§ 45. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests have been made by Israel for the purchase of submarines from the United Kingdom; and what was the nature of his reply.
§ 46. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common- 4W wealth Affairs what representations he has received from Arab Governments concerning the decision to permit Israel to be supplied with two submarines; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeIt is not out practice to comment on particular arms transactions or reports about them. Nor can I comment on representations which may have been made by foreign Governments about such reports. There has been no change in British policy over the Arab /Israel dispute which remains as set out in my speech at Harrogate on 31st October, 1970, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Nor, I would emphasize, has there been any change in our policy on the sale of arms to countries in the Middle East. Requests for arms from countries in the region are considered on their merits: there is no embargo.