§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Prime Minister if she will list the dates of official visits paid by Ministers to the Falkland Islands and give details of any such visits which are planned for the future.
§ The Prime Minister:My hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley) (July 1979 and November 1980) and my hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) (3–8 October 1982) have visited the Falkland Islands since we took office. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence plans to visit the Islands this month. We will naturally be considering the possibility of a Minister attending the Falkland Islands 150th anniversary celebrations next February.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Prime Minister in what circumstances and under what authority Captain Barker, the commander of "Endurance", on his return to Great Britain on Friday 20 August, was barred from making any statements regarding the 12 days prior to the invasion of the Falklands Islands and his various notifications to the British Government Departments on the impending invasion.
§ The Prime Minister:The House agreed on 8 July 1982—[Vol. 149, c. 469–508]—that the Falkland Islands Review Committee should be set up to examine the events leading up to the Argentine invasion on 2 April. It would therefore have been improper for Captain Barker to have answered questions on those events at his press conference on 20 August. He was instructed accordingly on ministerial authority.