HC Deb 10 January 1978 vol 941 c720W
Mr. Biggs-Davison

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct officials and advise parliamentary representatives to European and other international bodies not to apply the terms Britain and Ireland to the two sovereign States in the British Isles when the full and correct description of them is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; and whether he will, as necessary to achieve the purpose, inform and make representations to overseas Governments and international organisations.

Mr. Judd

No. Formally and in international bodies, including European ones, "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is used; for less formal purposes "United Kingdom" and "Britain" are regarded as equivalent. "Republic of Ireland" and "Irish Republic" are the terms for official British use, but "Ireland" is used by international bodies.