§ Mr. Cohenasked the Prime Minister (1) if she will refer to the Security Commission matters arising from the Moscow press conference of Oleg Bitov on 18 September; and if she will make a statement;
(2) if she will make a statement on the security implications arising from allegations made at the Moscow press conference of Oleg Bitov on 18 September.
§ The Prime MinisterThe allegations made by Mr. Bitov at his press conference in Moscow on 18 September are a gross distortion of the facts. As the Government have already made clear, Mr. Bitov came to the United Kingdom of his own free will, and his own statement of 25 October 1983 confirms this. It is our view that in making allegations to the contrary he is seeking to restore his credit with the Soviet authorities. In these790W circumstances I do not consider that a formal inquiry of any kind would be either justified or necessary. Further comment would be inappropriate in view of the policy which successive Governments have followed of not commenting on security matters.