HC Deb 25 April 1983 vol 41 c229W
Mr. David Atkinson

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied that the Soviet Union is honouring its obligations under the Helsinki final act in making British and other foreign newspapers and journals widely available in the Soviet Union.

Mr. Pym

In the Helsinki Final Act, the Soviet Union expressed its intention to facilitate the improvement of the dissemination in its territory of newspapers and printed publications, periodical and non-periodical from the other participating states. We have detected little or no improvement. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings (Mr. Warren) on 9 February, Soviet performance has been very poor in the information field.