities to ask for their help in establishing the exact sequence of events, and, from the information now available, there is no evidence that the Maltese controllers were acting other than in accordance with normal operational practice.—[Vol. 821, c. 1678–81.]