§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Asians living in Malawi are holders of British passports or dependants of such passport holders; whether they are entitled to the same assistance outside the United Kingdom from our representatives as any other British citizen; whether there is evidence that they have been imprisoned in Malawi other than for the usual internationally recognised crimes; and, if so, what help the British Government have given to secure their release.
§ Mr. LuardThere are at present about 6,000 Asian United Kingdom passport holders in Malawi, including dependants. British passport holders in Malawi are subject to local law and if imprisoned all are equally entitled to normal consular protection. A comparison between crimes as defined in local law and those which are recognised in most other countries would raise questions of interpretation and definition too complex to be covered in this reply, but three United Kingdom passport holders at present detained in Malawi appear to have been convicted of normally recognised crimes, namely, theft and forgery.