§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the Government's attitude towards the proposal to send a touring cricket side to South Africa.
§ Mr. MacFarlaneThe MCC is a private club and its members will make up their own minds on the issue. Her Majesty's Government have repeatedly expressed their commitment to the Commonwealth statement on apartheid in sport, which was reaffirmed by the Prime Minister and her fellow Commonwealth Heads of Government at their most recent meeting in Melbourne in 1981. A tour by an MCC side, while not representative, would be in breach of the principles of that statement. It would be inconsistent with the multinational and multiracial competition and cooperation on which the game of cricket thrives, as evidenced by the highly successful World Cup staged here recently and in 1979 and 1975. The Government therefore hope that the decision of MCC members will be to reject the proposed tour, recognising the wider and practical implications of their decision for the future of international multiracial cricket and sport in the Commonwealth and throughout the world.